Influencer Helen Owen draws on travel for new collaboration with Bloomingdale’s

WWD By Sharon Edelson 

Looking for the next influencer to collaborate on its Aqua collection, Bloomingdale’s tapped Helen Owen, whose Instagram account has 1.5 million followers, for her love of travel and comfort.

Owen’s blog showcases her enviable life with posts about trips to Malta; Tulum in Mexico; Bora Bora, and the Maldives, where her wardrobe invariably consists of midriff-baring tops and low-slung pants, off-the-shoulder cropped tops, shorts and bathing suits — lots of bathing suits.

“I’m a traveling creative still seeking an appropriate job title,” Owen said, adding that she’s most commonly referred to as an influencer, but sees herself as somewhere between an influencer, model, blogger and designer.

Designer is a word that’s been resonating with Owen. Her Helen Owen x Aqua collection will be available at Bloomingdale’s stores nationwide on Friday. The collection includes everything for a beach getaway to an  appearance at Coachella, where Owen will be on Friday, “promoting the collection hard core.”

“I can’t just wear shorts and a T-shirt,” Owen said. “I like feeling a little more polished. I went to Bloomingdale’s with a mood board of what I wanted and their mood board was very similar.”

A white eyelet cropped top, lemon-print minidress, striped bustier and matching pants, and red skirt and matching tube top “are a mixture of the go-to styles, cuts and the prints I tend to throw on in sunny destinations,” said Owen. “It combines spring-inspired styles with a sprinkle of summer and a hint of festival.”

For the first time, the Aqua collaboration includes shoes and accessories such as barely there sandals, raffia and crochet bags and dainty jewelry. The 26 pieces range in price from $28 for earrings to $119 for a strappy heel.

Design isn’t such a big stretch for Owen, who studied design and media arts at UCLA. “It’s an all-encompassing program,” she said. “You have to submit a portfolio. I was doing film and photography in high school. You do color and form at UCLA and figure out what you want to do. By the time I was a senior, my Instagram had taken off.”

“A lot of girls will ask me how I became an influencer, and what steps I took. Even though when I graduated in 2015, and I pictured what I would do, I didn’t imagine this as a path. When I’m working with brands and creating my own content, I’m a canvas for other people. I do have an interest in fashion. This is a good way to get my toes wet.”