IF you aren’t one of her 3.4 million (and growing) followers, you might not have heard of Perrie Sian yet. But with her videos getting more than 100 million monthly views, the 34-year-old influencer’s career is set to go stratospheric.
She rose to fame during the pandemic, sharing her fashion hauls – nicknamed Perrie’s Primark Picks – on Facebook, before pivoting to Instagram and TikTok. Big brand deals followed, as well as a successful podcast, Can I Be Candid?, which has just finished a sellout UK tour.
Perrie Sian with mum Louise, who stars in her videos. Perrie has gone from pandemic fashion hauls to a social media sensation with 3.4m followers Credit: perrie sian
And when she launched her own fashion line, Reasn, last October, it generated £1million in sales within its first 30 minutes of trading, making her the perfect choice to front our Style Issue.
Perrie now splits her time between her £1.1m Bedfordshire home with fiancé DJ Ricci Mandal, 33, who she has been in a relationship with for 10 years, and their plush new villa in Spain.
But this level of luxury is a world away from how Perrie grew up, with debt collectors banging on the door.
“I didn’t come from money at all,” she says. “I came from a very humble home. My mum and dad split up when I was two. My stepdad has been like my dad. He worked as a landscape gardener.
“We had a nice enough life, but then they separated when I was 13. That was the first time I had the feeling of: ‘Does this mean we have no money?’ And yes, it basically meant that.
“My mum Louise was a single parent bringing up three girls. It was really hard. She hadn’t worked in a while and her confidence was gone. I watched my mum have to pick herself up. Until I was able to get a job at 16, it was really difficult.
“All my best friends’ parents were still together and happy. They were getting cars and driving lessons. I thought: ‘Why not me?’ I always felt like the odd one out.”
But while she felt envious, it’s what inspired Perrie to want to change her life.
She rose to fame during the pandemic, sharing her fashion hauls – nicknamed Perrie’s Primark Picks – on Facebook Credit: Perrie Sian
Perrie now splits her time between her £1.1m Bedfordshire home with fiancé DJ Ricci Mandal, above, who she has been in a relationship with for 10 years, and their plush new villa in Spain Credit: Perrie Sian Instagram
“Ultimately, it gave me the fire to do something bigger,” she says. “I had aspirations. It sounds awful – I love my mum and dad, but my biggest motivation was to not end up like them. And that’s the truth.”
Having parents who weren’t financially savvy unfortunately had a knock on-effect.
“I started my first job at Coast on my 16th birthday. I was earning money, but I had no concept of how to save it,” she says.
“My mum and dad were always bad with money. We would have someone come to the house every Friday, and I was told it was an Avon lady, but it was actually a debt collector.
“Things wouldn’t be paid that should have been, like council tax. My parents would prioritise luxuries over basics. And unfortunately, I was a product of that.”
By the time she turned 17, Perrie was working three jobs, but still she struggled for money.
“I’d get credit cards and not pay them off. I’d get parking tickets and run up debt there. I had all these pay-day loans, which were really high interest. I had no financial control.
“I was in about £15k of debt and only earning £12k a year. I’d hidden it all from my family. I felt really stuck,” she says.
One of her biggest motivations, Perrie says, is making the people who surround her happy Credit: Euan Danks
With Stacey Solomon, Stacey’s sister Jemma and influencer Samantha Stone Credit: Perrie Sian Instagram
Perrie says: “One of the lowest points was when I was skint and wanted to go out. My phone had been cut off, because I hadn’t paid the bill.
“I went to McDonald’s and used the Wi-Fi there to apply for a pay-day loan to go out. I look back now and think how silly I was.
“One day, my mum rang me and said: ‘There’s someone at the door demanding money’. That was the moment I thought: ‘I need to do something about this’.
“So I set up payment plans. It took me nearly five years to pay off the debt.”
The repercussions continued even after her influencer career had taken off, though.
“My credit score was so bad for 10 years, and I couldn’t get a mortgage until I was 30.
“I was in a totally different position financially by then. I wanted to buy a house with Ricci, but we couldn’t,” she says.
“It was so embarrassing. I couldn’t even get a phone contract. So many people are struggling and don’t want to speak out about it because of the shame.”
Thankfully, Perrie’s days of scraping by are long gone. Her success as an influencer hasn’t just improved her life, but all her family and friends’ lives, too, which has led to her being described as the UK’s answer to US influencer Alix Earle.
“I’ve made a lot of money, but I’ve been clever. I’ve invested a lot. I feel huge commercial brands are realising the power of influencers now,” she says.
Perrie is the face of our Style Issue, opening up about life in the spotlight, her ambitions for the future and the people who have helped shape her career. Credit: Euan Danks
Perrie tells how she’s turned her social media success into a fashion empire while bringing her family along for the ride Credit: Euan Danks
“I have all my family working for me. There’s only one left who doesn’t. Ricci’s sister is my PA to help with my admin and all the haul returns. My sister Vicky has joined me full-time, too.
