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Welcome to New York City,
the capital of the world.
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I remember when I got to New York.
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Coming from the airport,
you see the skyline,
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you just go, whew! This energy.
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It was more than what I imagined it to be.
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New York was just jumping.
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People singing on the corner.
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As a dancer,
the first thing I wanted to do
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{\an8}was go to the Alvin Ailey School of Dance.
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New York was vibrant
and the energy was incredible.
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I thought that New York City
was like magic.
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It had a little bit of that,
kind of, grittiness that it's known for.
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There was a lot of graffiti,
especially downtown.
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Here we go, off to the Limelight.
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I love that everyone
got dressed up to go out,
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and that's how it should be!
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We were supposed to
have dinner together...
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We liked going to Times Square
before Times Square got cleaned up.
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When there were peep shows,
we didn't go to the peep shows,
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but I'm just saying
New York was a different place.
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A little seedy, a little-- It was fun.
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My time in New York, in the fashion world,
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I do think it was kind of
the golden age, but...
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if it wasn't, don't tell me.
Don't ruin the illusion.
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How am I doing?
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You're doing terrific!
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Thank you!
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When I got to New York,
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I was twenty.
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I'd been in Chicago, so I knew
a little bit what a city felt like,
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but New York is its own thing.
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I remember trying to take the Subway,
but being a little intimidated by that.
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I would try to get taxis.
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Sometimes they would stop
and sometimes they wouldn't stop,
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and I could not for the life of me
figure it out until one day I realized,
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"Oh, the light has to be on".
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I'd put out my hands many times
on New York City streets,
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and the taxis would fly by.
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Then Christy would put out the hand
and then they would stop.
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The guy would be like,
"I don't wanna go to Brooklyn."
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I was just like, "Why is he saying that?"
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It didn't strike me until Christy
would have to stand out in front of me,
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get me a taxi to get to work.
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It was all new to me.
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It was exciting. It was challenging.
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Stand here for us...
You just made my day.
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I had a really good friend
who was a makeup artist,
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and she let me stay on her couch.
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After about three months, she's like,
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"I think you need to get
your own apartment."
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I got my first apartment
before I turned 18
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and then moved in straight away.
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And had that kind of, like,
big lofty thing,
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but without any food in the fridge
or any furniture, really.
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And I was working constantly
but your agency is taking a lot,
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and also, just rent
and all of the other things.
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Christy and I lived together.
We were roommates.
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We would just be silly
and have a laugh and have fun and...
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- felt so comfortable with all of them.
- Okay...
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They're my sisters.
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When I started working in New York,
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it was so very much this, like,
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nine to five, it's just a job job.
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It felt very much like Working Girl.
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I had to make my own way in the world.
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Mommy and Daddy were not bailing me out.
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Like, if I rented an apartment
and I couldn't pay my rent, guess what?
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I'm getting evicted and moving back home.
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There wasn't that cushion,
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which gave me a lot of drive,
and I hustled.
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Francesco Scavullo booked me
for Cosmopolitan.
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He liked me because I reminded him of Gia.
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{\an8}Gia was, like, a favorite
of so many photographers
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and so my agency said, "We have baby Gia."
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{\an8}Those girls worked hard,
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and they worked constantly.
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There was a feeling about them,
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that they wanted more
than just what was there,
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but they were driven to...
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...be better all the time.
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They were constantly seeking
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and wanting and curious and knowledgeable,
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and just driven.
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- When's it gonna be on? Tonight?
- Yeah.
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- Oh, great.
- If you stay up that late, 12:30.
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- Oh, no.
- Oh, no! Yeah!
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I have to work early tomorrow.
I don't think I'm gonna stay up.
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By the time I started to work a lot
with Vogue,
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I would say to the editors,
you know, like,
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"Well, I wanna work with Steven Meisel,
can I work with Steven Meisel?"
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And I remember Polly Mellen
telling me like,
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"I don't think you're his type, really."
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I was like,
"What do you mean I'm not his type?"
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Steven is one of
the great artists of our time,
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because he would look at a model
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and he will see through the model
to what they could be.
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When we started hanging out,
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Steven and I would go out
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{\an8}and with a Polaroid camera,
take pictures,
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{\an8}and you knew right then and there
that Steven had the eye.
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He could spot somebody,
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he could make them pose
the way he was imagining.
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He just had such a vision.
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Steven started photographing
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{\an8}in the very, very, very, early 80s.
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And he had gotten a studio
on 23rd Street.
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We used to call it "The Clinic,"
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'cause the girls would come in
and Steven would teach them how to model.
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The girls would change completely,
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and the ones that were great
would come out as superstars,
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{\an8}'cause they just took it,
they were absorbing all of it.
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{\an8}They wanted to learn.
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Steven Meisel had a mirror in the studio
for the models to look at themselves,
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giving the girl the authority
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to push herself to the nth degree
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because they would know
if the foot was in the right place or not.
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I remember...
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when I get called to work
with Steven Meisel for the first time.
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I was so hoping Steven would like me
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and he said,
"Can you walk? Like a big stride?"
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And I was like, "Yeah."
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And he said, "But do you think
you can hit the mark and stay in focus?"
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And I said, "Yeah."
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I did it over and over.
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{\an8}And then that was the beginning
of my relationship with him.
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{\an8}And we all got to be part
of the process.
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{\an8}It was my, like, my school.
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{\an8}He was very tactile always, as well.
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Like, come over
and actually hands on your hair.
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Help do the makeup.
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It was kind of our own little factory vibe
in that we played.
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We'd come to the studio
and if we didn't have a plan
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of what was gonna happen,
we all kind of got to
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work together and figure out
what that was gonna be,
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what the look was gonna be.
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It was just constant building,
destroying, building again.
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{\an8}He really created this very intimate
and safe environment on the set.
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{\an8}I felt like he really looked after me.
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You know, I just feel like
he cared how comfortable I was,
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or recognized maybe when I wasn't,
when I wouldn't have said anything, maybe.
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It was really, really a special,
family kind of bond.
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I was 16 when I got to work
with Steven Meisel for American Vogue.
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She arrives, her legs was already
as big as they are now,
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three meters.
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00:09:05,672 --> 00:09:10,427
So, immediately Steven called her Bambi
because she was Bambi.
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She was all shy, she was like...
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Well, she is not at all
but that doesn't matter,
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and she was a dancer
so she'd use her legs and everything.
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I'm trying to think.
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Very first one is the dancing pictures
and I don't know if they're in there.
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Working with Steven Meisel
is like an education.
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{\an8}He molds you, in just such a subtle way,
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{\an8}that you almost were like,
"How did he get that out of me
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because I didn't think I had that in me."
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I was very lucky
to meet this wonderful man
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who's still family in my life
and I love him dearly.
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And I understood
that you can have chosen families.
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I didn't meet my father,
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my mother had me at 17.
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I think he was the same age.
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That feeling of abandonment...
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It's nothing she could have done
to change that feeling with me.
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I also believe a lot of that
was part of my drive, too.
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Not having my father figure in my life.
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But then I got blessed.
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When I was 16, I was working in Paris
and I was on my own.
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But one day, my purse was stolen,
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I'd had all my money stolen.
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My traveler's checks, I should say.
Mum gave me traveler's checks.
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I was going to dinner with another model
'cause she felt pity on me,
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and that's when I met Azzedine Alaïa.
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{\an8}Azzedine Alaïa
was a very enigmatic designer.
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Azzedine really loved
playing with the female form.
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{\an8}Femininity is a whole thing.
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{\an8}I don't know, I can't define some things.
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I think his clothes were very slinky,
very sexy, very seductive.
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There's an architectural feel
to some of these pieces.
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But very comfortable. They moved with you.
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And he was just a sweet, sweet man.
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And he doesn't speak English.
I don't speak French.
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But there's something.
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And then he gave me an outfit,
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and he asked me to put it on,
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to see what his clothes looked like on me.
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And I put it on,
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and he liked how it looked.
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And then he asked me where I was staying,
and I told him, at the Hotel Lenox.
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He then said to me, "Where's your mother?"
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And I said, "My mother's in London."
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My mother speaks French.
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So, he said, "Call her."
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So, I called my mum, and they spoke.
193
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And he told to my mum
that he would take care of me,
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that I would stay under his roof
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and that I would be safe to stay there.
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My mother did not know
who she was talking to,
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never met him, but trusted him.
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And so the next day
or the next two days later,
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I moved into Rue du Parc-Royal.
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{\an8}Oh, I love this dress.
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- I've worn this.
- Oh, really?
202
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- Piece of art.
- Yeah.
203
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My papa was a genius.
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Yes, he was.
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There you are.
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I thought my papa was gonna live forever.
207
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I never imagined...
208
00:13:03,827 --> 00:13:07,122
I never imagined...
even thought about him leaving.
209
00:13:09,916 --> 00:13:13,253
Naomi became Alaïa's muse,
210
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you know, like, almost like family.
211
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He introduced me to so much in the world.
212
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I met so many amazing people.
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I learned about art, architecture, design.
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Most importantly, I got to watch him work.
