Karlie Kloss isn’t your average supermodel. For starters, she’s impossibly nice – sincerely so – with none of the cool girl pretense of some of her peers. She’s also a savvy businesswoman, philanthropist, baker and student: the profits from her vegan cookies, Klossies, go to charities feeding children worldwide; she offers Kode With Klossy scholarships that teach young women technical skills and she’s currently building on her own digital expertise by taking classes at NYU.
And now she’s thrown David Jones ambassador into the mix, as the face of the department store’s new Autumn/Winter 2017 campaign. Right before she makes her Australian runway debut, we sat down with the star to talk fitness, fashion and curling your lashes with a teaspoon (Karlie promises it works).
On modeling
“I think my very first show walking for Calvin Klein when I was 15 has been the highlight. It was the first time I’d ever been to New York Fashion Week and it was a bit of a Cinderella moment for me. I was in high school like a normal student just a couple of days before and walking on that runway was this entry point into a whole new world. That was the breakthrough moment for me and it hasn’t stopped since.”
On her ballet body
“I did ballet my whole childhood, my whole life, before modeling. That was my main focus and how I spent all my nights and weekends, in my ballet slippers, in my pointe shoes, at the ballet studio. I think that really trained my brain to be conscious of taking care of my body; being a dancer is hard work and you have to have good energy and be strong.”
On body confidence
“For me, as a young girl, ballet was a way for me to feel confident and strong. Especially as I was very tall – at 13 I was already 5 foot 9. I still dance today – not in pointe shoes anymore though! High heels are torture enough.”
On her approach to exercise
“I love to run, I love to cycle, I love to swim. In New York there’s a great gym called Dog Pound which my trainer, Kirk Myers, started. I switch up my routine – light weights or body weight, cardio, sometimes jump rope or a run. Boxing is something I’ve spent time getting into too. Just challenging my body and mind to keep trying new things and getting stronger.”
On her best backstage beauty tip
“I feel like all of my teenage years were spent backstage! I’ve learnt a ton of different tricks – for curling your lashes, you can actually use a little spoon, like a teaspoon, to crimp the lashes and it’s almost better than an eyelash curler. You put the spoon on your eyelid and just pinch the lashes along the spoon. It’s super gentle.”
Wait – she’s got two
“The other thing is an eye pencil – like a black kohl pencil – take a lighter and hold it to the tip to disinfect it. Because you’re putting it so close to your eye you want to be careful about bacteria. It’s what they always do at shows, because they’re sharing the same pencil between 25 girls. It disinfects it, but it also makes it a little creamier and smudgier for a sexy smoky eye.”
On beauty souvenirs
“I love picking up cool little trinkets at different pharmacies on my travels, like in Japan I found a heated eyelash curler. So I have to hit the Australian pharmacy while I’m here, I have to get some Paw Paw cream. That’s one thing that’s in everyone’s kit.”
On studying
“NYU is in the middle of New York City and I feel like people just get on with life. It’s a really interesting campus dynamic because people come from all over the world and nobody treats me any different. I’m just a normal student. And I love it, I’m actually doing my homework on this trip because I’m missing class.”
On Australian fashion
“I’m very impressed by Australian fashion. There’s a few Australian labels that I’ve known about for years – Dion Lee and Ellery and KitX – but I’ve been introduced to so many new designers on this trip. Macgraw and Camilla and Marc are really nice, and there’s a bunch of great designs I’m wearing in the show tomorrow – you’ll just have to wait and see!”
On her go-to look
“Regardless of season, I love Stan Smiths, I live in them, whether it’s with a cute summer dress or jeans and a blazer. During summer I love wearing cute light floral dresses or long dresses, like a Reformation dress. And for winter I go for a classic black turtleneck, a trench coat, and simple but statement jewellery. I love dainty jewellery, my ring is actually an Australian brand, Sarah & Sebastian. They do really sweet stuff.”
