Marie Claire Australia — June 2017

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Below: the Chanel

ambassador has been

friends with Karl

Lagerfeld for 20

years; partner Yarol

Poupaud shares a

moment with their

son, Anton, now 11.

Clockwise from left: always a

style-setter; protesting for the

kidnapped Nigerian schoolgirls;

her book; walking for Chanel

in 2014; de Maigret is a face of

the brand’s new Gabrielle bag.

then my parents told me they didn’t

want me to study Art History. I was like,

well, it’s time to leave home then, and

fashion was the way to become finan-

cially independent. So I left my parent’s

house at 19, after one year of university.

JF: You’ve had a long relationship with

Chanel. How did that begin?

CDM: I went to a casting and Karl

[Lagerfeld] asked me to stay for three

weeks to do the looks for the show. My

first big editorial was for French Glam-

our with Mario Testino, and it was a

special Chanel issue. I did [Chanel]

shows for a while but then I stopped

modelling. One day while I was work-

ing on the music label I had, I asked to

have Karl among my guests. I had him

for 20 minutes, but he stayed for 40

minutes and a week later he asked me

to do his show again, which I hadn’t

done for 10 years! So the whole story

started again.

JF: We’ve seen a lot of diversity on the

runway this season.

CDM: Yeah, thank God. I think priorities

have changed, I think everyone wants

authenticity. I think we are ready now

for realness and to see older

women [on the runway].

It’s a time to respect each

other as women.

JF: How would you define

your style?

CDM: I would say it’s a mix of

androgynous, Parisian chic

and nonchalance.

JF: What are the most important things

you’ve learnt about style over the years?

CDM: That you only need one strong

piece, balanced with regular pieces.

When I wear more than one statement

piece I feel disguised. Style comes from

what you feed yourself, which is the

books you read, the music you listen to,

the concerts you go to, the opera, exhi-

bitions. That’s what makes who you are

and how you grow up being the woman

you are. I’m a part of all these things.

It’s very important that girls under-

stand that. It’s not a bag, it’s not a coat.

It’s a coat, the story and the lifestyle.

And you know, be good to yourself.

JF: Do you feel comfortable in your

own skin now?

CDM: Yeah! But I’ve never felt uncom-

fortable. I’m very lucky. It’s

funny – I can end up at a

punk concert or Queen

Elizabeth’s table, and I feel

OK. I’m OK with ageing,

I’m OK with all this.

JF: I heard that in your sec-

ond book you deal with your

neuroses. What neuroses do you have?

CDM: Oh I have every neurosis possible!

I’m a hypochondriac, I have vertigo ...

I think becoming a mother made me

realise that death was possible

[laughs]. You don’t really care when it’s

only about you, but when it becomes

about someone else, you know how

precious life is.

JF: I read that you only told your son

[11-year-old] Anton a year ago that

modelling is part of what you do. Why?

CDM: I do so many other things. Some-

times it’s a big tag that people give you

and it’s hard to say, “But I do other

things!” So I’d rather speak about them.

JF: Well, I’ve got to say that I don’t see

you as a model.

CDM: No, not anymore. Even the cus-

toms officer never believes me!

1

What do you

always travel with?

Jawbone speakers

and my Chanel

Gabrielle bag.

2

Favourite

fashion item?

A navy blazer.

3

Proudest

achievement?

My son.

4

What would

your last meal be?

Chilli con carne.

5

Most

irritating habit?

I have so many ... I’m

demanding of myself.

A perfectionist.

FAST

5

PHOTOGRAPHED BY GETTY IMAGES; INSTAGRAM/@CAROLINEDEMAIGRET

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