I got to be part of his work.
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00:13:31,021 --> 00:13:33,106
And he really treated me like a daughter.
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I mean, like, made me breakfast,
made me dinner.
217
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I mean, we used to fight,
don't get me wrong.
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I would sneak out the window, go clubbing,
219
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they'd call and tell him
I was in the nightclub.
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He'd come down to the nightclub.
221
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And before he would take me home
he'd say, "You wore the outfit wrong"
222
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and he'd be fixing it.
223
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And, "You should have put
the belt like this and..."
224
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And you know,
225
00:14:00,217 --> 00:14:03,803
'cause you have to imagine
the boutique was my closet.
226
00:14:04,471 --> 00:14:07,182
What girl of 16-years-old
227
00:14:07,182 --> 00:14:10,227
has an Alaïa shop as her closet?
228
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When he passed away,
229
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{\an8}it was a shock to the system.
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{\an8}My life would have definitely
been different without him.
231
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He protected me in this business,
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he guided me.
233
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I mean, once...
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00:14:32,165 --> 00:14:36,962
art director felt the need to tell me
that he thought my breasts were perfect,
235
00:14:36,962 --> 00:14:39,381
but he felt the need
to have to touch them.
236
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I called papa immediately,
237
00:14:42,884 --> 00:14:46,596
I called papa right away
and papa called him up
238
00:14:46,596 --> 00:14:48,473
and read him.
239
00:14:49,099 --> 00:14:51,226
Never came near me again.
240
00:14:51,226 --> 00:14:55,522
It served that I opened my mouth
and would speak my truth
241
00:14:55,522 --> 00:14:58,108
because I believed that protected me,
242
00:14:58,108 --> 00:15:01,570
as well as who I was surrounded by.
243
00:15:04,823 --> 00:15:06,074
Hi, everybody.
244
00:15:06,074 --> 00:15:07,200
- Hello.
- Hello.
245
00:15:09,828 --> 00:15:11,705
In his fifties, Jean-Luc Brunel
246
00:15:11,705 --> 00:15:14,583
allowed himself to be filmed
during a casting in Florida.
247
00:15:15,500 --> 00:15:17,294
It's his favorite exercise,
248
00:15:17,627 --> 00:15:18,753
"chasing models"
249
00:15:18,753 --> 00:15:20,005
as they say in the business.
250
00:15:21,840 --> 00:15:25,635
Courtney Powell landed
at the Karin Models agency in Paris.
251
00:15:26,595 --> 00:15:30,891
"He started talking about sending me
for a bathing suit campaign.
252
00:15:32,976 --> 00:15:36,229
He told me that my measurements
had to be perfect,
253
00:15:36,938 --> 00:15:39,482
and that you have to have a certain look,
254
00:15:40,525 --> 00:15:42,777
and he wanted me to pull up my shirt.
255
00:15:42,903 --> 00:15:44,863
He started touching me."
256
00:15:45,238 --> 00:15:48,283
Courtney says that she
resisted him several times.
257
00:15:49,159 --> 00:15:52,037
"From the moment I said no
to Jean-Luc Brunel
258
00:15:52,037 --> 00:15:53,872
I no longer got any work."
259
00:15:53,872 --> 00:15:55,749
I met Jean-Luc Brunel,
260
00:15:55,749 --> 00:15:58,710
who's the infamous French agent
261
00:15:58,710 --> 00:16:03,256
{\an8}who was running Karin's agency
in Paris at that time.
262
00:16:03,256 --> 00:16:07,719
{\an8}And they were like partners,
the Fords and Karins.
263
00:16:10,347 --> 00:16:11,473
{\an8}I would go to Paris
264
00:16:11,473 --> 00:16:16,353
{\an8}and the Fords would have it set up
that I would stay at Jean-Luc's apartment.
265
00:16:19,856 --> 00:16:22,776
I think most of us are young.
266
00:16:23,485 --> 00:16:26,529
You're put in an environment
that you probably...
267
00:16:27,197 --> 00:16:29,199
is completely new to you, right?
268
00:16:30,951 --> 00:16:34,454
You know,
you're overpowered by a older man
269
00:16:34,454 --> 00:16:36,790
that's, like, going to guide your career.
270
00:16:36,790 --> 00:16:38,166
You trust him.
271
00:16:38,166 --> 00:16:40,794
You know, same old story.
272
00:16:43,672 --> 00:16:46,299
Nothing happened. Most of the time
he wasn't really even there.
273
00:16:47,551 --> 00:16:51,429
I got angry at just looking back
and thinking, like, survival sk--
274
00:16:51,429 --> 00:16:53,557
Like I can't believe that I'm okay.
275
00:16:59,396 --> 00:17:01,690
Nothing really surprises me about anybody.
276
00:17:01,690 --> 00:17:03,108
I feel like even people you know,
277
00:17:03,108 --> 00:17:05,360
you just don't know
what they're capable of.
278
00:17:06,861 --> 00:17:08,487
President of Elite Europe,
279
00:17:08,487 --> 00:17:12,449
{\an8}who coordinates the efforts
of the Elite offices on the continent...
280
00:17:12,867 --> 00:17:14,535
...Mr. Gérald Marie.
281
00:17:18,497 --> 00:17:19,916
I married my agent...
282
00:17:22,669 --> 00:17:24,295
...G érald Marie.
283
00:17:28,341 --> 00:17:30,969
Who I thought was, like, so charming,
284
00:17:30,969 --> 00:17:33,430
I liked how assertive he was.
285
00:17:34,264 --> 00:17:37,017
When she has Elite on her back,
it means the girl must be good.
286
00:17:37,017 --> 00:17:41,688
If an Elite girl doesn't bring in
$200-$250K a year
287
00:17:41,688 --> 00:17:44,274
we won't keep her.
288
00:17:45,942 --> 00:17:48,028
She was only 22, she was young.
289
00:17:49,571 --> 00:17:51,281
I never really saw him in New York.
290
00:17:51,281 --> 00:17:54,534
And when I met Linda,
she was already engaged to him.
291
00:17:57,662 --> 00:17:59,331
He really pushed me...
292
00:18:00,165 --> 00:18:02,000
...to work, so much.
293
00:18:04,461 --> 00:18:07,881
He... felt like a great guy.
294
00:18:09,466 --> 00:18:13,887
He told me he was
a German photographer's assistant.
295
00:18:14,596 --> 00:18:16,806
And I thought he was obnoxious.
296
00:18:18,225 --> 00:18:19,684
But something happened!
297
00:18:19,684 --> 00:18:22,187
And the next time I met him
I found out he wasn't.
298
00:18:23,605 --> 00:18:25,065
And I fell in love.
299
00:18:26,650 --> 00:18:29,277
See, it's very good to be
a German photographer assistant.
300
00:18:30,570 --> 00:18:33,740
I just wanna live happily ever after,
that's all.
301
00:18:35,075 --> 00:18:37,744
I lived in Paris about three years...
302
00:18:38,828 --> 00:18:41,039
...and climbed the ladder slowly...
303
00:18:41,998 --> 00:18:44,626
...before I felt like...
304
00:18:45,335 --> 00:18:46,586
...I really made it,
305
00:18:46,586 --> 00:18:48,672
I could start saving money.
306
00:18:49,214 --> 00:18:52,634
I started working with
really the top photographers.
307
00:18:54,052 --> 00:18:56,221
But I wanted to be on a cover of Vogue.
308
00:18:56,221 --> 00:18:59,015
Any Vogue, it was a dream for me.
309
00:19:01,309 --> 00:19:03,937
I went on a trip with Peter Lindbergh.
310
00:19:04,854 --> 00:19:08,108
Peter saw the androgynous side of me
311
00:19:08,108 --> 00:19:11,861
and he really wanted me
to cut my hair off.
312
00:19:12,904 --> 00:19:16,866
He explained to me, "We already did
so much with your long hair.
313
00:19:16,866 --> 00:19:20,662
I think you really need to do this
to go further."
314
00:19:22,706 --> 00:19:25,208
I asked my mother what she thought.
315
00:19:25,208 --> 00:19:28,753
She said, "But why?
You'll be the only girl with short hair."
316
00:19:28,753 --> 00:19:31,590
And I went,
"Well, that's not a bad thing."
317
00:19:33,508 --> 00:19:36,094
She just walked into the studio
and said, "I'm ready now,
318
00:19:36,094 --> 00:19:37,721
I want to cut my hair."
319
00:19:38,263 --> 00:19:41,391
And then Julien,
Julien who was her hair dresser,
320
00:19:41,391 --> 00:19:45,270
just took her whole hair back,
and said, "Is everybody okay?"
321
00:19:45,270 --> 00:19:48,231
And she said "No, no,"
and she start crying, no?
322
00:19:48,231 --> 00:19:50,275
And he took the scissors, and whap!
323
00:19:52,319 --> 00:19:54,529
It was gone in one zip, no?
324
00:20:00,869 --> 00:20:03,788
After that I went to Milano
325
00:20:04,331 --> 00:20:06,458
to do the fashion shows
326
00:20:06,458 --> 00:20:10,295
where I was booked for 20 shows.
