This story originally appeared in i-D’s The Timeless Issue, no. 371, Spring 2023. Order your copy here.
In the age of the original supers, Kristen McMenamy was always the most enrapturing – a paragon of rebelliousness and originality. These are qualities that she’s been reminding the industry of during her current renaissance, a return to fashion following a decade-long hiatus. Over the last couple of years, she’s staged a triumphant homecoming, reappearing on her native catwalks, magazine covers and billboards, starring in campaigns for the likes of Marc Jacobs, Gucci, Valentino and Fendace, reminding everyone what a force she is, and schooling a new generation in her inimitable charisma and talent for image making.
But it’s on Instagram where she’s really shone in her comeback. Joining the platform during lockdown – bored at home, armed with a closet of the most fantastical clothes you could imagine and a brazen sense of style – she quickly became a must-follow, both among fashion folk and beyond. Unafraid to bare it all, body and soul, she once again ignited conversations around the fashion industry’s myopic beauty standards – thanks to her, we saw a woman proudly in her mid-50s buck the restrictive mainstream trends, looking bloody fantastic while doing so.
Of course, these qualities of fearlessness and versatility have always been there. An industry mainstay for almost 30 years now, it’s what has made her a beacon for generations of photographers, designers and stylists. She’s equally at home in the cinematic romanticism of Peter Lindbergh, the gritty, at-odds realism of Juergen Teller, or the high-camp world of Karl Lagerfeld, who even walked her down the aisle at her wedding to Miles Aldridge. Naomi, obviously, was the bridesmaid.
Of course, they aren’t the only people that hold Kristen dear. Here, we asked her friends and collaborators, from Kate Moss to Donatella Versace, to each pose the eternal super a question…
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Anthony Vaccarello, designer: If you could have dinner with anyone dead or alive, who would it be?
Marilyn Monroe and Rita Hayworth. Who doesn’t love a glamorous film star with a tortured soul? I’d have a girls night in and get to know their hearts, spirit and fears. I’d also love a little old Hollywood gossip!!
Kate Moss, model: I’m sure there’s been a lot of crazy fashion moments in your life. What’s your craziest fashion anecdote?
There are so many as you know Kate! One that’s coming to mind: I had just had my hair coloured for Milan Fashion Week and I was really excited to premier it. I remember sitting with all the other girls, you were probably there with me, and Linda walks in with the same colour, done by the same hairdresser. I was so furious, I went upstairs, cut off my hair, shoved it in an envelope and sent it back to the hairdresser and said “take your colour back”.
Susie Cave, model: I know you love dogs and I’m a dog lover too. What do those gorgeous canine creatures mean to you?
I have a white German Shepherd called Larry. He is basically my husband. My protector, my constant companion, my motivator. The fact that he needs me so much is so precious and comforting. I feel he would do anything for me if he could. I only wish he had hands to zip up my dresses in the back.
Alastair McKimm, stylist and i-D editor-in-chief: What are your five favourite words?
Moist, creamy, magical, paradise, puppies.
Pierpaolo Piccioli, designer: Is freedom an innate talent of yours or a quality you have cultivated and nourished throughout the years? If so, how?
I would say both but I had to break out of my shell of shyness and fake it to make it at first. Really listening to my instinctive voice and facing my fears are becoming more accessible throughout the years, and when I can express my inner core of creativity it brings me joy. I’m in my element.
Shalom Harlow, model: Kristen, do you have any idea who has those BTS Polaroids from the time Steven Meisel shot us for that Vogue Paris couture story? We made a shoot within the shoot while we were waiting for the gowns to arrive from the client fittings at the couture houses. It was late into the midnight hours…
First of all, I thought you had them! Secondly, what fun we had with that Polaroid camera. I remember taping Naomi up with yellow masking tape and binding her hands and feet and I remember a lot of mad crazy shots taken in the toilet. But to be honest it was a bit of a frenzied blur, maybe you can remind me?
Matty Bovan, designer: What are you bored of right now?
The responsibility of domestic duties. I’m not made for it.
Sadie Coles, gallerist: Fashion consistently provides outrageous and exaggerated fantasies but often holds the viewer at arms length as the passive voyeur. Your emotional volume, adept physical expressionism and reckless sense of ‘all in’ draws us down the rabbit hole in close proximity. Did you like Alice in Wonderland as a child? And in your strikingly personal Instagram account do you find better safety being in control of your own adventure?
