From the time she could walk, Chloe Loughnan knew she wanted to be a model when she grew up - and three decades on she's graced the catwalks of Paris, London, Milan and Miami.
While the Cork native may not be a household name here, the 33-year-old is one of Turkey’s best-known stars.
Chloe spends her time between Miami, Istanbul and Ireland, living the jet-set life she could only dream of when she was a little girl with big ambitions.
‘I have been prancing around in heels ever since I could walk,’ Chloe tells Styled. ‘I would be tottering up the road in my mom’s stilettos, totally mesmerised by them. Since that day, I always knew I wanted a career in this industry.’
Chloe didn’t have to wait too long as in her mid-teens, she was scouted by a top model agent, looking for girls to take part in an RTÉ show called The Model Agent, hosted by Erin O’Connor.
While a little precocious, Chloe admits that, like many girls her age, she wasn’t particularly outgoing.
‘I was painfully shy at the time,’ she says. ‘But the show gave me the boost of confidence to join my first agency in Dublin, Morgan The Agency, where the lovely Rebecca Morgan took me under her wing.’
However, like many ‘dream’ jobs, there was a shadier side to life as a model, in an industry that is notoriously ruthless and demanding.
‘I was scouted by an agency in Paris aged 18 and, while I did get to model for some incredible brands, the industry was quite ruthless there back then,’ she reveals.
So ruthless, in fact, that she was told she would pretty much have to forgo food for fame.
Unwilling to make such a sacrifice, she left the European fashion capital to go back to her close-knit family in Cork, where she is a big sister to Katie, 14, and 10-year-old Josh.
‘When my agency there suggested cutting down to one meal a day to keep slim, I jumped on the next flight home,’ she says. ‘I come from a very close family. My parents, Lucy and Jason, were both teenagers when I was born and we’ve essentially grown up together.
‘My mom holds a global role in pharmaceuticals and my dad owns a commercial landscaping business.’
Despite her parents’ insistence on prioritising education - sending her to boarding school and then on to a grind school - Chloe still harboured her childhood dreams of making it as an international superstar.
Shortly after her appearance on The Model Agent, Chloe got her next big break, an opportunity she didn’t know at the time was to have a seismic effect on her life.
‘It was about a year after I had left Paris that I was scouted by an agency in Turkey, this time to feature in a music video for one of the country’s biggest pop stars,’ she recalls. ‘In a plot twist, I ended up marrying him and living there for eight years.’
Not content just to be a ‘celebrity wife’, Chloe very quickly set about establishing herself in her own right in Turkey.
Despite being in a strange land, Chloe swiftly immersed herself in the culture and taught herself to speak the local language.
‘Being in the public eye definitely gave my career a launchpad and suddenly I was landing music videos, runway shows and photo shoots before learning the language and taking on roles in TV and film,’ she says. ‘The time I spent living there was a whirlwind, to say the least, and looking back seems like a movie.
‘I was catapulted into the spotlight from day one because of who I had chosen to be with and had to watch my personal life played out daily in front of millions of people. The paparazzi culture there is worlds apart from Ireland, and it took a lot of getting used to. It definitely shook the shy Irish girl right out of me.’
‘I picked up Turkish by listening to everyone around me,’ she says. ‘The first time I realised I could speak it was live on TV in a fight-or-flight moment about a year after moving there. Rather than miss a great opportunity on a popular show, I chanced my arm and went for it. Luckily it all worked out.’
Embracing all elements of the Eastern European country, she developed a deep love for it.
‘Turkey is genuinely one of the most beautiful and culturally rich countries I’ve ever visited,’ she says. ‘The history, the mosques, the views over the Bosphorus —it’s phenomenal. The food is incredible and the people are the kindest. To this day, I still get the most lovely messages from strangers welcoming me back. It will always be my second home.’
Despite this obvious love for Turkey, her first home will always be Cork.
‘I always miss my family and friends —no matter how amazing life gets, home always wins,’ she says. ‘Also nothing beats Barry’s tea or Kerrygold butter on toast. You can take the girl out of Ireland but…’ she laughs.