327
00:20:10,837 --> 00:20:12,339
As I was doing my fittings
328
00:20:12,339 --> 00:20:14,633
and as they were seeing me,
329
00:20:14,633 --> 00:20:16,509
they all started canceling me.
330
00:20:17,177 --> 00:20:18,887
I only did four shows.
331
00:20:20,722 --> 00:20:21,723
Done.
332
00:20:23,975 --> 00:20:25,977
And the next day,
333
00:20:27,020 --> 00:20:28,647
instead of doing the shows,
334
00:20:28,647 --> 00:20:32,400
{\an8}Franca Sozzani put me
on the Concorde to Steven,
335
00:20:34,986 --> 00:20:36,488
who photographed me.
336
00:20:39,491 --> 00:20:41,576
And, like, two weeks later...
337
00:20:42,911 --> 00:20:44,913
{\an8}...I'm on the cover of Italian Vogue.
338
00:20:45,872 --> 00:20:48,583
And then, I was doing all the Vogues.
339
00:20:48,583 --> 00:20:50,126
I was doing British Vogue,
340
00:20:50,126 --> 00:20:52,504
French Vogue, Spanish Vogue,
341
00:20:52,504 --> 00:20:54,089
American Vogue.
342
00:20:55,215 --> 00:20:57,884
And this is, like,
the moment I thought I made it,
343
00:20:57,884 --> 00:20:59,719
after three years.
344
00:20:59,719 --> 00:21:03,682
I think that's where
I really gained confidence,
345
00:21:03,682 --> 00:21:06,935
and it just kept going from there.
346
00:21:08,353 --> 00:21:11,565
I think when you're a kid, you don't like
anything that makes you different,
347
00:21:11,565 --> 00:21:14,818
so having a beauty mark,
348
00:21:14,818 --> 00:21:17,153
which I tried to call it...
349
00:21:18,780 --> 00:21:22,242
You know, I didn't like it
and my sisters would tease me that
350
00:21:22,242 --> 00:21:23,868
a beauty mark is on this side,
351
00:21:23,868 --> 00:21:25,745
that it's on the left side
it's an ugly mark.
352
00:21:28,623 --> 00:21:30,041
Then when I started modeling,
353
00:21:30,667 --> 00:21:32,669
it was always a discussion.
354
00:21:32,669 --> 00:21:34,337
"Like, should we cover it with makeup,
355
00:21:34,337 --> 00:21:36,923
we can't really cover it with makeup
'cause it's not flat."
356
00:21:39,175 --> 00:21:42,971
{\an8}My first British Vogue cover,
they retouched it off.
357
00:21:42,971 --> 00:21:45,265
The jury was still out.
358
00:21:45,265 --> 00:21:46,474
Richard Avedon,
359
00:21:46,474 --> 00:21:50,061
the first time I worked with him
was for my first American Vogue cover.
360
00:21:50,061 --> 00:21:53,440
I'm a portrait photographer
as well as a photographer of women.
361
00:21:53,440 --> 00:21:57,193
{\an8}And the clothes are elements
that I can use for design,
362
00:21:57,193 --> 00:21:59,613
{\an8}as are the women, for form,
363
00:21:59,613 --> 00:22:03,825
{\an8}for a way of expressing
certain things, I feel.
364
00:22:04,784 --> 00:22:09,080
{\an8}Avedon is a legend among photographers,
365
00:22:09,080 --> 00:22:11,249
{\an8}a legend in the history of art,
366
00:22:11,249 --> 00:22:13,460
{\an8}within the history of photography.
367
00:22:14,461 --> 00:22:16,713
{\an8}Richard Avedon's work has always been
368
00:22:16,713 --> 00:22:20,800
what continues to resonate.
He's the master.
369
00:22:20,800 --> 00:22:24,846
{\an8}One of the most famous photos in the world
of Dovima with the elephants.
370
00:22:25,388 --> 00:22:28,850
{\an8}You've seen an Avedon before
even if you don't recognize it.
371
00:22:30,310 --> 00:22:33,980
{\an8}With Avedon,
it's a very different kind of energy.
372
00:22:33,980 --> 00:22:36,191
It's not like click, click, click.
373
00:22:36,191 --> 00:22:38,735
It's like, "Okay," and... click.
374
00:22:40,904 --> 00:22:43,698
{\an8}I think he liked that
I was a good student of his,
375
00:22:43,698 --> 00:22:45,450
{\an8}and I paid attention.
376
00:22:45,450 --> 00:22:49,120
{\an8}He taught me how to, like, bring it.
377
00:22:50,497 --> 00:22:52,707
{\an8}For, like, that spark.
378
00:22:53,667 --> 00:22:56,378
And it ended up that from that shoot,
I got two covers.
379
00:22:58,088 --> 00:23:02,133
{\an8}August,
and an October of 1986.
380
00:23:02,133 --> 00:23:05,387
{\an8}American Vogue left the mole on.
381
00:23:06,096 --> 00:23:08,098
And that was it,
it was never a discussion again.
382
00:23:08,098 --> 00:23:10,517
'Cause, it was kind of like,
the Vogue seal of approval.
383
00:23:10,517 --> 00:23:13,436
If it's good enough for Vogue,
it's good enough for everyone.
384
00:23:21,069 --> 00:23:23,238
Let's talk about the structure
of this issue.
385
00:23:24,864 --> 00:23:27,367
When's this issue need to be
ready to print?
386
00:23:27,367 --> 00:23:28,493
What's our deadline?
387
00:23:28,910 --> 00:23:31,663
- The end of February.
- Perfect.
388
00:23:31,663 --> 00:23:33,957
So, we're gonna to put Kehinde Wiley
389
00:23:33,957 --> 00:23:37,460
'cause he's doing my portrait for
the National Portrait Museum this year.
390
00:23:38,295 --> 00:23:40,297
I love this, but I love this picture.
391
00:23:40,297 --> 00:23:43,508
I love it, because we see Christy.
You see Kate.
392
00:23:43,508 --> 00:23:45,260
Bridget Hall.
393
00:23:45,927 --> 00:23:47,512
Oh, my God, you see everybody
394
00:23:48,513 --> 00:23:50,015
I don't want this one. No.
395
00:23:50,015 --> 00:23:51,892
We've got no models here.
396
00:23:51,892 --> 00:23:54,227
We got big sister Iman,
I was gonna say, yeah.
397
00:23:54,227 --> 00:23:56,021
I think Iman and Katoucha.
398
00:23:56,021 --> 00:23:57,022
Yes!
399
00:23:57,022 --> 00:23:58,356
And Farida.
400
00:24:06,907 --> 00:24:09,534
I appreciate the work
that Beverly Johnson, Iman,
401
00:24:09,534 --> 00:24:11,828
Naomi Sims, Donyale Luna,
402
00:24:11,828 --> 00:24:14,080
Gail O'Neill, Karen Alexander...
403
00:24:14,080 --> 00:24:17,459
I appreciate the work
of the ladies before me.
404
00:24:20,545 --> 00:24:22,047
But I wanted to take it more,
405
00:24:22,047 --> 00:24:24,799
I wanted to go further,
I wanted to push the envelope.
406
00:24:24,799 --> 00:24:29,638
I wanted what the white model was getting,
I wanted it too.
407
00:24:30,388 --> 00:24:32,515
So, in 1987,
408
00:24:33,016 --> 00:24:35,477
I asked for my first Vogue cover.
409
00:24:35,477 --> 00:24:38,813
It's like they don't know how to
answer me, they don't know what to say.
410
00:24:38,813 --> 00:24:42,400
And I felt a little awkward,
and I felt a little shrunken,
411
00:24:42,400 --> 00:24:45,403
like, I shouldn't have opened my mouth,
412
00:24:45,403 --> 00:24:47,489
I'm not gonna get a yes.
413
00:24:48,073 --> 00:24:50,575
There were so many restrictions on
what it meant to be a black model,
414
00:24:50,575 --> 00:24:52,661
and she had to really fight
415
00:24:52,661 --> 00:24:55,956
a system that essentially said
you had to be white
416
00:24:56,665 --> 00:24:59,167
to succeed on the runway
or in fashion magazines.
417
00:25:01,670 --> 00:25:04,381
So, I was at the time
working for Mr. Saint Laurent,
418
00:25:05,465 --> 00:25:06,466
so I told them.
419
00:25:08,510 --> 00:25:10,720
Mr. Saint Laurent
had always been supporting
420
00:25:10,720 --> 00:25:13,265
the idea that black models
are valuable too.
421
00:25:14,432 --> 00:25:17,352
I didn't know what type of power
Yves Saint Laurent had.
422
00:25:18,979 --> 00:25:20,313
Bravo!
423
00:25:21,189 --> 00:25:23,483
I didn't know
that Yves would say something.
424
00:25:24,776 --> 00:25:27,153
{\an8}That is one of my best collections.
425
00:25:27,153 --> 00:25:29,531
{\an8}It was very hard to do,
426
00:25:29,531 --> 00:25:34,786
and when it's hard to do, it's better.
