About this episode

Bella Freud interviews model Kristen McMenamy about her career, the impact of insecurity on modeling, and the artistry of selfies.

Kristen McMenamy is an American model. Born in Pennsylvania, she rose to fame in the 1990s as part of the legendary group of Supermodels including Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford, Kate Moss, Christy Turlington, and Linda Evangelista. McMenamy was a muse to Peter Lindbergh and Karl Lagerfield, and her short dark hair and bleached eyebrows made her an icon of the early 90s grunge scene, appearing in the famous American Vogue “Grunge and Glory” spread shot by Steven Meisel and styled by Grace Coddington. Known for her unconventional, androgynous look, she has worked with many of the world’s most iconic fashion photographers, including Helmut Newton, Richard Avedon, Steven Meisel, Arthur Elgort, Tim Walker, and Juergen Teller, who described her as “the best model I have ever worked with”. After taking a hiatus to raise her children, McMenamy returned to modelling in the mid 2000s. She is more in demand than ever, a favourite of Haider Ackermann for Tom Ford and has appeared on a multitude of covers including British Vogue in 2022. She regularly walks in the shows of top designers including Miu Miu, Tom Ford, and Valentino. In this episode of Fashion Neurosis, Bella Freud and Kristen…

People in this episode

Host: Bella Freud

Guest: Kristen McMenamy

Topics covered

• modeling
• fashion history
• grunge culture
• selfie artistry
• insecurity in modeling

Keywords

• Kristen McMenamy
• modeling
• fashion
• grunge
• selfie
• Karl Lagerfeld
• Peter Lindbergh
• Vogue
• supermodels

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Vox Media Podcast Network, British Vogue, Miu Miu, Tom Ford, Valentino

Books & works: Grunge and Glory

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