Confessions of a shopaholic

IT’S IN THE BAG

You may not know her, but Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and Hailey Bieber sure do, and they have this fashion bounty hunter on speed dial.

By ASTRID TAEMETS

She’s the 27-year-old Rockhampton girl who boasts a call contact list that includes Rosie HuntingtonWhiteley and Hailey Bieber, DMs with the likes of Sofia Richie, Chiara Ferragni, and the Kardashians, and has amassed a devoted (and rather wealthy), portfolio of international clients all on the hunt for sold-out luxury fashion items that can’t be found for love nor money, except only by her. Meet Gabriel Waller. A modest, young, and bright entrepreneur who shot to business stardom in December 2018 when a mutual friend put her in touch with Rosie Huntington-Whiteley after the UK model and actress put a desperate call out on Instagram in search of a 2017 Celine coat by Phoebe Philo. In record time, Waller, who had only launched her sourcing business just months earlier, tracked down the coat and sent it off, no strings attached. Grateful for the find, the British beauty swiftly posted a picture on Instagram wearing the coat, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Today, Waller is the personal shopper and direct touchpoint for celebrities and mortals all desperate to get their hands on the latest can’t-be-found ‘it pieces’ from brands such as Prada, Balenciaga, Celine, Bottega Veneta and Chanel, just to name a few. You name it, she’ll find it. It’s the thrill of the chase that keeps this budding young businesswoman buzzing.

Currently based in Sydney (though with plans to move to LA later this month), Waller is at the top of her game, with multiple assistants scattered across the globe, including two full-time assistants in Australia, all filtering between 100-200 requests from around the world daily. And yet, despite her exploding success, Waller is still as kind-hearted as ever. In her interview with Style, on the other end of the line, I can feel her face is beaming. “At the end of the day, I’m just an Aussie girl with big dreams,” she says, adding that her biggest sale to date only happened in the week of this interview. “I just sourced a wedding dress for a client worth over $50,000. It’s definitely the highest-priced item I have found yet.” Certainly an exciting feat, Gab is proof that if you can dream it, you can do it.

@GABWALLERDOTCOM

Photography: Melinda Cartmer HMUA Cat Smith Styling Jess Rolfe