427
00:25:34,786 --> 00:25:37,664
And the next thing I knew,
I was in New York
428
00:25:37,664 --> 00:25:39,874
with Patrick Demarchelier.
429
00:25:44,337 --> 00:25:47,507
{\an8}I had no idea until it came out
430
00:25:47,507 --> 00:25:51,136
{\an8}that it was the first time a black person
had been on the French Vogue cover.
431
00:25:51,887 --> 00:25:54,097
I didn't look at it as breaking a barrier,
432
00:25:54,097 --> 00:25:56,224
I just looked at it as,
433
00:25:56,224 --> 00:25:57,893
"This can't stop here.
434
00:25:57,893 --> 00:26:00,061
This just can't be the one token."
435
00:26:01,062 --> 00:26:03,732
But then I shot
my first American Vogue cover,
436
00:26:03,732 --> 00:26:06,985
and I had no idea
that it was for September
437
00:26:06,985 --> 00:26:08,361
'cause, you know, I'm still...
438
00:26:09,154 --> 00:26:12,574
What I did learn
about the magazines in America was
439
00:26:12,574 --> 00:26:14,993
February was Black month,
440
00:26:14,993 --> 00:26:17,287
and every February on all the magazines
441
00:26:17,287 --> 00:26:18,705
was a Black person.
442
00:26:18,705 --> 00:26:20,749
That I knew. That I got.
443
00:26:20,749 --> 00:26:24,669
But I hadn't realized that March
and September were their big selling...
444
00:26:25,670 --> 00:26:27,631
I was just going from job to job
445
00:26:27,631 --> 00:26:29,382
and just living my life.
446
00:26:30,634 --> 00:26:33,428
Once you're on the cover
of American Vogue, especially then,
447
00:26:33,428 --> 00:26:35,722
that was it.
Like, then we started doing runway shows,
448
00:26:35,722 --> 00:26:37,432
which was a new thing.
449
00:26:37,432 --> 00:26:41,603
Back in the day,
you were either a print model
450
00:26:41,603 --> 00:26:43,271
or a runway model.
451
00:26:45,148 --> 00:26:47,859
Fashion shows were like
very quiet little affairs
452
00:26:47,859 --> 00:26:51,071
and the only people attending were,
you know, fashion executives,
453
00:26:51,071 --> 00:26:54,491
people buying clothes
and the fashion press and that was it.
454
00:26:55,951 --> 00:26:58,286
There was a shift when
455
00:26:58,286 --> 00:27:01,373
the print girls started doing runway.
456
00:27:07,546 --> 00:27:09,464
When designers put all the girls
on the runway,
457
00:27:09,464 --> 00:27:11,967
{\an8}it changed the caliber of a fashion show.
458
00:27:16,096 --> 00:27:18,348
Now, the print girls
you see in the magazines,
459
00:27:18,348 --> 00:27:19,516
you have them in the shows,
460
00:27:19,516 --> 00:27:22,352
so it's like seeing
movie stars in the real.
461
00:27:23,311 --> 00:27:24,980
Everything was exciting!
462
00:27:24,980 --> 00:27:27,232
The girl was exciting on the runway.
463
00:27:27,232 --> 00:27:31,194
They were not walking like asparagus,
"Boom, boom, boom, boom," you know?
464
00:27:32,571 --> 00:27:36,533
These models were very strong
in the way they strutted out.
465
00:27:36,533 --> 00:27:39,869
{\an8}They showed their personality.
That was the whole point.
466
00:27:39,869 --> 00:27:42,247
Most of the time
I just looked straight ahead,
467
00:27:42,247 --> 00:27:45,834
and think about walking straight,
and putting a pleasant look on my face
468
00:27:45,834 --> 00:27:48,295
and looking at people who I know,
and going...
469
00:27:50,338 --> 00:27:53,508
I remember at one of
the Versace fashion shows,
470
00:27:53,508 --> 00:27:57,470
three photographers came backstage
and they said, "Could we speak to you?"
471
00:27:57,470 --> 00:27:59,306
And I thought I was in trouble.
472
00:27:59,306 --> 00:28:01,600
And they showed me pictures of me,
473
00:28:01,600 --> 00:28:05,270
and my eyes are down in all the pictures,
474
00:28:05,937 --> 00:28:10,233
because I'm looking at the front row,
and at my colleagues, my friends.
475
00:28:10,233 --> 00:28:14,529
And they said, "Can you please look at us
476
00:28:14,529 --> 00:28:16,740
when you get to the end of the runway?"
477
00:28:16,740 --> 00:28:20,410
And I said, "I'm so sorry, of course."
478
00:28:23,163 --> 00:28:25,498
So, when I looked up...
479
00:28:27,167 --> 00:28:28,710
...I was like, "Whoa!"
480
00:28:29,669 --> 00:28:33,340
I couldn't believe how many photographers
were there. I had no idea.
481
00:28:36,927 --> 00:28:39,471
The backstage vibe is very intense.
482
00:28:39,471 --> 00:28:40,972
But we loved it that way.
483
00:28:40,972 --> 00:28:44,517
We loved being hectic and the adrenaline.
484
00:28:45,644 --> 00:28:47,395
Girls, standby on this side of the stage.
485
00:28:48,897 --> 00:28:51,483
We all think,
"Wow, I'm the only imposter here,"
486
00:28:51,483 --> 00:28:54,861
like, I can pretend,
"Oh, yes, I, I'll have that wine,"
487
00:28:54,861 --> 00:28:57,572
or "Oh, Hermès, I love Hermès."
488
00:28:57,572 --> 00:29:01,910
I didn't even know what Hermès was
or whatever when I was a kid, right?
489
00:29:01,910 --> 00:29:04,913
But you quickly learn to fit in and adapt.
490
00:29:06,790 --> 00:29:09,668
Cindy was definitely the more serious,
491
00:29:09,668 --> 00:29:13,088
but we knew how to get her
to loosen and have fun.
492
00:29:13,088 --> 00:29:14,089
Tequila.
493
00:29:19,386 --> 00:29:21,972
The thing you have to love
about these women
494
00:29:21,972 --> 00:29:27,561
is that they didn't do this,
kind of, fake bullshit,
495
00:29:27,561 --> 00:29:30,397
kind of, walk, you know?
They just had fun.
496
00:29:33,984 --> 00:29:35,360
Nobody walked like Naomi.
497
00:29:35,360 --> 00:29:39,072
She had a walk that basically said,
"Get the fuck out of my way,
498
00:29:39,072 --> 00:29:42,158
'cause I'm owning wherever I'm going."
499
00:29:44,494 --> 00:29:46,580
I remember one show, my mother,
500
00:29:46,580 --> 00:29:50,208
who is, like, the straightest,
sort of, middle-aged woman.
501
00:29:50,208 --> 00:29:52,711
At this point,
she was probably in her mid-sixties.
502
00:29:52,711 --> 00:29:54,296
After the show,
she came up to me, she said,
503
00:29:54,296 --> 00:29:57,215
"Darling, I would have sex
with Naomi Campbell."
504
00:29:59,217 --> 00:30:00,594
The glory days!
505
00:30:01,261 --> 00:30:04,806
But, remember, in those glory days...
506
00:30:05,765 --> 00:30:07,601
...it wasn't perfect.
507
00:30:07,601 --> 00:30:08,935
Because...
508
00:30:10,812 --> 00:30:14,024
Because Naomi wasn't always booked
to do the shows.
509
00:30:16,568 --> 00:30:18,653
See, I didn't understand.
510
00:30:19,446 --> 00:30:23,033
Naomi, I thought was more beautiful,
511
00:30:23,617 --> 00:30:27,746
had a much more rockin' body than I did.
512
00:30:27,746 --> 00:30:30,206
And a better strut.
513
00:30:30,832 --> 00:30:33,877
And I'm, like,
"Why aren't they booking her?"
514
00:30:36,338 --> 00:30:39,925
When Naomi came,
designers were still, you know...
515
00:30:40,884 --> 00:30:43,553
"We only have one Black girl this season."
It was that time.
516
00:30:44,804 --> 00:30:46,765
"Black girls can only do shows
in the summer.
517
00:30:46,765 --> 00:30:49,684
Black girls can only wear
the bright-colored clothes."
518
00:30:49,684 --> 00:30:52,771
I said to them,
"If you don't book her, you don't get me."
519
00:30:54,814 --> 00:30:58,193
Linda and Christy absolutely
put themselves on the line.
520
00:30:58,193 --> 00:31:01,196
They stood by me, and they supported me.
521
00:31:01,196 --> 00:31:02,948
And that's what kept me going.
522
00:31:06,243 --> 00:31:09,621
I would do all these great shows,
wear all these beautiful dresses,
523
00:31:09,621 --> 00:31:11,623
but then it would come time
for the advertising,
524
00:31:11,623 --> 00:31:13,667
and I would not be included.
525
00:31:13,667 --> 00:31:16,086
And that used to really hurt me.
