“I just don’t take no for an answer!” Gabriel Waller, 25, personal shopper to the stars and styling wunderkind, is explaining how she became so successful so quickly. We’re sitting in a cafe in Sydney’s Paddington, in what is the unofficial hub of Sydney fashion. Almost every shop that isn’t a cafe is a designer boutique. Waller, a sort of clothing Nancy Drew, is in her element.

Bubbly and professional, Waller has come straight from another appointment to talk – with speed and acumen – about how she locates unfindable items, the ones shops no longer stock.