Model Roundtable

(upbeat pop music)

I like what I do.

I love designers that I ve remained very close to,

and they re the same and

the same people of my life.

Hasn t changed that much.

The time has changed.

When we decided at Vogue

to do a May issue that would be

devoted to models,

we had to do a formal roundtable

where models who are currently

at the start of their professions

could talk to and meet with

models who have successfully transitioned

from being a fashion person to a brand.

Me, I was,

I learned everything on the job.

I had to learn quite fast,

because it s an industry that really

does not really nurture.

It s like you have either got it or you don t.

Doing the roundtable talk today

is a great way for people to see the past and the present.

You know, how some things have changed,

how some things haven t.

I m only 16, so it s really incredible

to be able to

share this opportunity to

have a discussion with these legendary women.

A lot of the industry now,

or at least from my perspective is that

we don t have the opportunity all the time

to show our personality.

It s more about sometimes, I think

we have to be blank slates, you know.

And you have to get in the--

Especially in the show.

It s the shows that look that way.

They won t want you to be,

even smile.

I ve started in 1964.

I had my first vogue cover in 1965.

So, I guess I ve been here

44 years, 45 years.

How long have you been working?

I ve been working for

six or seven years now.

That s insane.

Should not be allowed.

You started at what age, and worked seven years straight?

That s criminal.

Yeah.

If models were no longer 15 and 16,

if there was an age prohibit,

that would be a really great thing.

(upbeat pop music)

I think, literally, I would say

my favorite time

was when I

was a muse for Yve s Saint Laurent.

He asked me to be the muse for a

couture collection, that he called The African Queen.

It was the most incredible experience,

I have to say, to actually see

how a genius works.

I think the worse for me was just that

one time I was told that I was too skinny,

and that just, I don t know why,

but I think that just,

that hurt because I know myself

and that s,

and it s such a stereotype in our industry,

especially with our generation.

I have been criticized from the roots of my hair

to the very tip of my toes.

If there s one body part of me that got away,

that was unskinny,

was covered.

(laughs)

I have to say, I admit,

I m working on my confidence.

You know, like I m still not

there yet.

It never comes.

(laughs)

It s a work in progress.

I am not,

I m not,

I d rather have insecurities about certain things,

I have other things.

But you know, when you ve become comfortable

in your own skin,

that s what it is.

I think I can safely say that I was

modelling at the very best time

that it was to model.

Because when I first started,

the Superstars didn t quite exist yet

so I didn t have that much to live up to.

I just think it s a good way

to bring people

who work in the same industry together

who may never meet.

We really care about our careers

and we really have a personality

and I think it s great that Vogue is really

giving us this space to really prove that.