526
00:31:16,753 --> 00:31:21,800
And then sometimes,
I was booked just to appease me
527
00:31:21,800 --> 00:31:25,095
or to make me think,
"Okay, we're gonna use her."
528
00:31:25,095 --> 00:31:27,430
Then I'd go to the shoot and sit there
529
00:31:27,430 --> 00:31:29,975
from nine till six all day
and not be used.
530
00:31:31,309 --> 00:31:33,311
It made me more determined than ever.
531
00:31:33,979 --> 00:31:37,816
Not to ever be treated that way,
not to ever be put in that position again.
532
00:31:45,657 --> 00:31:48,118
Can we hold a wall
that Christy can lean against?
533
00:31:48,702 --> 00:31:52,122
- Yeah, totally. Black or white?
- White.
534
00:31:52,122 --> 00:31:54,374
We also have to do a Calvin Klein.
535
00:31:54,374 --> 00:31:57,627
With the cube, you mean?
It could just be the corner, maybe.
536
00:31:57,627 --> 00:31:59,254
- Yeah, or just like...
- So she can lean...
537
00:31:59,254 --> 00:32:01,464
Leaning. Yeah, I feel like...
538
00:32:05,093 --> 00:32:07,262
Christy, can we try profile a little?
539
00:32:07,262 --> 00:32:10,724
Like-- Yeah, beautiful. Calvin Klein vibe.
540
00:32:10,724 --> 00:32:12,851
Very Calvin Klein. Classic.
541
00:32:14,269 --> 00:32:17,272
I worked for Calvin Klein for 33 years.
542
00:32:20,233 --> 00:32:23,570
I was probably 17 or so
when I first met Calvin Klein
543
00:32:23,570 --> 00:32:26,990
and met the brand,
doing fashion shows and things.
544
00:32:29,284 --> 00:32:33,163
You know, it stood out for me,
I think even as a younger teenager,
545
00:32:34,164 --> 00:32:35,540
all the ads.
546
00:32:35,540 --> 00:32:38,668
I knew Calvin Klein jeans
and I knew Calvin Klein fragrances.
547
00:32:38,668 --> 00:32:40,962
Obsession was a big deal.
548
00:32:42,464 --> 00:32:44,466
What you want to do is create excitement,
549
00:32:44,466 --> 00:32:47,260
you want people to notice your ads,
550
00:32:47,260 --> 00:32:49,304
your print ads, or your commercials.
551
00:32:49,304 --> 00:32:52,474
In the kingdom of passion
the ruler is obsession.
552
00:32:52,474 --> 00:32:54,017
Calvin Klein's Obsession.
553
00:32:54,017 --> 00:32:55,518
Oh, the smell of it.
554
00:32:55,518 --> 00:32:57,437
"Ah, the smell of it."
555
00:32:57,437 --> 00:32:59,731
Now, when you hear,
"Well, the smell of it,"
556
00:32:59,731 --> 00:33:02,943
your mind goes
right to a very specific place.
557
00:33:02,943 --> 00:33:07,656
I have an effect on society.
558
00:33:07,656 --> 00:33:09,991
I mean, I can change attitudes.
559
00:33:09,991 --> 00:33:13,745
{\an8}I can make people feel a certain way.
560
00:33:13,745 --> 00:33:18,792
{\an8}He understood how to
use the tools at the time,
561
00:33:18,792 --> 00:33:22,796
You know, like,
the billboards, the magazines,
562
00:33:22,796 --> 00:33:28,134
to push his image in a very clean
563
00:33:28,134 --> 00:33:30,011
but controversial way.
564
00:33:31,221 --> 00:33:33,723
You wanna know what comes
between me and my Calvins?
565
00:33:34,182 --> 00:33:35,141
Nothing.
566
00:33:36,142 --> 00:33:41,064
{\an8}He always wanted everything
to be super erotic and sexy,
567
00:33:41,064 --> 00:33:43,650
{\an8}and everybody sleeping with everybody.
568
00:33:45,277 --> 00:33:47,237
And then there was AIDS.
569
00:33:47,237 --> 00:33:50,323
And they just wanted to chill
570
00:33:50,323 --> 00:33:53,076
{\an8}and they wanted to calm everything down.
571
00:33:53,994 --> 00:33:58,957
So, he had this perfume called Eternity.
572
00:33:58,957 --> 00:34:00,959
Which was about family.
573
00:34:00,959 --> 00:34:05,922
And he signed up Christy
as the face of Eternity.
574
00:34:07,340 --> 00:34:11,469
I have so many memories from that first
Eternity campaign in Martha's Vineyard.
575
00:34:13,221 --> 00:34:16,807
The photos were shot by Bruce Weber.
576
00:34:16,807 --> 00:34:20,061
It was really bonding and super fun.
577
00:34:20,061 --> 00:34:21,980
The sun's setting,
the light's really beautiful.
578
00:34:21,980 --> 00:34:25,191
{\an8}Look at these girls' pictures,
they have that desire.
579
00:34:25,191 --> 00:34:27,943
{\an8}The desire to stand alone and be somebody.
580
00:34:28,737 --> 00:34:29,653
Bruce Weber,
581
00:34:29,653 --> 00:34:33,407
he really changed photography and fashion
through his cameras.
582
00:34:34,075 --> 00:34:38,371
He changed girls from
that much more heavy makeup
583
00:34:38,371 --> 00:34:41,082
to the more natural girl
584
00:34:41,082 --> 00:34:44,336
that was healthy and just glowed.
585
00:34:45,211 --> 00:34:48,757
I made close to a million dollars a year
on that contract.
586
00:34:48,757 --> 00:34:53,428
I remember signing it, for some reason,
at night at some law office
587
00:34:53,428 --> 00:34:55,137
with my agents.
588
00:34:55,137 --> 00:34:57,349
I didn't have my own lawyer.
589
00:34:57,349 --> 00:35:00,185
I only had to work, like,
a hundred days a year,
590
00:35:00,185 --> 00:35:02,145
which is not a lot of work, really,
591
00:35:02,145 --> 00:35:04,356
and, of course,
I couldn't work for anybody else,
592
00:35:04,356 --> 00:35:07,025
and I couldn't-- Not even editorials.
593
00:35:07,025 --> 00:35:10,779
But the Eternity campaign
had a certain kind of visibility
594
00:35:10,779 --> 00:35:13,698
and so representing Calvin Klein
595
00:35:13,698 --> 00:35:18,328
felt very much like the pinnacle
of what was happening at that time.
596
00:35:19,746 --> 00:35:21,998
{\an8}Eternity, Calvin Klein.
597
00:35:24,542 --> 00:35:26,503
{\an8}Revlon new complexion make-up. Cindy--
598
00:35:33,885 --> 00:35:35,136
As a model,
599
00:35:35,136 --> 00:35:37,973
a cosmetic contract is the golden ticket.
600
00:35:39,099 --> 00:35:40,976
{\an8}It's, like, job security all of a sudden.
601
00:35:40,976 --> 00:35:42,185
{\an8}You're not waiting for like,
602
00:35:42,185 --> 00:35:45,272
"Oh, I might get that campaign,
I might not."
603
00:35:46,731 --> 00:35:49,109
Please welcome,
the lovely Cindy Crawford.
604
00:35:51,027 --> 00:35:53,822
Hi, how are ya? Nice to see you.
Thanks for being here.
605
00:35:58,451 --> 00:36:01,288
She has just now been named
the spokesmodel for Revlon.
606
00:36:01,288 --> 00:36:03,123
What does that mean? Free lipstick?
607
00:36:04,624 --> 00:36:07,878
Yeah. And that,
that and hopefully more freedom.
608
00:36:07,878 --> 00:36:09,379
More freedom to do?
609
00:36:09,379 --> 00:36:11,006
Anything I want.
610
00:36:11,882 --> 00:36:14,801
Things were really happening,
I was doing the right campaigns.
611
00:36:14,801 --> 00:36:16,970
Flex your hair and show off your body.
612
00:36:18,847 --> 00:36:21,516
And then all of a sudden, in '88,
613
00:36:21,516 --> 00:36:24,519
I was asked to do Playboy.
614
00:36:24,519 --> 00:36:28,607
Everyone in my life at the time
thought I shouldn't do Playboy.
615
00:36:29,232 --> 00:36:32,152
My modeling agency
didn't feel that that fit into,
616
00:36:32,152 --> 00:36:34,404
you know,
the type of jobs I should be doing.
617
00:36:35,989 --> 00:36:38,283
I think the brand
still had a connotation to it
618
00:36:38,283 --> 00:36:41,077
that maybe scared some people off.
619
00:36:41,745 --> 00:36:46,333
I understood the platform of Playboy
and what that symbolized.
620
00:36:48,168 --> 00:36:52,297
It was definitely
outside the normal trajectory
621
00:36:52,297 --> 00:36:55,675
for a Vogue model at the time.
622
00:36:55,675 --> 00:36:59,930
The offer came through Herb Ritts,
a photographer.
623
00:36:59,930 --> 00:37:02,724
Herb Ritts was someone
that I worked with a lot,
624
00:37:02,724 --> 00:37:07,187
and I stayed at his house
and we were very good friends.