It’s scarier doing my Instagram shots but it gives me more creative satisfaction, because with every photo it reflects the periods of my life and the trials of joy and sorrows that I am going through. I can look at every picture and know how I was feeling at that moment and what was going on in my life plus I love styling myself for Instagram because I have no rules. Alice in Wonderland scared me as a child as did The Wizard of Oz because I didn’t want to be one of those heroines stuck in a nightmarish world. When I look at it now I can wholeheartedly embrace it, it’s fucking genius because I’m now in that world and I’m having a ball.
Marc Jacobs, designer: Of all the looks you’ve ever worn, which one is your favourite?
I have been honoured to wear the most beautiful clothes in the world and I have been blown away by designers (including you Marc) and the magic they create. I’ll give you one look that jumps to mind though: when Karl Lagerfeld put me out on the runway in men’s underwear and a signature Chanel tweed jacket. I thought it was bold, and a bit naughty of him. He had such a sense of humour with clothes, he followed his own rules and I was a willing participant.
Max Pearmain, stylist: Kristen, we’ve never met but I feel like you’ve got an eye for a bargain. Tell me about your best ever fashion find, gift or score.
I’m actually not good at finding a bargain as when I see something I want I need it right then and there. I am a bit of a fashion junkie. I love mixing old with new, I don’t care, cheap, expensive, I love mixing it all. If it catches my eye that’s what I buy. But saying that I bought two mad coloured rapper style jackets in Metropolis, a second hand shop in New York, which were a phenomenal bargain. I go crazy for unique, weird and offbeat stuff.
Thomas Dane, gallerist: Your Instagram images have such a performance based approach – I wondered which artists have influenced you the most in your work?
I was married to an art dealer and art connoisseur, so I was exposed to and surrounded by the most beautiful art. My eyes were open to countless amazing artists. I am inspired by the surrealists Man Ray, Salvador Dalí and all that mad shit. Then I adore all the Old Master paintings, especially religious art. I love so many contemporary artists as well. I love Paula Rego, Bridget Riley. I love Glenn Ligon, Jean Michel Basquiat, John Currin, Albert Oehlen just to name a few…
Tim Walker, photographer: In our photographer and model relationship I always sensed your vulnerability… Are you asking the camera a question? What question are you asking?
I am asking, “Do you love me?”
Hans Ulrich Obrist, curator: Tell me about your unrealised projects…
I would love to exhibit the best of my work from my Instagram shoots in a dynamic medium. Galleries can start bidding now! That’s just one, my head is full of insane ideas.
Alexandre Mattiussi, designer: What is the craziest thing you’ve ever done for a friend?
I was living in Paris and coming home from a party the morning after and I saw a dead pigeon in a beautiful bird cage just laying on the street, and with my irrational and unsober mind at that moment I thought it would be a good present for my roomate. So I picked it up and brought it to her. She was horrified.
Gwendoline Christie, actor: When did you realise you were a witch and what is your favourite power?
Right out of the womb, I was born a witch. My favourite power is to make people invisible and to recognise my fellow witches. I am working on a potion to make my animals talk to me. I think I might have cracked it.
Donatella Versace, designer: When a great photographer starts to take your picture, how do you feel and what is going through your mind?
What goes through my mind is “Kristen, be fucking great!” I want to create a masterpiece each time and feel it’s my responsibility to give everything I have to earn my place in front of the camera. I don’t want to let anyone down, I want everyone to be proud.
Mert Alas, photographer: Describe your perfect night out?
My perfect night out is a “forbidden” evening where I drink and dance and play all night then drag myself home the next day. But I’ve had one too many of those. Nowadays it’s about getting all dressed up having a get together with friends and then home to watch a great film and to pass out on the sofa.
Credits
Photography David Sims
Fashion Alastair McKimm
Hair Duffy at Streeters
Make-up Lucia Pieroni at Streeters
Nail technician Ama Quashie at Streeters using Augustinus Bader Skincare
Photography assistance Dale Cutts, Mark Lincoln and Federico Fossati
Digital technician Luca Treviasi
Fashion assistance Madison Matusich and Emily Jackson
Hair assistance Laurence Walker and Dale Delaporte
Make-up assistance Lois Moorcroft
Nail assistance Aliyah Johnson
Production Erin Fee
Post Production SKN-LAB
Shot at Arlington Road Studio
Casting director Samuel Ellis Scheinman for DMCASTING
Model Kristen McMenamy at Perspective Management