BARING IT ALL

SARAH JESSICA PARKER brings Italian lingerie to her native streets of New York City while she discusses feminism and multitasking

Interview / Kieran Ho Transcription / Keefe Tiu

THEY SAY IF you get nervous in the spotlight, imagining your audience in their underwear and thinking about their embarrassment will melt away any anxiety you may have. This sort of thing doesn’t phase Sarah Jessica Parker, though, who was recently recruited as the new face for the Italian lingerie label Intimissimi. The latest campaign for the brand has the actress walking through the streets of New York City, having a close run-in with the police and finally attending a red- carpet event in nothing but pyjamas and a bra – turning heads and raising the eyebrows of passersby in astonishment and disbelief. The campaign was shot on the open streets and inevitably, Parker was snapped by paparazzi and onlookers during filming; candid pictures of the actress in her underwear spread on social media like wildfire.

Is this campaign a nod towards the women’s empowerment movement? Was the goal to liberate fashion and dressing barriers? Why don’t we hear it from the woman herself? Just hours before attending the Intimissimi Enchanted Forest show in Verona, Italy at the brand’s headquarters, I sit down with the American actress-producer-fashion designer-editor and ask her about the process of filming this campaign, her work-life balance and her views on feminism.

How would you describe a typical day at work when you were shooting in New York for this campaign?

The team had done a huge amount of prep work and came really prepared. We started quite early and got a lot of work done. I’ve spent a better part of my life showing up to sets like this, with 3am or 4am call times, but I’m glad they didn’t have to ask that of me. There were still some difficulties, as shooting in New York always has, in terms of switching locations and moving around. We shot at the Public Theater, which is quite the architectural and cultural landmark; we moved around the West Village quickly.

The crew was amazing.

Video shoots translate to long working days, with a lot of downtime and waiting while the crew prepares for scene changes. How do you take time to unwind and relax between shots?

I don’t need to relax at work. I think I’ve been on sets for so many years that what I really like to do when I’m on set is to work. A lot of experienced professionals who’ve worked on film sets also just like to get the work done, so I really just do what’s asked of me. Between shots, I just read books.

How do you manage to balance your work as an editor, an actress and a model for Intimissimi, yet still have time for yourself and your family? What are some tips that you can share?

I’m not trying to deflect or not answer, but how I typically like to respond – and I do this purposefully – is that I don’t think it’s particularly inspired or impressive that I’m able to do all the things I want to do, because I have the resources I need to support my professional choices. I think it’s much more… we should ask that question of most working women, perhaps in your country and certainly in mine, who don’t have the resources. Those who don’t have the childcare, don’t have a choice in work, don’t have the financial resources to make choices about work. So how do I find balance? Who cares! We should be considering the millions and millions of working women who have to hold down two or three jobs. How do they do it? That’s my answer.

You’re about to release your new movie, Here and Now, by Fabien Constant. How was that to shoot?

I have long admired Fabien’s work. I had watched, obsessively, a television docu-series he made many years ago, as well as his documentary on Carine [Roitfeld]. He was one of the most exciting filmmakers I’ve ever worked with. It was a screenplay that my company had produced – it was produced by a female team and Fabien was surrounded by all women. It’s a beautiful, heartbreaking story about a singer who’s had some success, but not the kind of success she had hoped for or wanted. She’s been sort of reckless in her life and made some choices that she’s feeling great regret about. She’s also faced with a devastating diagnosis and it’s just 24 hours in her life. We made it for under two million dollars and the cast is incredible – Fabien is a really gifted storyteller and an incredible collaborative partner.

Do you like to place emphasis in your films on women’s perspectives?

I’m always interested in how we can tell more interesting stories about women. As a producer, I look for stories that haven’t been told. I just care more about storytelling that feels fresh and has a perspective that hasn’t been shared yet.

Considering what’s been going on these days, with the #MeToo movement and such, it feels like women may be going back rather than forward. What would you suggest to all women for their own empowerment?

Whoa! [laughs] A message for all women… I don’t think I’m fit to send a message to all women. But I think the destination point, as I experienced #TimesUp and the #MeToo movement, really is about creating safe and equitable work spaces – professional spaces where women can work and thrive to reach their full potential. Not just the physical work spaces, but how we can have these difficult conversations that have become harder to speak on as of recently. These important movements take time; they aren’t born and reach their conclusion overnight. They are challenging. People have to be heard, people have to learn to listen and people have to learn to speak up. For some generations, it’s been more difficult to accept – I think for many, it feels threatening. I appreciate all that, but I hope we can find the language. I think it is still all really new and everyone is just throwing out all their feelings, whether they feel complicit or they feel victimised by the past, their personal interactions and professional exchanges. This is still a period where everyone is sorting out their role. The political climate affects it… It’s so complicated, we can’t expect to arrive to a code of conduct that everyone agrees on. It’s a commentary on our country right now, because it’s all so charged.

How do you see the relationship between lingerie and female empowerment?

The easiest way to put it is: choice. How you choose to walk out the door, how you choose to present yourself. All parts of your world should be your choice. It could also be a call to arms of confidence in some way.