625
00:37:07,187 --> 00:37:09,481
Part of what I do that's very important
626
00:37:09,481 --> 00:37:13,985
{\an8}is being able to suss something out,
to be a diplomat of sorts.
627
00:37:13,985 --> 00:37:16,196
So, you really have to be
one-on-one with someone
628
00:37:16,196 --> 00:37:20,075
and realize what they're about
and try to get what you want.
629
00:37:20,075 --> 00:37:22,994
I don't know. There was just something
about it that intrigued me,
630
00:37:22,994 --> 00:37:27,123
so against the advice of my agents,
I said yes.
631
00:37:27,123 --> 00:37:30,460
But I said, "You don't need
to pay me a lot of money
632
00:37:30,460 --> 00:37:32,629
as long as I can have the control
of the images."
633
00:37:32,629 --> 00:37:36,174
And I wanted the right to
kill the story if I don't like it.
634
00:37:36,716 --> 00:37:39,511
Herb and I combined it
with another trip that we were doing
635
00:37:39,511 --> 00:37:41,555
for French Vogue to Hawaii.
636
00:37:42,013 --> 00:37:43,807
{\an8}We would shoot a picture for French Vogue,
637
00:37:43,807 --> 00:37:45,600
{\an8}and we would shoot a picture for Playboy.
638
00:37:46,726 --> 00:37:49,604
{\an8}I mean, you almost couldn't tell
which pictures were for French Vogue...
639
00:37:50,313 --> 00:37:51,731
{\an8}...and which pictures were for Playboy.
640
00:37:51,731 --> 00:37:55,652
{\an8}It was very organic, and...
641
00:37:55,652 --> 00:37:56,903
I loved them.
642
00:37:58,488 --> 00:38:00,115
That's the whole thing for me is
643
00:38:00,115 --> 00:38:03,868
even if I make choices that
other people disagree with or don't like,
644
00:38:03,868 --> 00:38:06,788
if they're my decisions
and I have control of it,
645
00:38:06,788 --> 00:38:09,833
that's empowering to me,
even if it's doing Playboy.
646
00:38:11,585 --> 00:38:14,087
I never felt like
a victim of that decision.
647
00:38:26,016 --> 00:38:29,227
I don't feel like when I'm nude,
that I'm nude.
648
00:38:31,062 --> 00:38:33,857
It really depends who I'm shooting for.
649
00:38:33,857 --> 00:38:37,027
I could feel totally clothed,
650
00:38:37,027 --> 00:38:39,237
it's the concept and the way
651
00:38:39,237 --> 00:38:42,324
when it's tastefully done
you don't feel like you're nude.
652
00:38:49,664 --> 00:38:50,832
Might have made people think,
653
00:38:50,832 --> 00:38:52,709
"Oh, she really feels
comfortable in her skin."
654
00:38:52,709 --> 00:38:55,128
Not necessarily, I didn't.
655
00:38:58,548 --> 00:39:01,635
Just because I was not thinking of me,
656
00:39:01,635 --> 00:39:03,428
Naomi, showing myself,
657
00:39:03,428 --> 00:39:06,932
I felt like I was in some other character.
658
00:39:07,474 --> 00:39:09,976
So, I didn't necessarily feel like I was...
659
00:39:10,685 --> 00:39:13,563
I felt dressed, if you can believe that.
660
00:39:22,572 --> 00:39:25,742
I respect and admire people
who can be comfortable in their bodies
661
00:39:25,742 --> 00:39:27,535
and comfortable naked.
662
00:39:28,411 --> 00:39:30,956
If I'm working with somebody that I trust,
663
00:39:30,956 --> 00:39:35,126
and that I have respect for,
and I understand their vision,
664
00:39:36,711 --> 00:39:38,672
then I can take some risks.
665
00:39:40,048 --> 00:39:42,926
If I can trust that person capturing it,
666
00:39:42,926 --> 00:39:44,386
and I know what they see
667
00:39:44,386 --> 00:39:48,640
and I know that my comfort
is gonna make that image
668
00:39:48,640 --> 00:39:52,060
that much more exciting,
interesting, whatever,
669
00:39:52,060 --> 00:39:54,229
then I can, kind of, go there.
670
00:39:56,106 --> 00:39:59,818
But if that trust isn't there
and there's this sense of well, you know,
671
00:39:59,818 --> 00:40:02,571
like, "Go!" "Do it!
672
00:40:02,571 --> 00:40:04,739
You do your thing, I'm gonna capture it."
673
00:40:04,739 --> 00:40:05,991
I can't do that,
674
00:40:05,991 --> 00:40:10,412
like I can't, I can't just, like,
do all my... the things.
675
00:40:10,412 --> 00:40:13,582
That takes time and trust,
like, for any camera.
676
00:40:17,168 --> 00:40:20,297
Herb had the...
677
00:40:21,006 --> 00:40:25,552
I just never once felt even remotely
uncomfortable in front of his camera.
678
00:40:25,552 --> 00:40:27,721
There we go, and yeah,
there we go, that's it.
679
00:40:32,017 --> 00:40:34,853
The thing I love about this,
it's not about fashion.
680
00:40:34,853 --> 00:40:37,981
Obviously, they're nude,
but they were great friends
681
00:40:37,981 --> 00:40:39,983
and all of a sudden,
to just put them together
682
00:40:39,983 --> 00:40:41,902
and have them knowing each other.
683
00:40:41,902 --> 00:40:45,447
There's a great heart that comes
when I look at that picture.
684
00:40:45,906 --> 00:40:47,741
It's not overtly sexual at all.
685
00:40:47,741 --> 00:40:50,452
There's a true soulfulness
coming from these girls.
686
00:40:51,161 --> 00:40:54,372
You can feel their eyes. It's really
about their eyes and their looks.
687
00:40:55,707 --> 00:40:59,419
It's such a Herb picture because
we were naked but we weren't being sexy.
688
00:40:59,419 --> 00:41:04,591
There was, like, a simplicity to being,
you know, without clothes.
689
00:41:06,092 --> 00:41:08,762
But we shot it with and without Christy
690
00:41:08,762 --> 00:41:12,724
because Christy couldn't be
in the Rolling Stone edition at the time.
691
00:41:13,767 --> 00:41:16,728
I was working with Calvin and
I couldn't do anything with anybody else,
692
00:41:16,728 --> 00:41:19,689
so when Herb was like,
"Just get in for a couple of shots,"
693
00:41:20,690 --> 00:41:25,403
I realized that the desirability
of having a model in a campaign
694
00:41:25,403 --> 00:41:27,948
was because of all the things
that you're seeing out there
695
00:41:27,948 --> 00:41:31,368
and seeing somebody do interesting,
more edgy kinds of things.
696
00:41:31,368 --> 00:41:33,662
And then to kind of cut all that off,
697
00:41:34,120 --> 00:41:36,665
I don't know, it just, kind of,
wasn't that exciting anymore.
698
00:41:44,548 --> 00:41:45,674
All right.
699
00:41:50,303 --> 00:41:53,139
- It is so long, Mom.
- I know.
700
00:41:53,139 --> 00:41:55,267
I had to come all the way
from New York to cut your hair?
701
00:41:55,809 --> 00:41:59,104
{\an8}It's a little tricky with the mask,
I gotta say, working around your ear.
702
00:41:59,104 --> 00:42:01,648
I know. How short are you going?
703
00:42:03,441 --> 00:42:06,236
I was telling my friends
this morning at coffee,
704
00:42:06,236 --> 00:42:09,072
and I said, "Yeah, she cuts hair."
I said, "Yes!
705
00:42:09,072 --> 00:42:11,449
She used to cut even Oribe's hair."
706
00:42:11,449 --> 00:42:12,826
That's my claim to fame.
707
00:42:12,826 --> 00:42:14,661
I know, and he let you.
708
00:42:15,829 --> 00:42:17,038
A hairdresser.
709
00:42:19,165 --> 00:42:21,543
{\an8}Maybe you should do
your hair short again.
710
00:42:21,543 --> 00:42:23,211
{\an8}I think about it sometimes.
711
00:42:23,211 --> 00:42:25,255
And then I'm like,
it just takes so long to grow.
712
00:42:25,255 --> 00:42:28,216
- I liked it. I thought it was good.
- I do think about it sometimes.
713
00:42:28,216 --> 00:42:30,635
Like, "That was a haircut."
714
00:42:36,057 --> 00:42:37,559
Christy, look this way, please. Beautiful.
715
00:42:37,559 --> 00:42:38,768
I realized that...
716
00:42:39,644 --> 00:42:43,189
...I really hadn't been happy
with the Calvin Klein contract.
717
00:42:43,189 --> 00:42:45,108
It wasn't like a bad deal per se,
718
00:42:45,108 --> 00:42:49,237
but I hadn't really gotten to a place
of feeling burnt out or tired or anything.
719
00:42:49,237 --> 00:42:50,614
I was, like, ready to go.
720
00:42:51,114 --> 00:42:53,825
So, I sort of re-negotiated
my deal with Calvin...
