Little Gem: the British model tipped to be the next Kate Moss

Meet Gemma Refoufi, the shin new jewel in British fashion's crown — and destined to be the next Kate Moss. By Dipal Acharya
Dipal Acharya13 September 2013

Forget your Caras and keep your Kates — the new Brit model that has the industry talking is 21-year-old Gemma ‘Gem’ Refoufi. The Bradford beauty is the newest face to front Tom Ford’s A/W 2013 collection — perhaps because of that insouciant pout. ‘I used to be called “bubble lips” at school,’ recalls Gem with a warm smile. ‘I took it with a pinch of salt and gave them a good punch.’

Her journey into modelling was far from a fashion fairy tale. Growing up in Bradford’s East Bowling, Gem, whose mum is from the area and whose dad is French Algerian, was scouted a few times as a teenager — ‘mostly in Topshop’ — but considered acting her true calling, treading the boards at her local performing arts college. It was only when she returned to London after living in Shanghai for two years (her boyfriend Ryan, a property developer, is based there) that she decided to pursue modelling.

In April 2013 she went into the London HQ of IMG models, ‘looking like Pat Butcher, in an enormous leather and leopard-print jacket with batwing sleeves,’ and was signed immediately. Who knew Pat Butcher could be a style icon? ‘Well, she’s mine,’ Gem says with her treacle-thick Yorkshire accent.

Within two weeks of being taken on, she had piqued the interest of Tom Ford’s team. ‘All the girls had been confirmed for the campaign but the agency sent me down anyway. After the first day they cancelled their main girl, propped me up on a box and shot the campaign around me.’ And she’s not talking about a metaphorical pedestal: ‘I’m a bloody short arse.’ At 5ft 7in, it’s true she is at the shorter end of the scale, but one only has to look at atypical supermodels such as busty Lara Stone and the 5ft 8in Kate Moss to realise this is hardly a problem any more. Indeed, when Carine Roitfeld was styling her for the campaign, she whispered to Gem, ‘It’s fine about your height. You’re going to be the next Kate Moss.’

To date, Gem is the only girl that Tom Ford has ever wanted as an ‘exclusive’ for a campaign. When she’s not shooting in New York or Paris, the model likes nothing more than a gory thriller (‘if you couldn’t get through American Psycho, you’re a pussy’), or tucking into a steak dinner near her flat in Islington. Does she have to work hard on her physique? ‘Yeah, I work out at the gym but I love exercising anywhere — whether it’s going out partying and dancing your arse off or making love to your boyfriend. It’s all the same thing.’ Kate Moss would approve.

Photographs by David Standish. Styled by Nicky Yates.

Fashion assistant: Anish Patel; Hair by Bianca Tuovi at CLM using Kiehl’s. Make-up by Nicky Weir using YSL cosmetics. Sheets by betweenthesheets.co.uk; Flowers by Nikki Tibbles Wild at Heart (wildatheart.com).

Shot on location in the Royal Suite at the Bentley Hotel, 27-33 Harrington Gardens, SW7 (thebentley-hotel.com)

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