Supermodel aims for the big silver screen
"Doll-like," "fawn-like" and "girlie" are often used to describe 20-year-old Aussie supermodel Gemma Ward, considered by many the world's No. 1 model and fashion's "it" girl. She chats about fashion and her future with Michelle Zhang.
Australian supermodel Gemma Ward is mostly known for her "doll-like" girlie look that inspired a new craze in fashion around four years ago and took her to the peak of the modeling industry.
The 20-year-old's new womanly curves, however, have surprised people on the runways of Paris Fashion Week as well as in Shanghai. The elfin-like model was here two days ago to promote the Simply I charity photo exhibition by fashion photographer Gilles Marie Zimmerman.
The one-month exhibition featuring celebrities opens today at the newly opened fashion hub LOFT, marking World AIDS Day today.
"The shooting experience was quite intimate and emotional," recalls Ward, wearing a tight-fitting, off-the-shoulder black dress. "We didn't have to think too much about the outfits - we have to show this bag - but to show what we wanted to express with the pictures, not just a view on fashion but on society."
Ward, called the most "fawn-like" of supermodels, is not as cool as she often seems on the runways, but giggles from time to time during the conversation. Her childhood dream was to become an actor, specifically a comedian, to make people laugh.
"I was a wild silly child," she says, bursting out laughing. "I used to make a lot of videos of myself running around in silly costumes. My life being involved in fashion sometimes can be quite serious, but I still get a lot of joy from being silly."
The top model describes herself as "a big dresser-upper" when she was a little child. "My mom used to sew costumes so we had a massive wardrobe of dragons, clowns and princess costumes," she says. "I wore them to the beach and to the kindergarten. My favorite was a pink tutu and I used to wear red shoes only."
That is said to be the earliest fashion memory of fashion's "it" girl of the day, who is considered No. 1 by many fashion observers and is ranked No. 1 by the respected Website, models.com, which ranked 50 top models.
Daughter of a doctor and a nurse, the Perth native was first discovered while accompanying a friend to a modeling contest. The judges asked her to enter and shortly after that she was signed on by a local agency in her hometown where she began her stellar modeling career.
Prada breakthrough
Ward's big break came when she was sent to casting director Russell Marsh, who booked her to appear in Prada's spring 2002 runway show in Milan.
"That was my first show," the Aussie doll recollects. "I appreciate Miuccia Prada. I spent a lot of time doing looks with her, watching how she developed her line. She's very creative and always quite spontaneous with the way she does her collections."
At only 16, Ward became the youngest fashion model on the cover of American Vogue and was the first model to appear on the cover of Teen Vogue magazine. Top fashion magazines feature her on a regular basis. She has graced the covers and inside pages of Vogue (Italian, British, French, Australian and Japanese), W, Time, i-D, Numero, Harper's Bazzar and PoP. Most recently, she appeared on the cover of the first issue of Vogue India, which is the second time Ward has appeared on an inaugural issue - the first time being the cover of Vogue China in 2005.
She is also the first model since Kate Moss to be the face for Calvin Klein's latest fragrance "Obsession Night."
Ward has been in shows with almost all the top designers and appeared in numerous campaigns with big brands.
Despite these collaborations that almost every girl would die for, the unpretentious young lady is still connected to her Australian heritage, saying she prefers free, easy kind of clothes.
"I wear colorful, beautiful dresses during summer and in winter I wear much more black - a lot of boots, stockings and big black coats," she says. "I would describe myself as being more Bohemian in summer and more glossy, chic in winter."
"I was very into fashion when I was a teenager," she continues. "I used to sew my own clothes. However, I wasn't aware of high fashion designers and glamorous clothing before I started modeling."
The bling bling fashion circle did bring changes, though seemingly quite slightly as compared with many others. "I used to adore fashion from the 1960s but I think I've grown a lot of appreciation for different fashion now," she says. "I no longer appreciate just one type of fashion because I have been exposed to so much. I think I can appreciate different views on fashion now - be it Chinese, French or Italian - when I see the culture behind it."
The world's No. 1 high fashion stunner's favorite clothing item is a yellow silk dress she bought when she began getting paid for modeling. "It brings me right back to when I was a young girl in Australia and the essence of summer," she explains.
Ward constantly changes her style at the same time: "A great thing about fashion is that you are constantly changing as a person. And your style should reflect the different changes you have gone through in your life. When you feel certain things or emotions, fashion can help you express it.
"It is important to keep re-inventing yourself, especially with a fast-paced life like mine, traveling all the time and going from job to job. You definitely change, grow and mature very fast," she adds.
"On my days off, I'm more casual, not wearing makeup, not brushing my hair," she says. "I guess it's the beach girl side of me. However, I do appreciate getting dressed up and looking nice - I'm a girl, we all like that."
The tall supermodel compares fashion shooting to performing a character in a scene. And she is using her modeling career to boost her profile for the big screen. She was featured in singer John Mayer's music video "Daughters."
More recently she made her feature debut opposite Liv Tyler in the suspense thriller "The Stranger."
Ward just finished shooting "The Black Balloon," a heart-warming drama staring Toni Collete; she plays the role of the girlfriend of a boy who has an autistic brother.
"The movie deals with a controversial issue (treatment of autism) in very sensitive ways," she says. "Director Elissa Down is a dear friend of mine who I met when I was only 13."
When asked about her career plans, Ward says she wants to continue to act. "I would have gone to acting school if I didn't start modeling, but it doesn't mean I want to go back," she adds. "I could go back to school even when I'm 30 and do something I want to do for myself."
And I actually love her Pirreli pic I think its wonderful.
