QUARANTINE DIARIES 2 with : CHARLIE WEISS
Facetime photographed by Mathieu Puga. Words by Charlie Newman.
Please can you tell us where you're from and the best thing to do there.
I‘m from Leipzig, Germany but live in Berlin now. The best thing to do is spend all summer in Leipzig! It's very peaceful there with a lot of nature so I enjoy spending time amongst it when I’m in my hometown.
How long have you been modelling for and what has been a career highlight for you?
I have been modelling for 10 years now (I was scouted at age 15) and my personal highlight would have to be three things: AXE worldwide TV spot (we filmed for 10 days), John Frieda worldwide campaign (very professional and loving team) and a Christmas Campaign I did for Douglas (hanging on billboards in Germany and huge on Kurfürstendamm Berlin).
What was the biggest surprise for you when you first started working in fashion?
Fashionable doesn’t mean wearable and wearable doesn’t mean fashionable.
And what do you wish people knew more about when it comes to the world of fashion?
It’s a damn hard world, and it’s often romanticised, which is wrong because one needs to be mentally strong to not take everything too personal.
Drawing from your personal experience, what have you gleaned from working in fashion?
My taste in fashion got better!
Covid 19 has undoubtedly transformed the way the world now works, the fashion industry included. How would you like to see the industry change for the better in the future?
The fashion industry is very fast and stressful. Perhaps clients, brands, productions, etc. will slow down and take a breath and focus on what really is important now.
What have you discovered about yourself throughout the struggles of this year?
As a model, you’re often travelling alone, but being alone doesn’t mean lonely. I think that’s the greatest achievement I have made throughout the years. I’m very much happy with myself and I can take care of myself better than anyone else.
Who do you look up to in the industry and why?
To be honest I look up to a good friend of mine. She’s still in her early twenties, a mother of two, married and works her as off. Even when the first baby arrived, she and her husband would travel to the big fashion cities taking their baby with them. There has been not a week she didn’t fly somewhere. She’s very down to earth, careful in her actions and words, and is a loving mother and wife. I can’t mention her name since she wants to keep her privacy (something else to look up to!)
What would your advice be to young, up and coming models now?
Take this advice carefully my loves: it’s a tough world, it’s not always glamorous, and to some, it never will be. You have to be strong and know what YOU want BEFORE you come to this world. You have to love and accept yourself the way you are because truth is, you can be reduced to the minimum on what and who you are in this job - but it’s a just job after all - IT’S NOT YOU who didn’t fit into the campaign or the shooting it’s simply because the client maybe wanted someone a little different from what you look like. You’re unique in every way you are, if we all were the same you wouldn’t be unique anymore.
Who do you think we should be watching/admiring when it comes to up and
coming talent right now?
Maike Inga, we’re in the same agency and share the same manager so I’ve known about her modelling career since the beginning and she took off very fast! She’ll be a star.
Lastly, with the closing of 2020, what do you hope 2021 brings?
Two things, first: I want to travel. I’ve taken the travel part of my job for granted and now it’s really all I want to do. I’m not done seeing the world with all its beauty. And second: I want to start my own business - I’m 25 after all and I can’t rely on my looks forever!
Charlie appears courtesy of Miha Model Management.