Surprisingly for such a homebird, she has left familiarity behind again and recently made a move to Miami. ‘When I was 21 I signed with Ford Models Miami and later with Select Models. Ever since, it’s been a mix of glam and chaos,’ she says. ‘Miami is like another world, it’s wild, in the best possible way.’
Aware that life as model has a very short shelf life, and living in a place like Miami, where beautiful people abound, Chloe has hit the books and gained a real estate licence in the land where property sales perennially boom.
'Recently I studied to get my Florida real estate licence, which may or may not have been inspired by binge-watching Selling Sunset,’ she laughs of the hit Netflix series that follows the lives of uber-glamorous estate agents all over the US.
While she is not, as yet, selling sunset in Miami, Chloe is heading back to Turkey for another season of her showbiz show.
‘For the past three years I’ve been lucky enough to host Turkey’s top entertainment news TV show called Magazin D, which covers weekly celebrity gossip and global buzz live on air — in Turkish,’ she says. ‘I work with such an incredible team and TV channel over there.’
Charming and engaging, Chloe is a woman who attracts attention not just for her looks but for her witty charm.
‘My party trick is doing accents from around the world and impersonating people — especially after a glass of sauvignon blanc,’ she says with a cheeky wink.
While Chloe’s marriage didn’t have the fairytale happy ending, it hasn’t dissuaded her from one day finding her true love.
True to her feisty form, Chloe believes that all good things come in time.
‘In a relationship, I look for someone who adds to your life in a positive way, who makes you happy and more at peace than you are on your own,’ she says. ‘If he happened to be hilarious, tall and handsome, that would also be appreciated.’
As to what she believes she has to offer, she insists that beauty is only skin deep.
‘I am very protective of my loved ones — terrible at texting back, I will admit — but if anyone actually needed me, I would be the first one to drop everything.
‘I’m also the designated enthusiast who says yes to absolutely any and all adventures. I can guarantee there will be shenanigans at all times.’
MIAMI SPICE
The 1980s was a decade of bold fashion choices, and nothing encapsulates the style of the era quite like 80's Miami Vice women's fashion. Inspired by the hit TV show Miami Vice, the fashion of the day combined vibrant colours, sexy silhouettes, and a free love attitude that was synonymous with the Miami life.
The show’s influence still reverberates today with the blending of a bold statement tropical flair combined with high-flying sophistication. Think plunging necklines, risque splits, and mini-mini hem lines. The sexier the better to sprinkle some Miami Spice to your summer wardrobe.
HAMPTONS CHIC
The Hamptons, located at the eastern end of Long Island, New York, are renowned for their luxurious summer homes and as a retreat for the wealthy and famous. Think Ralph Lauren for the upper-crust sartorial set.
Well known for its sophisticated, stylish, and fashionable preppy-inspired old-monied clobber. Hamptons style fashion emphasises sleek lines, with a casual laid back yet sophisticated, sexy look.
From breezy linen dresses and nautical stripes to crisp white ensembles and oversized sun hats, the Hamptons style is a celebration of refined taste. But you don't have to have gazillions in the bank or a multi-million beach pad to get in on the Hamptons fashion fad. This Sporty & Rich jersey top is just one Hampton’s inspired item that is the perfect wear for Hamptons’ Hotties no matter where in the world you happen to be.
RISKY BUSINESS
Dressing your best-professional-self should be desirable, not a daily drudge. Office attire these days need not be boardroom-black or blend-in-beige.
Get a leg up the corporate ladder with a crisp, cream two-piece consisting of double-breasted blazer teamed with neat pleated shorts or a form fitting pencil-skirt.
And an oversized tote bag will amplify any look. Dress for the job you dream of. But dressing appropriately stylish is of course key so a double breasted blazer will ensure not too much cleavage is on show and shorts and skirts should not be of an indecent length. Your best assets are your talents not your looks.
Shot on Location at Beshoff's Motor Company Baldoyle, North County Dublin
Photography by Evan Doherty
Hair by Jessica Dowdall
Makeup by Sarah O'Brien Beauty
