Saffron Vadher on Lego, £2 coins, a hospital-ward birthday and no longer trying to be everything to everyone
Saffron Vadher’s career began with a gentle prod from a stranger who noticed her striking looks while she was waitressing at Wimbledon. The seed was planted so she turned up unannounced at Elite’s London office and was signed there and then. Her first job was opening Burberry’s S/S 2017 show, and glossy covers followed swiftly, building a catwalk CV that takes in Chanel, Hermès and Alexander McQueen. Away from the camera, she is an ambassador for Leukaemia UK, a cause that is deeply personal: diagnosed with the disease shortly before her fourth birthday, she endured five years of chemotherapy.
Raised in London by an English mother and an Indian father who had moved to the U.K. from Nairobi, Saffron grew up watching her two grandmothers dress in entirely different ways, one in the bright colour and gold ornamentation of her Indian roots, the other polished English glamour; she obviously drew from – and was drawn to – both. Her lineage might have encompassed two very different notions of fashion, but given her memories are of them never been under-dressed, perhaps it was inevitable that Saffron would be drawn to enter and thrive in that world too.
Now she’s spent a decade establishing herself in the style sphere, she is trading the runway for the film set. In The Queen of Fashion, Alex Marx’s biopic of the late, great Isabella Blow, Saffron makes her acting debut opposite Andrea Riseborough, Richard E. Grant and Joe Cole.
Three things you’d never part with?
My phone, phone charger and headphones.
What do you collect?
Lego and £2 coins.
Your guilty pleasure that you don’t feel guilty about?
Building Lego and collecting £2 coins.
Your most overrated virtue?
I think I’m more entertaining than I probably am.
What is worth the splurge?
Lego and nutritionists.
What do most people get wrong about you?
I feel people think I’m more high maintenance than I am.
A gift that you tend to give to someone you love?
I love cooking for people.
What inspired you recently?
My nan had her 90th birthday in the hospital this year and my entire family, four generations of us, all squeezed into one room and ate cake and sang to her. All the nurses also got involved! It inspired me to spend a little more time with family at the moment.
Dream dinner guests – dead or alive?
The face of adult Lego, Rob Cawsey. Mahmoud Darwish, Saint Levant, Penélope Cruz and Shah Rukh Khan.
What’s the last book that stayed with you?
We Are All Birds of Uganda by Hafsa Zayyan.
Best advice you’ve ignored?
Not to cut a fringe.
What do you wear when you want to be seen?
Maybe something colourful, some heels or boots.
What do you wear to disappear?
I love a tracksuit.
Biggest perk of the job?
To travel.
Is it more important to be liked or respected?
Respected.
What do you most value in your friends?
Loyalty and a ‘go with the flow’ vibe.
Favourite way to waste an afternoon?
To literally do nothing and sit and chill, maybe in front of the TV, maybe with a book. Chill with family or friends, something very, very relaxed.
Best thing about getting older?
Knowing myself better. You stop trying to be everything to everyone and start becoming more comfortable with exactly who you are.
What have you changed your mind about?
I am open to changing my mind all the time. One of my favourite quotes is “You are only as young as the last time you changed your mind.”
What is one thing you always make time for?
My family.
Lead Image Credit: Juste Un Clou Earrings in Pink Gold with Diamonds; Love Unlimited Necklace in Yellow Gold; Right hand from top: Love Colours Bracelet in Rose Gold with Sapphires and Diamonds; Love Unlimited Ring in Yellow Gold with Diamonds; Love Unlimited Ring in White Gold with Diamonds; Love Unlimited Ring in Pink Gold with Diamonds; Left hand: Love Colours Rainbow Bracelet in Yellow Gold, POA, all Cartier Top, Dhs800, Michael Kors. Trousers, POA, Burberry. Shoes, Dhs4,650, GUCCI. Hat, POA, Chocheng
Model: Saffron Vadher at Vedettes Model Management. Styling: Kim Payne. Photographer: Jake Terrey at Heart & Co. Creative Direction: Marne Schwartz & Dane Stojanovic. Acting Editor In Chief: Natasha Faruque. Fashion & Market Editor: Charlotte Marsh-Williams. Hair: Jean-Luc Amarin. Make-Up: Megumi Itano at Calliste Agency. Nail Artist: Nafissa Djabi at B Agency. Set Design: Jasmine Christie. Executive Producer: Steff Hawker. Producer: Sofia Potapova. Casting Director: Elodie Yelmani at Vedettes Agency. Photographers Assistant: Sébastien Rolland. Styling Assistants: Barnabé White & Louis-gui Pradere
From the Harper’s Bazaar Arabia October 2026 issue