Get Close ... with Doutzen Kroes
by Renata Certo-Ware
Doutzen Kroes has been ranked the worldβs fifth-highest-paid supermodel, but this Victoriaβs Secret Angel understands that success in the fashion industry can come at a cost. In April, she joined media mogul Arianna Huffington, Vogue Italia editor-in-chief Franca Sozzani, and model/actress Amber Valletta of Revenge for βHealth Is Beauty: Defining Ourselves,β the Harris Center at Mass General Hospitalβs 15th-annual forum on body image and the media. But first, the Dutch beauty spoke candidly with STUFF.
I canβt stand when models say βOh, I eat whatever I want β fried chicken for breakfast, dessert with every meal.β Is that reality? I work really hard for it [my body] because itβs my job! I have to be in the gym every day. I have to be really healthy. I have to give up things for it. Nobodyβs going to win the world Olympics without practicing. At some point, I had to tell my agent, βI canβt not eat, because I get hungry!β
Has anyone close to you dealt with an eating disorder or body dysmorphia? I think every woman has doubts and insecurities about her body. Iβve never had struggles with anorexia or anything like that, but Iβve dealt with the fact that I always had to watch my weight and Iβve been told so often to lose weight. Sometimes itβs a struggle to keep up with my own photos, where the lighting is perfect, the makeup is done, and the images have been retouched. Thatβs not what I see when I look in the mirror! I felt really empowered when I said, βOkay, this is my body, the best that I can be. Deal with it.β I was able to do that because I had a nice life and great family back in Holland. Having a safe, solid background that I could always fall back on made me feel very empowered. There are a lot of girls from poor countries who enter the modeling industry and feel that they canβt say no when an agent or director tells them to lose weight or to do something that they arenβt comfortable with, because they have nothing to fall back on and nowhere to go. Their biggest fear is to go back to their old lives. I want to be a role model to help other models to feel strong and beautiful in their own way.
With awareness of body-image issues increasing, have you noticed changes within the industry? Since the CFDA [Council of Fashion Designers of America] and Anna Wintour started this health initiative in 2007, a handful of designers have really begun to move away from the unhealthy industry standards. Prada recently had a show with all curvy women, and Michael Kors always shows with different kinds of models, not the ones we saw on TV that were so shocking. I definitely see a change. Itβs more interesting and more fun for people to see an athletic girl or a curvy girl on the runway. . . . Weβre all individuals and beautiful in our own way. Everyone is different. If all models looked the same, I donβt think women could relate at all.
What do you think of the modeling industry now? Right now, models donβt bring any character to the runways β no personality. Itβs not like with Cindy and Linda and Naomi, who owned the runways! Todayβs models have become interchangeable and disposable. They are scared of doing something wrong and losing a job, so they are afraid to show personality! Fashion Week used to be so exciting because it was like a reunion for all us models to see each other again, but now thereβs a constant rotation of new people every season. Itβs not as fun now!
How accurately do reality shows like Americaβs Next Top Modelportray the industry? These shows are entertainment. They always add a bit more drama. I saw a modeling show in Holland, and the contestants had to pose naked on a horse. I never had to do that! It attracted lots of viewers, but itβs still TV β not reality! I do think itβs good that shows likeANTM donβt show the misconception that the industry is always glamorous, because itβs not! We have to work really hard. Iβve been doing this for 10 years, and now Iβm getting some of the glamorous side. But in the beginning, itβs taking the subway to go to castings, running around. . . . Itβs really hard work! In the beginning, you donβt get to fly home and visit family whenever you want because you donβt have the money, and you canβt miss a moment because the next opportunity could be waiting.