721
00:42:54,701 --> 00:42:55,911
...by cutting my hair.
722
00:42:56,912 --> 00:42:58,955
When we were cutting it,
my friend Oribe cut it,
723
00:42:58,955 --> 00:43:01,499
we were laughing and saying,
"Oh, I'm gonna get in so much trouble,"
724
00:43:01,499 --> 00:43:03,335
but I didn't really think
I was gonna get into trouble.
725
00:43:04,211 --> 00:43:06,755
But it definitely was not received well.
726
00:43:06,755 --> 00:43:08,798
I think Calvin was really mad,
727
00:43:08,798 --> 00:43:13,345
because when you have a contract,
you have to continue that look.
728
00:43:13,345 --> 00:43:16,473
{\an8}So, to suddenly cut your hair off
in the middle...
729
00:43:17,140 --> 00:43:19,559
...was kind of a disaster.
730
00:43:20,018 --> 00:43:21,144
When I re-negotiated...
731
00:43:21,144 --> 00:43:23,063
- I know, it's hard. It's hard.
- It's also...
732
00:43:23,688 --> 00:43:25,982
...I still was able to stay close to Calvin
733
00:43:25,982 --> 00:43:30,237
and continue to work for Eternity
and actually opened his show
734
00:43:30,237 --> 00:43:33,240
the next season with my new haircut.
735
00:43:34,449 --> 00:43:38,036
It was sort of the end of an era
of those kinds of contracts
736
00:43:38,036 --> 00:43:40,121
because they just didn't make sense.
737
00:43:41,331 --> 00:43:44,918
Agencies have power,
738
00:43:44,918 --> 00:43:47,462
and yet they behave
like they don't have power.
739
00:43:47,462 --> 00:43:49,339
They're supposed to be working for you.
740
00:43:50,715 --> 00:43:53,468
Let's... I mean, like, let's be real,
this is not about personalities
741
00:43:53,468 --> 00:43:55,971
and, like, chemistry or,
like, we're really a family.
742
00:43:55,971 --> 00:43:58,181
This is, like,
this is a business for you all,
743
00:43:58,181 --> 00:44:01,101
and I never signed another contract
with any other agency since.
744
00:44:07,482 --> 00:44:09,859
This is Style and I'm Elsa Klensch
745
00:44:09,859 --> 00:44:12,862
{\an8}reporting on the design worlds of fashion,
beauty, and decorating.
746
00:44:13,989 --> 00:44:18,034
In the late 80s,
there was an explosion of new media.
747
00:44:18,034 --> 00:44:20,036
All of a sudden,
there was cable television
748
00:44:20,036 --> 00:44:21,288
and they needed more content.
749
00:44:21,288 --> 00:44:25,333
{\an8}We start with a story that's been hot
since the spring fashion shows...
750
00:44:25,333 --> 00:44:28,044
There was this new, kind of,
interest in fashion that was brewing.
751
00:44:28,712 --> 00:44:30,797
Elsa Klensch
was the first to look at style
752
00:44:30,797 --> 00:44:33,633
as a true fashion insider.
753
00:44:33,633 --> 00:44:36,094
Calvin Klein
experimented with silhouettes.
754
00:44:36,887 --> 00:44:39,890
{\an8}It's all close to the body,
they're very body-conscious clothes.
755
00:44:40,974 --> 00:44:43,101
And that started changing everything.
756
00:44:43,101 --> 00:44:44,936
People think of models,
you know what the image of models is.
757
00:44:44,936 --> 00:44:46,521
But obviously you must be bright
if you're, you know--
758
00:44:46,521 --> 00:44:48,857
What is the image of models?
I'd like to know.
759
00:44:48,857 --> 00:44:54,321
You mean, that we have, like,
single digit IQs and stuff like that?
760
00:44:54,321 --> 00:44:55,780
- I'm not saying that to you.
- No, but I mean...
761
00:44:55,780 --> 00:44:59,868
Before cable, large parts of America
were really culture starved.
762
00:44:59,868 --> 00:45:02,579
In a way, cable took what was going on
763
00:45:02,579 --> 00:45:04,623
with that vibrant culture in New York City
764
00:45:04,623 --> 00:45:06,958
and pushed it out by satellite
765
00:45:06,958 --> 00:45:08,209
all over the country.
766
00:45:10,420 --> 00:45:13,006
{\an8}When we started MTV in the early 80s,
767
00:45:13,006 --> 00:45:14,424
it was not only to play the hits,
768
00:45:14,424 --> 00:45:17,260
it also exposed people
to all sorts of new things
769
00:45:17,260 --> 00:45:18,887
in the popular culture.
770
00:45:19,721 --> 00:45:22,390
So, we said, "Let's do some more stuff
on what's sort of coming up
771
00:45:22,390 --> 00:45:23,850
as fashion from the streets.
772
00:45:23,850 --> 00:45:26,228
Let's try for a new face, a new host.
773
00:45:26,228 --> 00:45:29,981
MTV spokesperson for fashion."
774
00:45:30,857 --> 00:45:34,027
Fashion still was primarily female,
775
00:45:34,027 --> 00:45:37,906
and then all of a sudden,
Playboy was, like, primarily guys,
776
00:45:37,906 --> 00:45:39,157
it was a very different thing.
777
00:45:39,157 --> 00:45:42,202
I, like, doubled my audience
by doing that.
778
00:45:42,202 --> 00:45:47,082
And those two things together led to MTV.
779
00:45:47,082 --> 00:45:49,793
They wanted someone like a model
or someone from fashion,
780
00:45:49,793 --> 00:45:53,255
but they also wanted someone
that had male fans.
781
00:45:53,255 --> 00:45:57,342
That was like a 30 second
pitch meeting. "Let's do it.
782
00:45:57,342 --> 00:45:59,302
Can we get one on next week?"
783
00:46:00,887 --> 00:46:03,598
Welcome to House of Style,
I'm Cindy Crawford.
784
00:46:04,266 --> 00:46:06,685
It's like my first big piece for MTV,
right? I'm here by myself.
785
00:46:06,685 --> 00:46:08,812
I had no training in broadcasting.
786
00:46:08,812 --> 00:46:11,147
I'm gonna show, like, the whole look.
So, you walk down the runway,
787
00:46:11,147 --> 00:46:12,732
take the coat off.
788
00:46:12,732 --> 00:46:15,569
It was bringing together music and fashion
789
00:46:15,569 --> 00:46:18,113
and pop culture
790
00:46:18,113 --> 00:46:21,825
and, like, putting it into,
like, a mixing bowl.
791
00:46:21,825 --> 00:46:23,326
And we didn't really care what came out.
792
00:46:24,828 --> 00:46:26,037
Hi, I'm Cindy Crawford.
793
00:46:26,037 --> 00:46:29,165
{\an8}Welcome to House of Style,
coming to you this time from Paris.
794
00:46:29,165 --> 00:46:31,209
She would mine and create episodes
795
00:46:31,209 --> 00:46:32,794
and bring in her friends
and acquaintances,
796
00:46:32,794 --> 00:46:34,296
people she knew from the business.
797
00:46:34,296 --> 00:46:36,423
{\an8}We don't like wearing clothes.
No, that's a joke.
798
00:46:36,423 --> 00:46:37,382
{\an8}Naomi, behave yourself.
799
00:46:38,300 --> 00:46:40,218
{\an8}She began to incorporate designers.
800
00:46:40,218 --> 00:46:41,803
{\an8}The length is a little bit long.
801
00:46:41,803 --> 00:46:44,222
{\an8}We definitely took the pads
out of the boob, too.
802
00:46:44,222 --> 00:46:47,183
I'm one of the old models that has boobs.
803
00:46:47,183 --> 00:46:49,644
It gave me an opportunity to talk
804
00:46:49,644 --> 00:46:53,899
and I was able to bring
a little bit more of myself
805
00:46:53,899 --> 00:46:55,567
to my public persona.
806
00:46:55,567 --> 00:46:57,319
It shows your little beauty mark.
807
00:46:57,319 --> 00:47:00,030
That all felt very empowering to me.
808
00:47:00,030 --> 00:47:02,699
That about wraps it up
for this edition of House of Style.
809
00:47:02,699 --> 00:47:05,327
I'm Cindy Crawford
and I'll see you again real soon.
810
00:47:05,327 --> 00:47:06,244
Bye.
811
00:47:07,746 --> 00:47:12,375
{\an8}British Vogue wanted Peter Lindbergh
to shoot a cover to represent
812
00:47:12,375 --> 00:47:15,462
the new idea of beauty for the '90s.
813
00:47:15,462 --> 00:47:19,007
And Peter said,
"I can't do it with just one woman."
814
00:47:19,925 --> 00:47:25,096
He reached out to me
and to Cindy, Naomi, Linda and Tatjana.
815
00:47:27,140 --> 00:47:30,644
We all worked together in various
combinations a lot at that time,
816
00:47:30,644 --> 00:47:34,439
so we all came just in our jeans
and I remember being in Tribeca.
