Michigan Avenue - Niche Media - Michigan Avenue magazine is a luxury lifestyle magazine centered around Chicago’s finest people, events, fashion, health & beauty, fine dining & more!
Issue link: http://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/403159
Does your mother ever go to California? She does, and then we tend to get together at Christmas. But I will say DeKalb was such a great place to grow up, and Chicago was a big city for me. We would take the train in at Christmas to see the Marshall Field's displays and the lights, so Chicago was my first big-city exposure. And then I moved to New York, so now living in Malibu—it's definitely not the city. I don't even have those types of city clothes anymore—it's jeans and flip-flops. I miss a little bit of the hustle- bustle of city life, like when I go to New York or Chicago. But after a week of that I'm so happy to come back to Malibu and eat dinner at 7 o'clock. So what's your design philosophy for your Cindy Crawford Home collection? I think if there is a philosophy it's definitely that style is style, and you don't have to break the bank [to get it]. I'm not a designer, but I've worked with so many tal- ented people, and the collection has drawn on what I've learned and what appeals to me and incorporates that into an accessible collection. I think my aesthetic is an updated look at traditional. Our [new] partner in Chicago is Art Van; the line itself isn't new, but Cindy Crawford Home at Art Van is new. [Speaking of design,] is it true you spent your first paycheck on wallpaper? It's true. It also coincided with my older sister mov- ing out of my bedroom—I always shared a bedroom. She went to college, and I got to decorate for the first time. And I remember going out and getting wallpa- per and bedcovers—I wasn't allowed to change the rug—and I got blinds, too. Everything was coordi- nated. I would not necessarily choose the same things today, because they were very much through the eyes of a 16-year-old girl, but what I loved was that it was the first time I got to define my own aes- thetic in terms of my environment. And that was at home? Yeah, that was at my parents' house. And then, my first Chicago apartment, which was down the street from your studio…. This is actually a really funny story. I ordered a sofa from Jennifer Convertibles, where you got to order your sofa and pick your fabric, and you needed to order by phone, but I didn't realize you needed to measure the opening of your doorway. So they bring the sofa—eight weeks I've been waiting for it—and it won't fit into my apartment. I learned a very valuable lesson from that experience. How do you think the modeling world has changed since you started modeling? Or has it? I'm only in my little world, so I don't really know. Once you're in front of the camera, it's probably not any different—except that for me as a model, the digi- tal experience is very different. Because—and this is not the way you shoot at all—for a lot of these people, now the focus of the shoot is around the monitor, not around the set. So I think for a model, a little bit of the performance aspect [is missing]; now everyone's around the monitor and I always say, "I'm over here, come pay attention to me." Everybody today is a photographer, because they have all those little telephone cameras. And when you go to a restaurant, all you see are flashes 'cause people are [taking selfies]. In a way it democratizes fashion and photography— even my son is playing around with filters, and it's amazing what kids can do even on their phone in the back of the car in 10 minutes. Years ago it used to be I'd sit next to the retoucher and it would take three hours to take a spot off. And now there's nothing to it. When I'm working today, you can tell the people who were working before digital and the people who weren't. The people who were working before digital still care about making sure every- thing goes perfectly, and the skin looks perfect, or whatever. But the young people who never had it are always like, "Oh we'll just fix and retouch it." And they're right. I always say, it's not that one's better or worse; it's just a different art now. I'd say so, too. Now what about your daughter [Kaia]? Did you give her any advice if she's going to be into modeling? Does she have any beauty marks like you? No, she does not. My son, Presley, has one. Where's his? His is on his cheek. It's a little higher than mine. It's on the other cheek, too—on the other side, and a little higher. Oh my gosh. Remember when you first started modeling, and you asked, "Should I take [the beauty mark] off?" and I said, "Absolutely not— [legendary Vogue model] Jean Patchett had it forever." Remember that? Well, the first agency I went to in Chicago told me to take it off. I said don't listen to them. Thank god you did say that. And how! That was a great photograph. It was the headshot in Vogue, wasn't it? That was your first picture for New York. Yep. That was terrific. And I think once Vogue left the mole, it was like, well, if it's good enough for Vogue it must be good enough for everyone. The seal of approval. What's Presley doing then? Does he want to be a photographer or doesn't he know yet? He wants to surf and check out girls. He's 15 and we live in Malibu, so he has a pretty good life. You do a lot of charity work. I [ just went to Peru] for Omega Watches. They partner with Orbis, which is a charity that has an airplane, so they go and do eye surgeries in Peru and places where they don't have access to great medical services. above: Photographed by Richard Avedon, Vogue's August 1986 cover was Cindy Crawford's first, and it helped launch the DeKalb native to supermodel stardom. michiganavemag.com 111