I moved to Ibiza in October 2020, between the first and second lockdowns. After deciding to leave my job due to burnout, I wanted to change my lifestyle. I needed a reset and was looking for places to go that had good weather and nature, and were still on Europe’s doorstep so I could keep modelling and be close to friends and family. I had a friend who lived in Ibiza and honestly, I saw his life online and I thought, he’s got a good life, I want to try a bit of that.
When I burnt out, luckily I was at a company that has policies where they offered me a few weeks off, and while that was a great start, it ended up not being enough for me. My view at first was that it was their fault, that they worked me too hard, but it was also my lack of boundaries and understanding how to navigate corporate life. I didn’t know how to say no. I was in a job where I had to be on my phone and available a lot of the time. It was too much for me and I knew something had to change, and I wanted to move out of London, so that’s when the realisation started and the universe presented Ibiza.
I’d heard that Ibiza had another side to it. That it had beautiful nature and was very powerful and spiritual, which aligned with what I was looking for. I ended up staying for eight months during the second lockdown, then I came back to London for the summer, but at the end of it I knew that it was time to go back again and give it a real shot with the intention to call it home.
At the time, I was also struggling to find my people in modelling. There was nothing bringing us together that was centred on care, healing, recovery and building community and friendships from that foundation.
So I’d been toying with various ideas of how I could do this. Then, in March 2023, I was recovering after Fashion Week and gave myself a mini retreat. I checked in with my masseuse and my sound healer, I went for hikes and to the sea, to the sauna and ate healthy food, so within four or five days I was back to 100 per cent. That’s what made me think, why am I not doing this for the fashion girlies?
I hosted my first Off-Season retreat a year ago and since then have done two retreats and two events. Next month, from 2-7 October, I’ll be hosting R&R Retreat, which is intentionally planned after Fashion Week — not only for my own recovery, but so that I can offer something to the industry that I work in and have a bit more of a voice in it. It can be quite difficult to have a voice or an opinion and get it heard, so Off-Season is my way of doing my own thing that can coexist alongside, in a way where there is a flow between working in the industry and having a space that feels safe away from it.
Itinerary wise, though the magic happens in the inbetween, we’ll be doing yoga, movement, breathwork, meditation, sound healing and massages. I’ll be taking people on hikes, to my favourite beaches, watching sunsets. We’ve got a vegan chef who will be cooking all of our meals and we’re staying at this beautiful old finca where there’s a pool and a yurt, spaces to relax alone or with others who you make friends with — plus some cute farm animals!
The founding pillars of Off-Season are: adventure, nature, spirituality, wellness and joy. And that will be available to tap into across the retreat. It’s also just so much fun. I look forward to being able to offer my services and my skills in new ways and to new people every time.