817
00:47:36,691 --> 00:47:39,277
Peter always gets super excited
when he shot and, like,
818
00:47:39,277 --> 00:47:41,947
you know,
"Ah, I'm so excited, so excited."
819
00:47:42,572 --> 00:47:45,116
And I was also just out of
my Calvin contract too.
820
00:47:45,116 --> 00:47:47,953
So, just to be together as a group,
821
00:47:47,953 --> 00:47:50,205
it just was so fun.
822
00:47:53,333 --> 00:47:54,626
It wasn't about the fashion.
823
00:47:55,835 --> 00:47:57,879
It wasn't about the hair and the makeup.
824
00:48:00,674 --> 00:48:01,925
It was about the women.
825
00:48:10,267 --> 00:48:11,434
Welcome back to The Week in Rock.
826
00:48:11,434 --> 00:48:14,229
George Michael has a new video
just out for "Freedom! '90",
827
00:48:14,229 --> 00:48:17,816
the second single off his latest album
Listen Without Prejudice Volume One.
828
00:48:17,816 --> 00:48:21,403
Once again, Michael himself has declined
to actually appear in the clip.
829
00:48:21,403 --> 00:48:24,864
Instead, he's delegated a flock of
Elite and Ford agency fashion models
830
00:48:24,864 --> 00:48:26,616
to do his lip syncing for him.
831
00:48:26,616 --> 00:48:28,326
I made decisions a couple years ago
832
00:48:28,326 --> 00:48:31,871
to change the way my career was going
and my life was going...
833
00:48:32,289 --> 00:48:35,041
...by not appearing in videos.
834
00:48:35,041 --> 00:48:36,626
By not being interviewed.
835
00:48:36,626 --> 00:48:37,752
By not doing press.
836
00:48:37,752 --> 00:48:41,339
Basically, letting my music,
kind of, do what it's gonna do.
837
00:48:42,090 --> 00:48:45,635
We get this phone call
that George Michael wants to shoot us in--
838
00:48:45,635 --> 00:48:47,095
Wants us in his video.
839
00:48:47,095 --> 00:48:49,139
George was like,
"It has to be this group of women."
840
00:48:49,139 --> 00:48:50,140
It had to be all of us.
841
00:48:50,140 --> 00:48:51,600
So, we go talk.
842
00:48:51,600 --> 00:48:53,101
"Are you doing this?"
"Are you doing this?"
843
00:48:53,435 --> 00:48:56,104
I wasn't interested initially at all,
844
00:48:56,104 --> 00:48:59,149
because it wasn't fashion.
845
00:48:59,149 --> 00:49:02,319
And at some point, we made a decision,
like, a group decision.
846
00:49:02,777 --> 00:49:04,946
I said, "I will do it."
847
00:49:04,946 --> 00:49:07,073
- "I'm gonna do it!"
- I said, "Yes, okay, I'll do it."
848
00:49:07,532 --> 00:49:09,159
So, who's gonna tell George?
849
00:49:11,369 --> 00:49:14,122
Basically, I'm in a nightclub in LA.
850
00:49:14,122 --> 00:49:16,666
Roxbury's, actually, on Sunset.
851
00:49:17,292 --> 00:49:20,921
And George is there.
And he comes up to me and he says,
852
00:49:20,921 --> 00:49:22,881
"So, what is it that you guys want?"
853
00:49:22,881 --> 00:49:27,260
I said, "We want this much money
and round trip Concorde tickets!"
854
00:49:28,511 --> 00:49:30,680
He goes, "And that's it?"
I said, "That's it."
855
00:49:33,600 --> 00:49:36,019
When George pitched me his idea,
856
00:49:36,686 --> 00:49:39,564
he said, "What do you think
about doing the entire video
857
00:49:39,564 --> 00:49:43,568
with just amazing looking women
lip syncing?"
858
00:49:43,568 --> 00:49:44,945
So that he didn't have to.
859
00:49:44,945 --> 00:49:47,239
And I said...
860
00:49:47,239 --> 00:49:49,699
"Knock me over with a feather
and throw a sheet over me,
861
00:49:49,699 --> 00:49:51,534
that sounds like a great idea."
862
00:49:58,917 --> 00:50:00,043
When I got to the set,
863
00:50:01,503 --> 00:50:03,296
and they wanted me to lip sync,
864
00:50:03,296 --> 00:50:05,882
I didn't know the words.
865
00:50:06,967 --> 00:50:10,554
I had to learn them very quickly
in the trailer
866
00:50:10,554 --> 00:50:12,722
while they were doing my hair and makeup.
867
00:50:21,189 --> 00:50:23,108
I just remember it being super dark
868
00:50:23,108 --> 00:50:26,319
and someone explaining to me
that I was gonna be in a bathtub.
869
00:50:28,446 --> 00:50:29,990
I was like, "Really?"
870
00:50:30,574 --> 00:50:32,784
I felt like everyone else
had a better part than me.
871
00:50:40,542 --> 00:50:42,794
These girls knew
how to position their faces.
872
00:50:42,794 --> 00:50:44,296
They could find their light
873
00:50:44,296 --> 00:50:46,256
and when we gave them a character,
874
00:50:46,256 --> 00:50:47,924
they brought something to it.
875
00:50:50,802 --> 00:50:51,970
They sucked you in.
876
00:50:54,723 --> 00:50:56,641
My very first scene that I shot was
877
00:50:56,641 --> 00:50:59,811
where you just see my eyes
through, like, this cutout.
878
00:51:00,770 --> 00:51:03,148
You see my mouth, then you see my eyes,
you see my mouth, you see my eyes.
879
00:51:03,148 --> 00:51:05,609
And anytime I dip down
it's because I don't know the words yet.
880
00:51:05,609 --> 00:51:08,361
I'm not that great with lyrics.
881
00:51:10,864 --> 00:51:13,158
We were not knowing the impact
882
00:51:13,158 --> 00:51:15,535
that that video had at all.
883
00:51:16,953 --> 00:51:19,289
We didn't have time to know
because, honestly,
884
00:51:19,289 --> 00:51:21,666
we were just jumping from next country
to the next country.
885
00:51:23,418 --> 00:51:25,295
"Freedom" had just come out.
886
00:51:26,671 --> 00:51:28,632
{\an8}I was talking to Gianni and said,
887
00:51:28,632 --> 00:51:30,425
"Why don't you get the girls?"
888
00:51:30,425 --> 00:51:32,761
"The gorgeous girls on the runway?"
889
00:51:33,970 --> 00:51:36,848
We got there,
saw our clothes, did our rehearsal.
890
00:51:36,848 --> 00:51:37,933
And then the song came on.
891
00:51:37,933 --> 00:51:40,477
And then it was like,
"Oh, I get what you're doing."
892
00:51:47,025 --> 00:51:49,444
You just can't imagine the excitement,
893
00:51:49,444 --> 00:51:51,488
the energy, the sort of, madness
894
00:51:51,488 --> 00:51:53,198
of when Gianni Versace
895
00:51:53,865 --> 00:51:55,951
had all the supermodels together.
896
00:51:55,951 --> 00:51:58,036
I mean, he really caught that moment.
897
00:52:03,041 --> 00:52:05,293
Each one of them
had this strong personality
898
00:52:05,293 --> 00:52:07,087
and they're not afraid to show it.
899
00:52:07,796 --> 00:52:11,049
The combination of fashion
and their personality was magic.
900
00:52:13,468 --> 00:52:14,719
It was a moment.
901
00:52:14,719 --> 00:52:16,513
It was the moment of Gianni Versace
902
00:52:16,513 --> 00:52:19,683
and the way he wanted
to produce sexy women
903
00:52:19,683 --> 00:52:21,142
who were also strong women.
904
00:52:24,604 --> 00:52:27,315
This incredible song,
this incredible designer,
905
00:52:27,315 --> 00:52:29,234
the moment of the women singing the song.
906
00:52:29,234 --> 00:52:30,902
It was just like it all came together.
907
00:52:34,239 --> 00:52:35,365
We could feel that moment.
908
00:52:35,365 --> 00:52:37,993
That is a moment that you kind of knew
would be iconic, actually.
909
00:52:43,957 --> 00:52:47,168
Was like,
"Okay, that's what a supermodel is."
910
00:52:49,504 --> 00:52:52,632
I didn't imagine that it was going to
911
00:52:52,632 --> 00:52:56,219
catapult us to another level.
912
00:52:57,762 --> 00:53:01,516
{\an8}They were not like other people,
they weren't just beautiful.
913
00:53:02,559 --> 00:53:05,562
{\an8}They stand out,
they were really becoming iconic
914
00:53:05,562 --> 00:53:06,980
{\an8}and, you know, memorable.
915
00:53:07,564 --> 00:53:08,690
{\an8}And important.
916
00:53:09,357 --> 00:53:10,901
{\an8}They became household names.
917
00:53:10,901 --> 00:53:13,320
And I think that
really solidified the supermodel.
918
00:53:14,487 --> 00:53:16,031
We looked powerful,
919
00:53:16,531 --> 00:53:18,658
and then we started believing that.