Hanushka Toni is the co-founder of luxury preloved fashion platform, Sellier, which she runs together with her mother Dina Ibrahimova. Hanushka is originally from Azerbaijan but was raised in London.
Before starting Sellier, Hanushka worked as a lawyer before leaving the profession to pursue marketing as the Creative Director for Relevance, a luxury digital marketing firm. Hanushka is also a keen writer. She has written freelance commentary pieces for a range of publications including The Spectator Online. She lives between London and Monaco with her husband and two young children, and dreams of one day finishing her first book.
We caught up with Hanuska for the latest in our ‘My London’ interview series.
Favourite neighbourhood:
South Kensington will always have my heart. The little French bakeries, the coffee shops, the rows of perfect terraces. The tucked away little mews streets. Especially on a sunny day, there’s nothing quite like it.
Favourite place for brunch:
Zuma – if you live around Knightsbridge it is pretty much your local Pret. Usually it’s fully booked (even during the pandemic) but most days you can count on a seat by the counter. Order the sesame spinach, chicken skewers, Wagyu Gunkan and some nigiri rolls. I also like that it’s one of the few Japanese places in London to serve Sobacha green tea – it’s a tea based on buckwheat which has the most amazing caramel flavour.
Best coffee in London:
The coffee van at Borough Market. I used to have a Sunday job at the market selling fudge – one of the perks was the amazing coffee on tap.
Favourite gallery or museum:
The Sir John Soane’s museum in Lincoln’s Inn Fields, Holborn. It’s one of those places that you would never know is there and everything about it is unexpected. It’s a small house museum filled with the most amazing treasures of an obsessive Victorian collector and architect.
Tell us a secret:
I have loads, but none of them are good.
Favourite place to shop:
Um, Sellier Knightsbridge. No really. It might be my business but honestly the amount of money I spend getting high on my own supply is worrying. We are the UK’s biggest reseller of Chanel and Hermes – saying no to things I want is a daily struggle.
Favourite place to find inspiration:
New cities. It must be a metropolis. It has to be vast. And it needs to make me feel insignificant.
Best London destination for a date:
Fun night in Soho over Martinis.
Favourite park:
Hyde Park – the Serpentine and Kensington Gardens.
Favourite food market:
You really can’t beat Borough Market. But the Sunday Farmer’s Market in Duke of York Square is a close second.
Your sanctuary in the city:
The last thing I want in London is sanctuary – I love the energy. The busier and buzzier, the better.
What inspires you?
Great writing. Ian McKewan. Life’s perfectionists.
This season I’m loving:
I’m a simple girl; anything baby blue with a gold accent. I’m also making a conscious effort to buy less and to buy better. In practice that means not rushing to buy into the trends, getting things I love and enjoying them for a really long time.
