KERR BOOM!
An equal hit in high fashion and the tabloids, Miranda Kerr puts the super in model
By Laura Brown
Miranda Kerr is walking around her Miami hotel room wielding a large blunt object. It's a crystal, cast in heavy metal, scented with sandalwood, very Game of Thrones. But this one—which I'm too scared to touch, lest I curse it—is a healing crystal that she sleeps with every night.
Instead of sounding like a hippie, though, when Kerr talks about her crystalline ways she comes off as rather practical. Her Australian accent doesn't hurt. When she talks about "clearing energy," she makes it sound like going to buy milk. "It's rose quartz," she says brightly. "And then I clear it with the energy of the sun or the moon every three days." She waves it in front of me like an instructional.
Kerr, who just returned from a hectic two weeks of travel in Europe, laments that she is looking decidedly beach inappropriate. Should we all look as such: campaign-ready in a Stella McCartney checked jacket, tight black trousers with mesh sides, and a conservative (from the front, at least) white long-sleeved top that has virtually no back.
She may be dressed too warmly for Miami, but Kerr, 31, is managing her heat just fine. Her relationship with Louis Vuitton designer Nicolas Ghesquière, which began when he was at the helm of Balenciaga and cast the then Victoria's Secret Angel in its Spring 2010 runway show, continues to shape her career. "Nicolas cast me before I was pregnant," she recalls. "Then while I was pregnant, and after …"
Along with Kerr's now four-year-old son, Flynn (with ex-husband Orlando Bloom), a new career was born. Kerr credits Ghesquière with launching her into high fashion. "He really believed in me in a world where a lot of people don't," she says. "If you're in a certain category, they keep you in that category. I started more commercially, and sometimes it's hard to go the other way, you know?"
After Balenciaga came a Prada show and ad campaign, shoots with Steven Meisel, three million Twitter followers, five million on Instagram, and here she is. There are few models other than Kerr who can represent Louis Vuitton while selling Swarovski rings and also designing a line of Royal Albert teacups. "I have to approach my career with a wink," she explains. "Otherwise you can be really self-critical, because there's always someone else. I've struggled with that. The perception is that I have it all. But in the modeling industry—and I've been in the industry since I was 13—it's not all what it appears to be. People don't realize that." It was with an eye to lasting success that in 2009, Kerr launched Kora Organics, her hugely popular skin-care line. All of this adds up to an apple-cheeked income upwards of $7 million a year.
So far, so sensible. Indeed, Kerr calls herself a "nanna" (Australian for grandma), but like her trousers she's got more than a little sass. As tabloid readers are aware, Kerr, who is single, is big with the boys. Depending on the day, Justin Bieber and Bloom are fighting over her, or she's dating Tom Cruise, Steve Bing, or a buffet of L.A. modelizers. "Some of the stuff that gets written, there's not one bit of truth to it," she says. "Not even a smidgen! But if you worry about what other people think, it's just a downward spiral."
Contrary to the press, Kerr isn't dating much at all. "I'll go on a date here and there if it works. But at this point my priority is my son. I'm not looking for a relationship. I'm just not." But being a girl about town, she has some opinions on the business of courtship. Having dispensed some advice at a recent dinner, I asked Kerr to share her wisdom. Ever diligent, she'd made notes prior to our interview. (She has in fact already written two books for young ladies, Treasure Yourself and Empower Yourself.)
"Men don't want to be disrespected, and women feel the best when they feel cherished," she says. "So if a woman is feeling cherished, she will respect a man, and if a man's feeling respected, he will cherish a woman. It doesn't need to be complicated." She continues: "You know, for a long time I had it the wrong way. I was constantly doing, doing. Giving, giving for my partner. But what works is not feeling like you have to be everything to everyone."
To the issues: How to prepare for a date? "What really works is to spend 15 minutes and focus on feelings and moments that have made you feel really good. Remember those moments so you can build up a positive force field around you."
Next, should a girl ever call a guy? "I don't believe in that. I believe in the man chasing the girl, but that's just me personally." Texting? "I think a woman should respond but not reach out." Wardrobe? "Something that you feel good in. Also, if you're wearing good underwear—even if no one knows about it—it gives you that extra boost of confidence."
What sort of knickers, then? "Oooh, I can't tell you that." She smiles. "But I do like the garter belt. Myla makes a great high-waisted one." She adds conspiratorially, "Say it's winter, and you have really nice underwear on, a garter belt, stockings, boots that come up, and a dress on over the top." Wink. "No one needs to know."
Which brings us to the timeless question of sex on the first date. Out comes the notepad. "My philosophy is that until you get to know them it's better not to, because energetically as a woman you get attached. So you're better off to go on a few dates and see if you want to get attached or not."
Kerr cites the concept of circular dating: seeing a few men at a time and keeping all options open until you're sure a man is worth it. The idea is about saving ladies from investing in unsuitable men. "If you are not sleeping with someone, then I think it's okay to go on a date with this one and that one." But when you start sleeping with one, it's sayonara to your other suitors? "Correct!" she says, laughing. And, finally, back to those tabloids, should two men fight over a woman? She rolls her eyes. "I don't know. Leave it up to them! It's not really her problem."
Right now, Kerr is concerned with only one man—the garrulous Flynn. "He's the sweetest boy, really so gentle and so loving and so—" She gets a little dewy. "I get a tear in my eye because I'm so proud of him. He's really engaging and funny."
And, handily, Bloom "lives 30 seconds away. Flynn has the best of both worlds that way," she says, adding, "Orlando will always be my family. We get on so well. We hang out a lot. We're a team, and we really work on that because Flynn is our priority. We're both really transparent about everything." She laughs. "Even though we don't need to be!"
Kerr's desire to get home after two weeks of swanning is crystal clear. Back to California—the water, cups of tea, and her silk robe. "And nothing else. Just around the house. I love taking my shoes off and being in the grass. Or sunbaking naked." She sighs. "I wish I could go skinny-dipping in the ocean. If I didn't have to worry about anyone taking my picture, I'd totally be out there. Yeah … " She folds up her notepad. "I quite like to be naked."
Source: harpersbazaar.com