Valentine27
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She looks amazing in Vogue Paris, as usual. Glad she's a favorite.
HANA JIRICKOVA
Photography CHRISTIAN BRYLLE
Model Hana Jirickova says she is inspired by "Mother Nature." Scouted as a 16-year-old in her hometown in the Czech Republic, Jirickova attended art school in Prague and is currently based in New York. One of Models.com's "Top 50 Models," you've probably noticed Jirickova in campaigns for Hillier Bartley, Theory, Tiffany, H&M, and David Yurman. In her personal life, she describes herself as "creative, independent, and very entertaining... I'd like to be under the sea in an octopus garden," she jokes.
THE PEOPLE I ADMIRE THE MOST:
Creatives. People who make art or music. Writers. Poets.
QUESTIONS I CAN'T ANSWER:
Ones of a mathematical nature.
MY BIGGEST ADVENTURE:
Moscow. Always something crazy happens to me there.
EVENTS I WISH I'D WITNESSED:
Prague in the early 20th century—hanging out with Kafka, Egon Schiele, and that whole crowd.
THINGS I'D LIKE TO IMPROVE ABOUT MYSELF:
I would like to stop thinking that I'm not good enough.
GAMES I PLAY:
Table tennis is my first love. I take my paddles everywhere with me.
MY GREATEST ACHIEVEMENT
Being accepted into art school.
MY GREATEST VICE:
Cubans, and by that I mean cigars. It helps me unwind.
THINGS I'LL BE REMEMBERED BY:
My great personality, my art and images.
SOME THINGS I'D RATHER FORGET:
Punching my schoolmate at age 5 because she made fun of my Mickey Mouse gloves.
MY IDEA OF HAPPINESS:
Home relaxing, being with friends and family.
ONE LAST FAVOR I'D LIKE TO ASK:
Can you top up my glass please?
net-a-porterBurgundy and blush, navy and light blue: clash the new muted hues with confidence. Hana Jirickova models the buys that are as in-demand as she is.
“I ’m finally getting hygge,” says model and artist Hana Jirickova when we meet well off the beaten path at her local coffee shop, Sweetleaf, near her home in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. “I’m super-selective with everything I have in my home; it takes ages to make it right.”
An original Hans Feurer print of glossy red lips from the 1974 Pirelli calendar and a painting of the Virgin Mary a friend gave her for her 18th birthday have made the cut, as well as assorted objets Jirickova has picked up on her travels, such as Danish candles and Provençal lavender wands. When the 26-year-old Czech beauty moved to New York four and half years ago she landed in Williamsburg, but she didn’t love her apartment there, so she couldn’t be bothered to get any furniture. “For that first year I didn’t even have a chair,” she says. “When my friends came over they were like, ‘Where do we sit?’ But I would rather have nothing than something I don’t like.”
While she is undeniably edging toward the coveted title of ‘supermodel’, in constant demand from brands such as Max Mara and magazines including Porter, Vogue Paris and The Edit (this is her second cover in nine months, a record for The Edit), Jirickova took her time to cozy up to the fashion world, too.
“I was flirting with it in the beginning – modeling just paid for my schooling,” says the Prague Institute of Art-trained painter, who was discovered in an art gallery aged 15. But she’s come around to the charms of the career that chose her. “I don’t like people complaining about what they do,” she says. “If you don’t like what you’re doing, do something else.”
She grew up in an artistic household: her father managed jazz and blues musicians, while her mother, who raised Jirickova and her two older brothers after her parents split, nurtured their creativity – painting zoo animals on the walls was encouraged.
“I was something of tomboy,” says the model. “All my clothes were hand- me-downs from my brothers, kind of like Vetements, oversized everything. I didn’t know that this industry existed and that it is full of artists, so it’s actually an amazing place for me to be.”
Now Jirickova, who loves the street photography of Miroslav Tichý and Vivian Maier, takes her sketchbook everywhere she travels and is currently working on a collage series that combines gestural brushstrokes with figure studies of people she meets on the road. “I’m trying to be selective with possible roles right now,” says the model. “When I’m creating art myself, I’m looking at somebody else as the muse, so when I’m part of a shoot I’m hyper-conscious of myself as the object and I don’t want to do anything that’s tacky.”
The seriousness with which she approaches her work adds to her appeal. “Hana embodies the best characteristics of a supermodel: creative, engaging, versatile, glamorous,” says Emerson Barth, manager of her mother agency Img. “She could teach new faces how to model and understands how to captivate every person in the room. In an industry of fads and trends, this is the type of talent that has true staying power.”
As a result, Jirickova is almost constantly on the road. She returned from Europe two days ago, though with her bright-eyed demeanor, you’d never know it. “I know this sounds crazy, but I love jet lag,” she says. “I woke up a 4:30am yesterday, did yoga, made some nice poached eggs, went to a shoot, worked the whole day, then went to dinner with friends, so the day felt twice as long.”
But whenever she does have time to nest, she revels in it. “I feel like my house is kind of an escape because when I’m home I’m just out on my balcony and I see the city. I have such a beautiful view; I just see green.”
Jirickova still doesn’t know if she’s flying out again tomorrow evening for one job or if she’s staying in New York for another. “My suitcase is always ready,” she says. That suitcase, a Micro Luggage Scooter with a carry-on-sized bag attached, comes in handy when Jirickova is racing to catch flights. “I saw a five-year-old girl on one and I had to have it,” she says. “The screws are falling out of mine because I’ve been riding too fast on it!”
Along with her sketchbook, Jirickova stashes a novel (she’s reading Anna Karenina at the moment), a Saks Potts tracksuit, several pairs of Re/Done jeans, and comfy shoes – Céline sandals for summer; ankle boots come fall.
The one thing she never leaves home without, however, is her ping-pong paddle, so she can keep up her game when she can’t get to her local dive bar for a pint and a round of table tennis. “I’m not that good,” she says, “but I’m very competitive.” She plays at the prestigious Queen’s Club when in London, which is where she recently graduated to real tennis. “I was watching the finals and I was like, ‘I could do this,’” she says. “Plus, it’s an amazing workout.” The only problem is, tennis racquets, unlike their miniature cousin, don’t fit easily in a carry-on. “I was thinking, why hasn’t anybody created a racquet that you can take apart and put in a suitcase?” she enthuses. Sounds like she has a business idea to fall back on – not that she’ll ever need it.