LIYA KEBEDE
Liya Kebede has been modelling for more than 20 years, but she had never before sat for an artist. It was a particular thrill to sit for Clemente. “I didn’t know his work specifically, but when I found out that he had painted the portrait of Gwyneth Paltrow in [the 1998 film] Great Expectations, I was so excited,” she says. “I remember when I watched that movie, the portrait really touched me. I don’t know why. Then, to suddenly see my portrait done in the same way, it meant a lot to me.” It seems ironic that Kebede, 38, has never been painted, given her precise, delicate features. “The relationship with a painter is so different,” she explains. “He’s so focused on you, and you’re always wondering, ‘What could he be looking at?’ It’s so penetrating. There’s something quite beautiful about it.” Kebede posed in a glorious Tom Ford evening gown, but in the cold of the studio covered her knees with her winter coat. So, Clemente couldn’t help a little bit of subversion, adding the coat to the final work. “He said, ‘It will be the one thing in the picture that’s yours—it brings it all together.’”
When Kebede was growing up in Ethiopia (where she returns twice a year for her clothing line, Lemlem, and her work for her maternal health foundation), art wasn’t readily available to her. But she was ahead of the curve in other respects, having had her two children, Suhul and Raee, by the time she was 27. Now separated from her husband, Kassy Kebede, she says, “My 30s have been a really transformative decade. I feel like I’ve grown a lot.” However, she’s lived a lot, early. “Children make you grow up very quickly,” she says. “You become a mum, so you have to be a mum, you know?” But today, with a 10-year-old and a 15-year old, she is officially a cool mum. “I’m having a fun relationship with them right now,” she says, adding with a laugh, “I hope it’s nice for them, too!”
Kebede was only 15 when she started modelling, originally spotted by a French agent in her hometown of Addis Ababa. She finished her schooling before moving to Paris, where she caught the eye of Tom Ford, who put her on an exclusive for Gucci and also in campaigns for Yves Saint Laurent. Alongside innumerable magazine covers, she was named a face of Estée Lauder in 2003, and became a L’Oréal ambassador in 2011. Today, she works closely with Nicolas Ghesquière at Louis Vuitton and occasionally still hits the runway for designer friends like Proenza Schouler. Fashionwise, she’s never been one for trends. She refuses to wear “dresses you’re trying to figure out! I gravitate toward men’s sweaters. I love men’s sweaters, men’s pants—I love all that stuff.”
The naturally lean Kebede keeps herself so with an everything-in-moderation lifestyle and regular attempts at yoga. “I have a problem fitting it into my life,” she says, noting the quirks of her travel schedule. “You know, when you’re jetlagged and you’re like, ‘Should I sleep or should I get up and do yoga? I think I’m going to sleep.’”
As she gets older, Kebede hopes to meet more women “who embrace their age and imperfections. I love women who do their thing, who aren’t caught up in the superficiality of things. In the world we live in, that’s harder and harder to find. We need to feel more secure in ourselves. When you look at Hollywood and what it’s projecting at us about how you have to look,” she says, sighing, “one wrinkle is such a big deal.” And while less prevalent than before (see this portfolio for evidence), ageism in the model business is ever lurking. “Being in an industry where image matters,” Kebede observes, “it’s definitely challenging for me.”
Sure, but currently she doesn’t seem to have a wrinkle. “The minute you get one, let me know,” I say. “Har-har,” she replies. “We’ll have a big chat about how to handle it.”