ROMILLY NEWMAN
The culinary talent building an indisputably glamorous career at the nexus of food and fashion.
Written by LAURA REGENSDORF
For Romilly Newman, the culinary talent building an indisputably glamorous career at the nexus of food and fashion, matters of taste came early. As a New York City tween, she launched a cooking blog and soon landed a stint on Chopped. Years later, her first job at the magazine Cherry Bombe led to work alongside Athena Calderone and Martha Stewart.
Now 26, Newman, a cheekily self-described “Victorian broad,” is known for wearing fanciful dresses as she develops recipes and styles tableaux for brands like Ralph Lauren and Savette—all without smudging her carefully drawn cat eye. “When I was three years old, I said to my mom that I wanted to be a makeup artist,” says Newman, recalling how she’d fish through her mother’s cosmetics bag. “The first time that I smelled Frédéric Malle’s Lipstick Rose scent, I was like, ‘Oh my God! This smells exactly like my childhood.’ It was a Proustian moment.” Newman has always liked the creative expression that makeup affords; lately, high performance is just as important. “I’m constantly trying to find a face powder that’ll stay on when I’m grilling meat,” Newman says. “Or if I’m in a restaurant kitchen”—as she was while staging at London’s River Café—“what's the red lip that’ll stay through dinner service?” This acquired wisdom guides her through a life that is increasingly in front of the camera, including a forthcoming Thanksgiving campaign with CB2. “It’s all about just making intentional choices,” she says, articulating a philosophy that applies equally well to antique tableware and fun-to-use dry shampoo. “Taking these little moments for yourself—that’s luxury.” In that spirit, here’s what’s in Romilly’s impeccably edited BAG.
