Last Monday Rosalie and I headed over to Montreal’s esteemed shopping landmark, Ogilvy to meet model of the moment, Crystal Renn who was in Montreal shooting their fall look book and promoting their new women’s section, FEMME. The new store-in-store will open its doors this August, catering to plus-sized women with brands like Marina Rinaldi, Elena Mirò, Lafayette 148 and Eileen Fisher. With her widely reported anorexic to plus-size success story and healthy outlook, Renn was an obvious choice for the face of this newest addition: “Shopping should be a fun experience for everyone. Be proud of who you are!” says the Vice-President of Ogilvy Canada, Steeve Lapierre. At 24, Renn is rightfully confident about her current weight (a US size 10) and achievements. She shared the following with us on being at the forefront of the industry’s new chapter.
On the recent controversy over her (slight) weight loss:
The pictures that were taken aren’t an accurate portrayal of my body. I think there is a slight change but I feel fantastic and I’m confident. Health is what matters. My message has never been you have to be one size. It’s about being whoever you are, naturally healthy as you are and that’s exactly what I’m doing and for myself. If I’m losing weight because I’m doing healthy things in my life that’s all that matters. I’m just really happy where my body is.
Is the industry’s current focus on plus-sized models a trend?
There’s nothing trendy about being curvy in real society. So no, it shouldn’t be a trend at all. We need to include all sizes because if we keep having one body type being the ideal, we’re never going to take the focus off of weight. It’s about a beautiful girl no matter what size she is, showcasing her personality and her health. When you see these runway shows and you have size twos and a size 16, there’s such a huge difference and that’s the mistake. We need to have a variety of women, all different colours, backgrounds and then you notice the girl being amazing as opposed to, “Oh my god they’re all size twos and look at that size 16!”. The clothes are dead then. You don’t notice the clothes, you notice size. It’s important that we showcase the clothes with a variety of beauties because that’s accurate to society and the women walking around on the streets.
How are you leading a healthy life?
I’m traveling to Vietnam and Cambodia this Christmas, where I’ll be hiking. And next spring, if all goes according to plan and I can get the time off I’ll be doing a hike in the Himalayas. I recently picked up a new exercise routine and yoga to prepare myself. I went hiking in Patagonia last Christmas with my grandmother. I led the tour group on the hardest hike up this mountain…to a frozen lake! And it was interesting because even when I felt like it couldn’t push any farther I somehow managed and my (68 year old) grandmother was at the back of the group and I was at the lead. That was nice. When I made the change (from battling anorexia to becoming a plus-size model), I realized, you know what, I’m gaining weight right now but I feel different, I feel fantastic!
The highlight of your career?
There have been so many transitions and new levels in my career that it’s hard to pin down one highlight. I could say that the first time Steven Meisel shot me for American Vogue. That was a highlight because it’s what kick started my career in the first place—what made me even able to sit here in front of you. The work I’ve been doing for French Vogue recently is just fantastic. There’s all these different characters which I’ve been playing and I think that whole experience, working with (editor-in-chief) Carine Roitfeld has been inspiring to me. Writing my book, Hungry was a huge moment because that was me going to the next level within myself. Writing that book was a therapy for me and I have to say that whole experience was a major transition.
Also, walking in the Jean Paul-Gaultier show. That was huge! I didn’t even know I was ending the show until there were two people in front of me and someone said, “Oh by the way you’re ending the show.” And I was freaking out! Ok, I’ll just have some champagne (double fists two imaginary glasses)…Go! And I ended the show. Just like that. I remember walking out onto the straw in heels like this (teeters to illustrate) but I didn’t care and I just remember thinking, this is my moment (smiles), if I could pinch myself I would. And you’re seeing this whole audience and you just know that this is magic, it’s a moment you’ll never forget. And I’m very lucky because I’ve had many of these moments. I think that every time I shoot in some way, we have a moment. Like today, we were shooting for Ogilvy and we’re launching this plus-size boutique and it’s a new thing and I feel very proud to be a part of it and we were doing all these amazing shots—all very classic and intense and then we were doing yoga poses and having a fantastic time with these candid pictures. It’s just moments like that when you realize where you are is fantastic and you’d be no other place. And of course there’s Chanel. I love Chanel! When I was a straight sized model, I was always like, “Chanel, Chanel, Chanel” and then I got healthy and now look, I walked Chanel!
What are you wearing today?
Stewart Weitzman ankle boots, Margiela tights, a Rick Owens tank, Preen shoulder padded vest (I call it a football top because it has some pretty major shoulder pads) and a black Chanel 2.55 bag.
Stay tuned for Crystal’s top 3 styling tips for curvy girls.
Photo credit: Chanel (left), iPhone (right)
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