Helena Christensen: Gigi Hadid cried in my arms when we first met

Christensen said it’s ‘beautiful’ to shoot Hadid and the new generation of catwalk stars
Snap happy: Helena Christensen has gone behind the camera
Oxfam
Emma Powell11 May 2018
The Weekender

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Supermodel turned photographer Helena Christensen says she is enjoying seeing a new generation of stars evolve from behind the lens.

The 49-year-old has snapped stars including Elizabeth Jagger and Liv Tyler and is also close to Gigi Hadid, 23, who was in tears on first meeting her.

She told A List: “I love having them as friends and being able to shoot them and capture their spirit and see them evolve – that’s beautiful.”

Christensen met Hadid after taking part in a tribute show to mark the 20th anniversary of the death of Gianni Versace last September. Recalling their encounter she said: “I remember I was the first one to get off stage and Gigi Hadid was standing there and I fell into her arms and she gave me a huge hug and had tears in her eyes and since then we became friends.”

In front of the lens: Danish model Helena Christensen (Jeff Spicer/PA)
PA

The show saw Christensen reunited with Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell, Claudia Schiffer and Carla Bruni, who together with Christy Turlington and Elle Macpherson, became known as supermodel power group, the Magnificent Seven, in the 1990s.

But despite finding the show “super fun”, Christensen, whose 18-year-old son Mingus made his catwalk debut last year, said she has no desire to return to the runway.

“No, no – that was a lot of catwalk walked,” she said. “It was very intense and the least favourite part of my job. It was really, really hard work. I don’t think anyone will understand how much pressure was on us girls, travelling every day, sleeping four hours, doing maybe 10 sometimes 12 fittings and shows a day.

Next generation: US supermodel Gigi Hadid has struck up a friendship with Helena Christensen 
Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images

“But I had beautiful memories too, working with those incredible design houses. You were part of history having the original designers fit you in couture dresses. Back then I was like ‘this is taking so long’ – but now I realise how grateful I should be to have been a part of that.”

The Danish model has shot, as well as been featured on, covers for Marie Claire, ELLE and Vogue. She has also held several exhibitions for her work including one which documented the impact of climate change in Peru, where her mother was born.

Versace SS18 at Milan Fashion Week

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Christensen, who recently teamed up with Chinese tech company Huawei to celebrate the launch of its new P20 smartphone, said photography also has its challenges as she can’t “let go of everything” and “zone out” in the way that she can in front of a camera.

She said: “When I’m photographing I have the responsibility of everyone around me and I’ve got to get something out of the model, create a mood and a story so I concentrate in a completely different way. I get a little tense and I’m holding my breath because there is so much going on and I have to have it all worked out.”

Christensen said she is still critical of her work, but that “if I take two or three pics a year where I feel something is unique they will be worth all the s*** I take that year.”

Huawei recently teamed up with Helena Christensen to support the launch of their latest smartphone, the Huawei P20 Pro which is available nationwide now.

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