“My mum has always done bits for me – she would take my photos before I was well-known. She worked at a post office, but I wanted to give her a better life. And I’ve employed my dad to do our house maintenance and gardening.
“I have terrible eating habits, so Ricci’s mum, who has a background in cooking, is now in charge of all our meals and food shopping.
“My best friend from school, Harry, is the production manager of my podcast and another friend is my lawyer. It’s a real squad.”
One of her biggest motivations, she says, is making the people who surround her happy.
“That doesn’t mean that I have to loan them money or anything. It’s about thinking: ‘How can my success become your success?’
“I’ve bought my mum and dad houses near me. I’ve really invested back into my family, because without them I wouldn’t be here.”
But, as Alix Earle conceded in her Netflix show, Earle Meets World, employing so many of those close to you comes with a huge responsibility to keep your career going at a certain level.
“It’s a really big pressure,” Perrie admits. “Ricci says to me: ‘There’s a lot of people on our pay roll’, but it motivates me to keep going.”
Perrie doesn’t just give back to her family and friends. Unlike some influencers who flog their freebies online, she prefers to sell them off and donate the earnings to charity.
“I’m not arsed with designer stuff any more,” she says. “I bought a Birkin and I hate it. It was £8k. I’m selling it.
“I realise I’m privileged now and I’m in a position that I can pass it on. But I don’t want money for them. I think: ‘How can I do something good?’
“I look at people’s GoFundMe pages for all different things, like a dog that needs an operation.
“Every year, I pay for 10 families’ Christmas dinners, too. I feel so strongly that I can make other people’s lives better, as I know what it’s like to struggle.
“If someone had done something like that for me in the past, it would have made a real difference.”
As for the future, Perrie has ambitious plans. She was hosted as a guest of ITV at the National Television Awards last week, with insiders saying they are grooming her for big things.
“I’d love to become more of a household name,” she says. “I’d love to have a fashion show on TV like How To Look Good Naked. We’re missing a modern-day version of that with a bit of a makeover and giving people some confidence.”
And she’s got a secret weapon to help her crack the small screen, as she’s been given advice by a huge star she met on holiday – Stacey Solomon.
The pair bonded during a Space NK press trip to Miami in May, which they enjoyed so much, they extended their trip. They also went to Turkey with Stacey’s family over the summer.
“Stacey’s one of those people who will genuinely help you. She has given me advice I have held so close to my chest to help me move into this new era.
“I just really like her as a person. She makes me feel comfortable. I don’t feel intimidated or like I’m less than, even though her success is incredible and she’s still going 20 years on.
WHAT WAS THE LAST. . .
TV show you watched?
The Real Housewives: Ultimate Girls’ Trip.
Thing you bought?
Salomon trainers from Asos.com, but I’ve been told they’re not cool any more, so I’m sending them back!
Person you texted?
Adam Frisby, who runs Reasn with me. He’s my most contacted on my phone – more than Ricci.
Time you cried?
Watching Bon Jovi at Wembley. I got so emotional.
Gig you went to?
Jay-Z.
“She’s so relevant and juggling five kids. I’m so inspired by her.”
It’s not just Stacey offering career advice – there’s also Molly-Mae Hague.
“I got to know Molly-Mae through my best friend, [fellow influencer] Tayla-Blue Watts, who I’ve known for years,” she says. “They were pregnant at the same time.
“What she’s achieved is insane. I’m so inspired by her, honestly. We give each other advice all the time because she obviously has her fashion business, Maebe, and I have a fashion business. She’s great.”
But while Perrie is keen to emulate both Stacey and Molly-Mae’s success, she’s not convinced she wants to follow in their footsteps and have children just yet.
“I want to get married, but the thought of actually organising a wedding makes my skin crawl,” she jokes. “We’re not in a rush.
“But I don’t know about kids. I might wake up tomorrow and say: ‘Yes, let’s get pregnant,’ but then the next day I think: ‘No, that’s not going to happen’.
“I see Tayla with her daughter Storie, and Molly-Mae with daughter Bambi and son Midas, and think: ‘Oh, that’s nice. I’d love that’. But I really enjoy my life now.
“I have had a lot of parents give me advice who have said: ‘If you don’t feel ready, then don’t do it.’ I might start the process of freezing my eggs, which I think is sensible.”
Thankfully, Ricci feels the same.
“He’s not massively craving it, either. I think if you are both feeling like that, it’s probably best to wait. And if it doesn’t happen, that’s OK. I think we need to normalise this a bit more, that some women don’t want to have kids,” she says.
“I know if I had a child now, I wouldn’t be sitting here, because it does affect your career. And I can’t tell you how difficult I would find that.
“I’m a go-getter. It’s not that I’m never happy, but I always want more.
“And I’m going to do it because I’m one of those people – I will keep pushing the door down. Tell me no, I’ll come back stronger. I don’t particularly need to do it, but I’m going to do it.
“And it’s going to happen. So get ready!”
