Karolina Kurkova covers the latest issue of The Edit, and she has some strong opinions about the current crop of young models. Karolina is 31 years old and she’s been modeling for 16 years. She came up in the late 90s/early 00s, before girls could just take heavily filtered selfies, post those selfies on social media and call themselves models. And that bugs Karolina. If I’m being honest, I was never much of a Karolina fan, although I would take Karolina any day over the Kendalls, Caras and Gigis. There is something to be said for the inaccessible model, the model who didn’t need to post on social media to get work. Which is Karolina’s point. Some highlights from her Edit profile:
Modeling in her 30s: “I’ve been modeling for 16 years. I’m amazed I’m still around; we live in such a fast-paced world and get over everything so quickly. I don’t allow myself to compete with the new girls – what good is thinking like that? When you’re older, you’re more confident and comfortable. And there’s something to be said for being seasoned, rather than being very new and raw and not knowing what you’re doing.”
The perils of the Insta-models: “When I started modeling there was no social media, I didn’t come from a rich family and I didn’t date anyone famous – my work spoke for me. I’m glad, because I learned discipline, dedication and patience, and it kept me grounded. Now you can be famous so easily and it’s dangerous, it can mess with your head. People are coming from left and right with two million followers and, whether they say they’re a model or a stylist, they’ve never trained, never worked with anybody, never sacrificed anything. They’re taking work from people who gave up their time and energy to learn their craft. I’m not judging, but who’s going to have the longevity? You might be cool right now, but how long will it last? Are people going to get tired of you?”
Don’t call her a supermodel: “It doesn’t really mean anything. It’s a strange word. I prefer it when people say I’m cool, or that I’m a hard worker, or I’m nice. Those are bigger compliments than saying I’m a supermodel. It’s just a title.”
The full interview is interesting – I didn’t realize she just gave birth to her second child last November. And she’s already back at work and back to posing in her underwear! Crazy. As for what she says about the current generation of Insta-models… I get it. And I agree with her for the most part. Many of these younger girls get their “break” from being well-connected already, then build on that with social media. It’s crazy to me that Kendall Jenner is one of the most-followed people on social media, just because… to me, she’s bland as hell. It’s also crazy that Cara Delevingne is a thing because she doesn’t photograph well and she doesn’t even seem like a pleasant person.
But Karolina seems to be in denial about some stuff: there is a genuine thirst for “relatable” models, models who engage with their fans on social media, models who show people what it’s like behind the image. And these Insta-models are making bank. Karolina probably wishes she could make six-figures for an Instagram or tweet.
Photos courtesy of The Edit, WENN.
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