Trinny Woodall has revealed she used her “nudity habit” to help promote her early career on the London Underground and even used a racy topless photograph as a calling card.
The 60-year-old businesswoman told Jamie Laing on his Great Company podcast that she used a photo of herself naked from the waist up with melons on her chest to boost sales of her first book in 2000, Ready 2 Dress.
She rose to fame with Susannah Constantine after her Ready to Wear column, which offered fashion advice.
Their global star status skyrocketed in 2001 when they appeared on the hit BBC show What Not to Wear.
But before fame, Trinny used some unique tactics to boost her success.
Trinny Woodall has revealed she used her “nudity habit” to help promote her early career on the London Underground and even used a racy topless photograph as a calling card.
The 60-year-old businesswoman (left) rose to fame with Susannah Constantine (right) after her Ready to Wear column offering fashion advice (pictured in 2008).
She told Jamie: ‘We had done a book before we did TV and the book was based on this image we used on TV to advertise Ready 2 and it was about how everyone is different.
‘So Susannah was there naked – we have a custom of nudity – but naked from the waist up with melons on her breasts and there was a picture of me looking a bit skinny with fried eggs on my breasts and it was everywhere.’
The idea to strip came from her advertising agency, Trinny revealed. And the “naked” photo wasn’t just for posters, as it even became her calling card.
She continued: “We even had business cards. That was my business card, the melon and the fried eggs. So we did this whole campaign and it was fantastic.”
The image eventually became the cover of Trinny and Susannah’s book.
According to Trinny, the book only sold 13,000 copies, which prevented them from getting the advance they needed for a sequel upon publication.
Determined to publish their sequel, they negotiated a deal to receive a larger percentage of sales rather than payment up front.
The sequel, What Not to Wear, sold more than a million copies thanks to the help of its hit television show.
Elsewhere on the podcast, she also opened up about the death of her late husband Johnny Elichaoff and admitted that his tragic passing “made her stronger” for her daughter Lyla.
She told Jamie Laing on his Great Company podcast that she used a nude photo of herself with melons on her chest to boost sales of her first book in 2000, Ready 2 Dress.
But before fame, Trinny increased her success by promoting her assets on the London Underground and placing half-naked photos of herself on her business card.
Businessman Johnny, who was married to Trinny from 1999 to 2009, committed suicide in 2014.
However, Trinny admitted that the tragedy motivated her to succeed with her beauty brand.
She said: “Death is terrible and final.”
“But suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem. It’s like that tsunami that comes and rips you out. But I also have inner strength. I needed to be the one to take care of everyone.”
Elsewhere on the podcast, she spoke about the death of her late husband Johnny Elichaoff and admitted his tragic passing “made her stronger” for her daughter Lyla (pictured).
Businessman Johnny, who was married to Trinny from 1999 to 2009, committed suicide in 2014 (both pictured here in 2008)
“When you’re faced with the worst thing you can do, you think it can happen. I had this feeling that ‘nothing worse can happen’. So I should take the biggest risk.”
As well as Lyla, Trinny is also stepmother to Johnny’s son Zak, and admitted that “emotionally, I couldn’t have lost more than losing my daughter’s father, because of her.”
She also confessed that the tragedy made her stronger, admitting that she “didn’t cry for many, many years” because she had to deal with the “aftermath” and confessed that she “was a little angry” but soon after she missed him.
This November marks 10 years since the tragedy, and Lyla, 20, will join her family to celebrate and remember her father.
At the time of Johnny’s death, the star was launching her beauty company called Trinny London and was living in an expensive house.
She decided to sell the house and invest the money in her startup, and four years later she turned it into a £180m beauty empire.
She told Jamie: ‘It was a moment where maybe I should get to work and make things as safe as possible for Lyla.’
“But I also knew that this was a turning point in my life.”
However, Trinny admitted that the tragedy motivated her to succeed with her beauty brand (both photographed in 2008).
The interview comes after Trinny split from her partner Charles Saatchi, 81, last year after a decade together.
And friends suggested the reason behind the split was the 20-year age gap between the couple, which caused problems in their relationship.
Speaking to SunTrinny’s friends said she felt it was “time to move on” and “their age difference started to become an issue”.
“Charles wants to slow down,” the source revealed. “He prefers quiet nights at home, while Trinny feels the opposite.”
“She feels like she’s at her best and wants to get out there and be around.”
Trinny had been dating Saatch for 10 years, after he split from his wife Nigella Lawson; however, the makeup and beauty mogul said on her Instagram at the time that she was moving on.
She posted: “It’s a new day, it’s a new dawn, it’s a new life.” She added: “I’ve been moving, but now I’ve moved.”
The beauty, who was on a skiing holiday with her family in France at the time, said excitedly: “I’ve looked at this view for the last 30 years of my life. It’s the only constant view I’ve ever had.”
“Recently, because of the big life change and moving, it was important for me to come back here with (my daughter) Lyla and the family, just to have that moment, to listen to the birds, to be in touch with nature. It’s very healing.”
Saatchi, a publicist turned art collector, is said to be worth around £100m. Trinny’s wealth is unknown, but her beauty and skincare brand is said to be worth £180m and rising. He declined to comment.
The interview comes after Trinny split from her partner Charles Saatchi, 81, last year after a decade together and friends suggested the reason was the 20-year age gap between the pair (both pictured in 2015).
In an interview in 2021, Trinny said she had “grown a lot” in the relationship saying: “I don’t let myself get away with anything, so if I have any kind of outrage he’s like, ‘Really, are you kidding me?’ And then I go upstairs and I’m like, ‘Okay, let me grow up now.'”
“I think that’s what happens when you’re with someone who’s been through a lot in their life, and there’s no one who is more supportive of my business and my work in terms of being my champion.”
The couple began dating in 2013 after Saatchi’s first wife, Kay Hartenstein, reportedly made a short list of women he would like to date.
He had been single since splitting from food writer Nigella Lawson shortly after photographs were published showing Saatchi holding her by the neck during lunch at Scott’s in Mayfair.
At that time he explained that it was a “playful fight” and accepted the police warning.
He later said he was simply helping Nigella “focus”, but Nigella explained that she had seen a cute baby in a pram passing by and said she was looking forward to becoming a grandmother, sparking an argument.
Great Company with Jamie Laing is available on all podcast providers.
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