Iman is a “Rebel, Rebel” when it comes to embracing aging.
The supermodel and founder of Iman Cosmetics is comfortable in her own skin at 67, and doesn’t care about trying to turn back the clock like many of her fashion-industry peers.
“I come from Africa, we celebrate getting older. A friend was telling me there’s been a rise in cosmetic surgery, all because [people] have been looking at themselves in Zoom meetings,” Iman told British Vogue in her new cover story published Wednesday.
The legendary catwalker called the obsession with youth a “very Western mentality” and joked, “If you are worried about that, just put the camera up [so it’s tilted down on your face], for God’s sake!’”
Continued the Somali stunner, “This really is a mentality rooted in the West. For me, it has never been a problem.”
The Vogue fixture also spoke about her husband David Bowie, who died of cancer in 2016, and how he helped inspire her to launch her cosmetics company in 1994. (“He is not my ‘late husband.’ He is my husband,” she told the mag.)
“I said, ‘Suppose it fails?’ And he replied, ‘And? If it fails, what do you think is going to happen? You’re not going to die of it. You know that there isn’t a single black model who ever goes to a job without having her foundation in her pocket. This is a reason to create,’” Iman recalled.
Now, the mom and grandmother is focused on her family, having retired from modeling in 1989. “I can’t really wear heels anymore. I know my limitations,” she quipped.
In her interview, Iman also looked back on the racism she experienced in the fashion industry, especially in the early days of her career.
“The reason a lot of [racist] things are happening in our industry is because there is nobody [non-white] in decision-making positions. These people exist. So this idea that we are asking for a seat at the table … I’m done with the seat at the table. Let’s just dismantle the whole table,” she said.
Iman serves as executive producer on “Supreme Models,” a new six-part YouTube documentary series exploring the impact of black models on the fashion world.