Q&A with Kenza Zouiten: Scandinavia’s Biggest Blogger… And Recent Guest at Hotel Balzac, Paris

6 January 2016

A Luxury Paris Stay in Pictures

Boyfriends, girlfriends, family, close friends and all manner of angst is exactly what you’d expect to find in most teenage journals. Kenza Zouiten’s was no different… apart from the fact she put it online, became the biggest blogger in Scandinavia, a TV presenter, fashion designer and a multi-millionaire.

Kenza has come a long way since she first began her blog at the age of 15. By the time she was 16, she had the biggest blog in Sweden, the national media began to take an interest in what she was up to… and she started to think about how she could turn her hobby into a business.

Eight years later and the young blogger is now a major cultural icon with a huge fan base. Fresh from picking up her 18th award (this time for Blogger of the Year from Social Media Party), Kenza joined up with Hotel Balzac in Paris.

After a quick tour of the hotel, we whisked the Swedish star over to the Galeries Lafayette for a gourmet afternoon tasting tour. Here Kenza experienced chocolate by Alain Ducasse and éclair de genie by Fauchon… before visiting the wine cellars for an eclectic selection of Champagne, ice cidre, whiskey and wine.

Back at the hotel Kenza was treated to an in-room massage, before we left her in peace to get on with her trip. After she’d made the journey back to Sweden, she kindly answered a few of our questions about her trip.

Q&A with Kenza Zouiten

How did you enjoy your trip to Paris… and what stood out for you this time?

“We had a wonderful weekend! This was the first time I have visited Paris in the winter time and it was so cozy with all the Christmas lights, the Christmas market and all that.“

What keeps bringing you back to our beautiful city… and do you manage to discover something new each time you come here?

“Paris has everything I love in a big city: amazing restaurants, fun nightlife, good shopping & friendly people… and the beautiful buildings and streets are just perfect for my outfit posts! Every time I go to Paris I fall more and more in love, and I always find a new favourite spot. This time it was the restaurant Miss Ko because of the nice vibe and the delicious Asian tapas.”  

What’s been your highlight of 2015?

“I can't only choose one, it's been a pretty good year! It all feels a bit unreal, but I won an award at the ELLE gala, I shot a big campaign in South Africa, I became one of the faces at the Hall of Fame at Stockholm Arlanda airport, did a couple of magazine covers and I also signed the biggest contract in my whole life (you'll know it all next year). “

Do you carefully plan your blog posts and imagery… or is your process more spontaneous?

“Most of my posts are very spontaneous, unless it is a collaboration or something like that. My blog is mostly about fashion I love taking nice photos, but I think it's important to also show the real side of my life so I mix them up with everyday photos."

If you weren’t a world famous blogger, what would you want to be?

"Since my passion is fashion I think I'd still work in this business. Or maybe I would have become a preeschool teacher. That was what I wanted to become when I was a kid!”
 
What are your plans for 2016?

“My plans are to work hard with IvyRevel (my fashion brand) and make it the biggest digital fashion brand in the whole world. I aim big! :-)”