Cindy Crawford, supermodel extraordinaire, recently sat down with Net-a-Porter’s The Edit to talk about everything from wearing Calvin Klein to her prom to nailing the “Cindy Crawford” look.
But really, the best parts are stories from her early modeling days. Between her gig as MTV House of Style host and her iconic Pepsi commercials, Crawford is arguably the OG of the supermodel spokesperson. Would we have a Kate Upton or a Karlie Kloss without Cindy Crawford? Doubtful.
So who better to learn from than Crawford? Here are five tips we gleaned from her on how to get ahead in the fashion industry:
Be professional.
“I am very professional, so I think that got me far. It’s kind of underrated in the fashion world to be on time, for example. Sometimes I would be annoyed that certain models–we shall not name names–could show up five hours late to a shoot and there was no consequence.”
“I am very professional, so I think that got me far. It’s kind of underrated in the fashion world to be on time, for example. Sometimes I would be annoyed that certain models–we shall not name names–could show up five hours late to a shoot and there was no consequence.”
Put your phone down and pay attention.
“The good thing about back then was that no one had cell phones, so you would actually sit and have lunch together. You’d arrive, you’d listen to [art dealer] Tony [Shafrazi] tell Patrick [Demarchelier] about some Basquiat and you would learn something, get an education. Now everyone’s just doing their email.”
“The good thing about back then was that no one had cell phones, so you would actually sit and have lunch together. You’d arrive, you’d listen to [art dealer] Tony [Shafrazi] tell Patrick [Demarchelier] about some Basquiat and you would learn something, get an education. Now everyone’s just doing their email.”
Don’t be afraid to carve your own path.
“I thought, ‘I am going to take advantage of this moment, do my own thing’. I think some of the young girls saw me as someone who used the business back, not just getting eaten up by it. It’s like women’s rights or everything else–you break the glass ceiling a little each time.”
“I thought, ‘I am going to take advantage of this moment, do my own thing’. I think some of the young girls saw me as someone who used the business back, not just getting eaten up by it. It’s like women’s rights or everything else–you break the glass ceiling a little each time.”
But, um, do pay attention when you get into cars.
“I wouldn’t consider myself fearless at all, I wish I was. At that age, it was probably an ignorance-is-bliss kind of thing. I remember when I was about 21, I got in a car with someone in Paris. I thought it was a guy from my agency there to pick me up because he had a card with my name on it when I got off the plane. But then when I asked him questions, I realized he didn’t know anything. I guess someone had seen me getting on the plane and he turned up there. I waited until a stoplight and then jumped out of the car. When I saw that Liam Neeson movie [Taken] about a kidnap, I thought, ‘God, that could have been me’.”
“I wouldn’t consider myself fearless at all, I wish I was. At that age, it was probably an ignorance-is-bliss kind of thing. I remember when I was about 21, I got in a car with someone in Paris. I thought it was a guy from my agency there to pick me up because he had a card with my name on it when I got off the plane. But then when I asked him questions, I realized he didn’t know anything. I guess someone had seen me getting on the plane and he turned up there. I waited until a stoplight and then jumped out of the car. When I saw that Liam Neeson movie [Taken] about a kidnap, I thought, ‘God, that could have been me’.”