Quotes from Erin O'Connor

I'm too diplomatic. I tend to edit my mind before I speak - it can be incredibly draining.

I'm like a tourist when I'm in London.

With high fashion, it's a performance. You're trying to interpret a fantasy in a very physical way, and you really are playing a character. I've played men, dead people, famous people, historical icons, and it's no mean feat. It's quite an insular experience even though the crowd is in front of you and there's an expectation.

At school I was very shy and coincidentally inherited the title 'little miss worry guts,' and that was just among the staff. I learned early on that I could make people laugh, and as my small neat body betrayed me by growing to dizzying heights, I used it as a tool that translated into complete slap-stick comedy.

I've enjoyed many camping holidays with my sister and her children, but we're pretty posh campers.

It's a very intimate thing to invite someone into your home; there's a lot of trust involved.

I enjoy travelling the world, but nowhere beats Walsall.

New York is on a grid system, so it's slightly less challenging logistically, but Londoners are more relaxed in their selling approach. With that intense shopping service in New York, it's easy to get carried away and make a wrong purchase. Here, there's a different flow. You are left to explore, and individuality is key.

For my last meal, I'd want an Irish breakfast with soda bread and one of my dad's omelettes with three or four eggs.

I take my mentoring responsibilities very seriously.

I'm often mistaken for a man.

In my career, which has been fairly two-dimensional, people make decisions based on your persona.

My story wasn't one of those cliched stories of being an ugly duckling, I had a pretty good time at school. But then I think being six foot by the age of 15 meant that I couldn't help but be noticed, and that was when my physical being felt quite painful - I could not any longer walk into a room without being noticed.

I am selective. If I do splash out, it's an investment, and I wear things for years.

In the early days of my modelling career, I think the industry was uncomfortable with how strikingly different I was.

I knew I'd made it when my face appeared on a stamp.

Fear has been my biggest friend. Fear of the unknown. Whenever I've been afraid, I've been very self-protective.

Conformism is a potent statement, and as much as we do talk about individuality in fashion, there's a sense that people are fearful of not conforming and not being part of action.

I'm utterly androgynous, and I truly love it. It's been part of my identity for so long. I've never been that pretty girl, and I wouldn't want to be.

I think most of my career has been built on conviction and the personality to carry that image or stride confidently on the catwalk. That was my beginning and, hopefully, my legacy.

In my job, I am portrayed as a misfit, a grandiose high fashion lady or an unearthly creature. At home, it's important I can look in the mirror, strip away the disguise and be comfortable with who stares back.

My plan growing up was to leave home and try not to panic. I always knew that to strive to be self-sufficient was an important ambition.

As a small child, me and my pals fantasised about one day owning an ice-cream van. To have ice creams on demand would have been a dream come true.

The model sanctuary was borne of a complex, political, societal debate. It was proposed to us from various bodies that we give models medicals once a year, and if they didn't pass that medical, there's a chance they'd legally lose their right to work.