Rita Ora has no limits

“I love Rankin Studios,” Rita Ora says. It’s a few days after the multi-hyphenate’s shoot and she’s booked and busy. Between preparing to support Kylie Minogue on the Aussie singer’s Tension Tour and filming Voltron alongside Henry Cavill and Sterling K Brown down under, Ora is taking a beat to chat about some of her most recent ventures. Before that, though, the Let You Love Me singer allows a little reminiscence about her pre-stardom days: “I shot one of my first magazine covers [at Rankin Studios]. And I felt so, what’s the word? Just at home, really.” Returning to Kentish Town in 2025, she’s found that feeling hasn’t changed. One thing to note this time round, though, is the cover star’s clothing: Ora is decked out in the designs she recently created with Primark, something the singer describes as her “proudest” and “most natural” collaboration.

For Ora, the Primark collection is an ode to her teenage years — the days spent
rummaging around the store for everything from school uniforms to going-out looks. “When we announced our partnership,” she recalls, “it was all about why. And I think the story is something that will stand the test of time, because it’s true and it’s real.” Ora compares her affinity with the store to a “best
friend in [the form of] clothes” — something to rely on. “I wanted to give my fans something that feels fun and sexy and fashion-forward,” she continues. “And there shouldn’t be any limits to people feeling their best, even if [someone’s] price points are different. My fans aren’t people that wait in line for hours outside these really high-fashion stores. My fans are like me — they’re real, they’re grounded, they’re hardworking.”

“Grounded” is, in fact, an apt way to describe the Fifty Shades of Grey star’s beginnings. With her family having moved to Notting Hill from Kosovo as refugees when she was a one-year-old, Ora grew up with a strong sense of community and an aptitude for “hustling”. “I was really lucky to grow up in Portobello,” she says. “I met endless amounts of people and there was always something happening. I learnt a lot about thrift shopping and, you know, being patient and rummaging through all these bags — learning how to hustle and wheel and deal, get a price down.” Beyond the fashion aspect, though, Ora credits the west London neighbourhood for her being able to simply “understand life”. “Just being in that mixing pot of creativity and ethnicity,” she says. “I’m just so grateful I was able to grow up there and experience all these incredible artistic people and languages and foods.” It’s also a part of her life Ora is still very much connected to. From visiting her parents for a coffee to stopping
to say hi to the stall workers, she still fondly refers to Notting Hill as “home”.

This excerpt was taken from HUNGER Issue 34: Fight Back. Stay tuned for the full story.