Working in fashion, you get accustomed to a fair amount of hyperbole. Things are fabulous, or they're terrible; wildly expensive or the deal of the century. It was refreshing, then, to sit down with Lara Stone for our August cover story and get her unfiltered, blazingly honest take on modeling. And while Lara's runway and print persona is larger-than-life, in person she's entirely of-proportion (though the lips, yes, are impressive), with a calm shyness that immediately puts everyone around her at ease. Here, a few outtakes from our chat:Were you interested in fashion before you got "discovered" by the model agent's wife in the Paris metro?
Um, no. I thought modeling was a big joke because I was just a funny-looking teenager.
You moved to Paris when you were sixteen. Were you ever homesick?
I wasn't homesick too much. My family used to travel a lot when I was little and I always wanted to be on my own. We would be on holiday somewhere and I would just tell my parents, "I'll meet you back at this church in two hours." And they would let me wander off on my own. I just wanted to figure it out by myself.
You just moved to London from New York. When you're not working, what do you do with yourself? Any hobbies?No! What qualifies as a hobby, anyway? I don't collect stamps. I want to learn how to cook. I got all these cookbooks the other day. But I don't have any patience. I had a barbecue at my house for my friends, and I figured I could do a barbecue, but all these flames kept coming out and then inside [the meat] was all raw. It was gross.
You're curvier than many other models. Did you ever feel pressured to change the way you look?
I guess so. When I first lived in Paris I was a lot skinnier, and also a lot younger. It's still like that, [the girls] are skinnier and younger. I mean, it's not so great for me. It is a bit of pressure. I'm still working enough as it is—but I don't want to be the only fat one. If you know what I mean.
The irony, of course, is that you aren't fat at all.
I never really know what to say about the whole body thing. I try not to obsess, really. Most things fit, and then sometimes things really don't fit, and they have a seamstress fix it. I went through kind of a big change a few months ago, and I decided I really want to be healthy, not just skinnier but healthier.
Do you talk about the pressure to look a certain way with other models?
Never very seriously. Usually, their reaction is that they wish they had tits like mine.
Photos: WWD Staff
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