All About Elke Sockeel: Fashion One’s New Benelux Correspondent

My name is Elke and I'm 25, living in Ghent, Belgium. After studying for six years and obtaining two masters, organizational psychology and business economics, I decided to throw it all overboard. I am more determined than ever to take the leap and pursue my dream, a career in fashion.

If I would describe myself, I’d say I'm very passionate about life in general. I prefer doing the things I love such as traveling, exploring different cultures, cooking and trying new food, having drinks with friends and going out, going for a walk in nature. My friends would describe me as eternally optimistic, adventurous, a dreamer, witty, edgy, a real go-getter, creative and compassionate. I'm up for any adventure that this competition will bring.

I've always been genuinely fascinated by fashion and about a year ago I started my own blog where I share my daily encounters with fashion in a rather humorous way. Fashion is everywhere and for everyone. To me it's the most important way to express myself and make a statement. Fashion is art. And I tend not to take myself too seriously when it comes to style. Have fun with it. Life is too short to wear boring clothes.

Why do you want to be the next Fashion One Correspondent?

Being the next Fashion One Correspondent is my dream job. This job would mean getting exclusive access to every kind of fashion events, meeting designers and growing a network of interesting people.

What's your edge over the other competitors?

I believe that my knowledge of fashion and my willpower are my main strengths. My ambition for a career in fashion runs my motivation up to 200%.

What's your strategy?

I don't really have a strategy. I just hope to be able to be myself and to show my personality. And I hope this will shine trough, together with my heart for fashion. That's my only strategy to convince the judges to choose me as the next correspondent. Who is your biggest competitor? Why?

Verona is my biggest competitor. She's a smart and bubbly kid. And she has the right attitude to get far in this competition.

What's your favorite challenge?

My favorite challenge is the first one, the Miele catwalk in Brussels. We were thrown into the competition and for the first time I felt how it's like to be reporting from a huge fashion event. What a rush!

What is the most memorable moment during shooting?

The most memorable and funny moment to me was when the stylists came over. I was told that there would be filmed in my house. Not knowing that it would be two stylists knocking on my door, I cleaned up my room but crammed all my clothes and stuff in every corner of my closet. I was literally freaking out when I opened the door and saw the stylists. They went straight for my closet and all I could think of was the mess that they would find and unmask on camera. But we had a good laugh about it afterwards.

What make Benelux different/unique from the other Fashion and Entertainment capitals of the world?

I think that the Benelux is unique in terms of fashion because they are known for their strong art and fashion education programs. The environment here is very supportive towards young talent. Also, I think there's an overall culture in the Benelux that appreciates quality, sustainability and slow fashion.