5' ELEVEN''
- Dec 19, 2018
- 3 min read

ANNA K

Anna Klevhag, also known as Anna K, has come back into modeling after having a successful career during the 90's, when she worked for Karl Lagerfeld, Jil Sander or with the legendary photographer Richard Avedon for the Pirelli Calendar. Nowadays, she combines her re-launched career with her Life Coaching for models. With this new role the best questions we could ask her come directly from other models, currently working on the runways.

Maren Behringer: How important and strict were the measurements when you started modeling?

I guess measurements were important for haute couture, but for the other shows I think you just had to fit the clothes and wear them well. You had to fit the image, which when I started out was grunge. We did have our measurements on our model cards, but I can't remember ever thinking too heavily about that.

Gabrielle Rul: Would you say that the impact of social media has made it more difficult or easier for the models? Why?

Both. Difficult, because there seems to be a pressure to have your personal life documented all the time, which might infringe on your personal life. It's important to keep a balance there, it can be hard to gauge where your work stops, and your personal life starts. Not for me personally, as I didn't grow up with it. I am thinking more about young models of today.

It's been easier for models too, as it's facilitated showing pictures instantly to the clients. If I am in Devon and a client needs to see me, I can just have my daughter take some quick photographs and send them, I don't have to crawl all the way to London. That has been a blessing and a huge time saver. I have got my jobs without moving an inch! That is a big change.

Mariana Zaragoza: Do you think the changes in the Fashion Industry since you started until today have been positive or negative? Why?

Again, both. On the positive side, these days you don't have to be just “a model”. You can be a whole “person”, with talents and ideas, thoughts and projects. You can allow your personality to be seen and developed and hone other interests whilst modelling. That makes it more interesting and creative. You can use all that waiting time there is as a model to pursue and develop all those other things that you are. Through film, posts and social media, you can show a bit more about yourself and that can be interesting. Still, it is very important to understand that this is imagery and projections, not the real you that you share with close friends and family. Those are two very different things and it's best not to let those lines “blur”. On the negative side, you can see the ease with which you get sucked in and lose yourself in the superficiality of the media. All of it is actually vanity.

Jolie Alien. How and why did you end your career? And why did you return?

It ended because my main booker tragically passed away in the tsunami. I didn't have the same enthusiasm for it anymore, as she had sort of driven it. I also moved away from London and thought I'd rather focus on bringing my daughters up, as opposed to travelling all the time. I had to make a change. I am doing it again, since my children need me less and someone asked, then someone else... I've worked every day for the past two weeks, and besides, I love this job.

Discover the cover & editorial with the full Anna's interview in the Fall Winter 2018 - Issue 1 here.

Photographed in London by Edwin S Freyer.

Styled by Alton Hetariki.

Grooming by Naomi Nakamura using MAC Cosmetics.

Hair by Vimal Chavda.

Filmed & Edited by Dann Paiva.

Anna K appears courtesy of Models 1.