Cindy Crawford, the iconic name alone resonates beauty, strength, longevity, health, supermodel, businesswoman extraordinaire, work out video maven, and now adding to her boundless list of resume? Mastering the skills as an inspirational author.
Being that I am a long time friend and colleague of Cindy's, it was wonderful to have a one on one "official" sit- down interview with her, to talk about the new book release. The book is compiled of 150 iconic photos (from Herb Ritts, to Arthur Elgort, and Irving Penn to name a few), it includes life lessons (Cindy's ethos). It exemplifies fortitude with patience...to portraying success with humbleness, pioneering new grounds for not only models; but, all walks of life- all the while, having demonstrated this with the utmost class and vigor.
Cindy exemplifies the small town, mid west girl next door- from a working class family, who made it (it's the ultimate American dream after all). Her start from a normal girl, who tenaciously chipped away at making it (she had a full ride scholarship to Northwestern University, for a chemical engineer btw) and turning that into reality. The book is a gem to read and a tome to embrace indeed.
My personal first impressions with Cindy emanated from us backstage in Paris at the always beautiful, Azzedine Alaia show. We were booked as models together (along with Linda, Christy, and Naomi) to walk the catwalk and this was my inaugural show... Yikes! Nervousness does not even describe my feelings that day... I remember sitting next to Cindy for our hair & make up (by none other than dream team- Oribe and Francois Nars). Let's just put it this way, Cindy showed up on time, looking even more gorgeous than she does in her pictures, with a smile, and a book (she's always had an insatiable appetite for reading), and her utmost kindness and professionalism (she is, and always has been this way)! For the many years following this, Cindy continually portrays this savvy entrepreneur mindset, with her down to earth sensibility, coupled with the approachable relatable girl. Her new book "Becoming by Cindy Crawford" is quite fantastic, especially as Cindy educates us, on her prolific life lessons she has learned along the way.
SHM: In the foreword of your book, there's a quote that states 'I've been working a long time to get to the place, where my interior self matches the exterior you see. I too want to feel like the confident, strong, powerful woman I see on these pages, and I'm starting to feel more and more like her everyday." Explain more in regards to this cultivation, and how you would convey this to say, today's "student of life?"
CC: I learned as a model, my job is to create "fantasy" to look confident in our own beauty. I became immensely educated about dealing with insecurities of being a young girl from a small town and then thrust into NYC for work and being as efficient as quickly as possible, while still learning the ropes along the way...I learned that being "human" is the journey of life, because having to get up again, when things didn't always go as planned, or my vision.. I now know I was gaining insight, very valuable insight ... I like to say when you're hired on a job, it mirrors that say of a "plant getting watered"... The final image and pictures are a result of the whole team. Hair/make up/Stylist/Editor/Photographer procure the final result. That work as a whole, constitutes the over all strong image, that is the final product you see. You mirror what people see. All of this and years, of not only triumphs, but also failures, have taught me to embrace both the positive and negative. I learned to grow not only literal knowledge; but, actual wisdom and confidence from this.
SHM: I know you are an avid reader, and that particularly translates to being a strong writer. What was your writing process? Was it daunting?
CC: Creative writing was always actually very daunting to me. It was actually the only "B" in my grades, at school growing up. I think it might stem from my great respect of the English language. For my actual writing process, I would commence my day often writing sort of, "free flowing" meaning with out editing, penning various memories I thought were beneficial to pass on to read. These might include model stories, to insight on working with myriad of world-renowned photographers, agents, etc...It was an education in itself, and each of these mentors, taught me a wealth of knowledge. I wanted to share with readers the insight on my valuable path, to what some people might phrase as a sustained victory. I was blessed to gain knowledge from not only the amazing people, but all the fantastic travel, and experiencing diverse cultures. I had a co-author (Katherine O'Leary), who not only writes well, but who has also known me for a very long time, and remembers stories and certain images that I may have even overlooked. I knew for sure, I wanted a "body image" section. So Katherine would type up notes, from my writing, for us then to review, and further annotate together. I also brought on a text editor (Kate Betts). She consolidated my thoughts and narrative, to be read proficiently concise and less wordy. She also over saw the whole tone of my book, wanting to keep it as close to the Cindy Crawford brand as possible. She for instance, wanted for it to be ok, for a Mom to give it to her daughter, etc... The book has no curse words in it for example. I hired A&R Designer Raul Martinez because we needed someone to stylistically marry the visual, and over all look and feel of the book. Lastly, from inception to finish the book took approximately two years.
SHM: Please describe your quote from your book "I've come to realize the gift of travel is without question the best thing about my job." Where are the top two places you've traveled? Top five hotels you recommend?
CC: I'm extremely lucky, to have traveled to so many extraordinary places. I would say the top two for me, would be India (the beautiful Himalaya's in Ladakh), it was completely monumental, I think because, it was one of my early modeling trips with photographer Patrick Demarchelier for British VOGUE, and I was in the mindset of never having been outside of America before (my most exotic vacation had been a car trip with my family to Florida). I was cultivated in an indubitably different culture. We were in India staying in yurts we ate different foods and experienced meeting the wonderful indigenous people.
St. Barth's is another beloved destination. I'm attracted to the low-key luxury there. From driving in the mokes, and I think the French culture is especially lovely. As for hotels, I would say the one and only Hotel Ritz in Paris (I love everything about it, the elegance and sophistication, along with the wonderful memories I've accumulated from years modeling and staying there). I can't help but feel an incredible connection, especially with the historical "Hemingway Bar" (whom my grandmother was related to). Other notable hotel favorites include The Prado (Madrid), The Lowell (NYC), The Barkley (London), and the new The One (Miami).
SHM: You seem to have seen and conquered a vast amount to so many amazing things in your lifetime...What is the one thing Cindy Crawford will never stop doing?
CC: I am very fortunate with so much in my life! I guess I would have to say that the one thing would have to be- to keep and conquer my unending quest for learning new things, (whether it be further enhancing my skills on parenting, to how to do the best book launch...). Learn from everything (the good and the bad), every experience..."Life's a school."