The interview:
Iconic supermodel Adriana Lima discusses motherhood, social media trolls and creating a space for mature women within the fashion industry â and just like the heritage Cartier Collection pieces Adriana wears, she only gets better with age
Itâs fair to say that 2023 has been somewhat of a comeback year for the supermodels of the â90s and noughties. Theyâve enjoyed space in documentaries on streaming channels, group fashion magazine covers, jointly walking the runways again and grabbing designer brand campaigns from the new pretenders. And in the midst of the supers who are making a return is one of the nicest, most down-toearth people in fashion â who also happens to be one of the most beautiful women in the world: Adriana Lima⌠although she makes it clear that this is just the warm-up to her renaissance. âMy true comeback will be in 2024,â she laughs. The model and actress, who is probably most famous for being the longest-running Victoriaâs Secret Angel in the world, is now 42-years-old and a mother of five, but is still giving the newbies a run for their money after being named as the face of Victoriaâs Secretâs Heavenly Eau de Parfum in April and also starring in the brandâs recent Icons lingerie campaign alongside Gisele BĂźndchen, Naomi Campbell and Candice Swanepoel.
âI feel like there has been a return of the supers,â agrees Adriana as we chat about her recent campaigns. âIâve been seeing not only supermodels from the 2000s but also from the â80s and â90s who have been working a lot lately and I think itâs wonderful to see.â She goes on to explain why that might be. âI think each of the supermodels has a different character and persona, and I think thatâs what makes a difference because you can see those distinct personas when they are in photoshoots and on the runaway. They are easily remembered for that. I think that makes it easier for brands to sell because people connect to you, they connect to that distinct personality that you have.â
And it seems that brands are finally catching on that consumers want to see women of all age brackets in the limelight. âThese supermodels are in different stages of their lives and are being celebrated for being mature women, which is refreshing to see because, as we know, the traditional fashion models usually donât last that long. But I think that scenario is finishing. I think that as women, we are being celebrated in every stage of our life.â Adriana has a vested interest in wanting that narrative to be true â and that extends beyond her own alleged âsell-by dateâ. âIâm happy to see that change because one of my daughters wants to be a model,â she explains of her eldest, Valentina, aged 14. âAnd I felt very sad that she, as a model, would be celebrated for only a certain time frame of her life. I think that every stage is a beautiful time and Iâm loving that fashion is now embracing that.â
So, does she think society is finally changing? Are we moving away from the conventional idea of what models and indeed women should look like? Are we leaving behind the âthin, pretty and youngâ traditional beauty ideals that have dominated much of her lifetime and career? Adriana is not so sure. âI donât think weâre [totally] moving away from âthin, young and beautifulâ; I think that the world is creating space for everyone â and everyone with their uniqueness is being celebrated. I think there is beauty in every stage of a woman and manâs life and itâs wonderful to see that there can be space for everybody.â
This does feel like an incredibly positive and gracious attitude from Adriana, considering the onslaught of scrutiny and judgement she faced just a few weeks ago when she stepped out to attend The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes premiere. Social media comments speculated that her face âlooked alteredâ and that sheâd had a facelift or fillers. Others suggested she looked âall swollenâ and âmuch olderâ than the last time sheâd been seen in public. Mainstream media and web publications joined in the beauty-shaming circus. Adriana gently retaliated, posting a bare-faced picture on Instagram with the caption: âThe face of a tired mom of one teenage girl, two pre-teens, one active boy, a one-year-old learning to walk, and three dogs⌠thanks for your concernâ.
âIt did not bother me at all,â laughs Adriana. âIâm very strong that way, and honestly, I looked at myself before I stepped out and I was feeling great. I was with my children, and they looked at me and were like, âMom! You look so beautiful!â Adriana does admit that she was surprised to see how she looked in the pictures, though. âI was in shock when I saw them. I was like âthatâs not meâ. Everything was strange because I donât see myself like that. I still donât see myself like that⌠you can see yourself differently. I didnât get offended or anything, though â I was laughing. The point is, I am not 16 years old. I started modelling at 16 but I will never be 16 again. Iâm 42 and Iâm the happiest Iâve been; the happiest with myself. I embrace my age and I will not change for anyone.â
With that said, Adriana, who has worked on a number of female empowerment projects, is aware of how it could affect her kids. âMy concern about this is not for me, itâs for my children because they were with me, they saw me and then this stuff comes out. I donât want them to feel the pressure to look a certain way because of other people. If they do that to me, how will they be safe? And the truth is, I donât think anyone is safe because people are always criticising,â she laments.
Adriana Lima On Motherhood and Her Children
The model and TV hostâs concern for her blended family is at the heart of everything she does and feels. Mother to daughters Valentina, 14 and Sienna, 11 from her marriage to ex-husband Marko JariÄ, son Cyan who turned one this August with partner Andre Lemmers and his two children Miah and Lupo from a previous relationship. This makes for a busy household, so how does she cope?
âI take it day by day,â she confesses. âEvery day is a different story. There is no manual for motherhood. As the kids grow up, theyâre going towards different stages of their life. I still have a baby and I have a teenager so every day you deal with different things. I wish I could tell you something magical, some advice, but I just take it a step at a time.â
And Adrianaâs everyday life is not that out of the ordinary. âI do live quite a normal life and I do everything that a normal person would do. When youâre a model, people think that youâre always going to be dressed up with your hair and make-up done in designer clothes â and thatâs not me. When Iâm going round the supermarket or dropping my kids at school, people see me but theyâre not sure itâs actually me. They get confused,â she laughs. âI like my everyday life, I do everything that someone ânormalâ would do: drive the kids to school, pick them up, go to the supermarket, walk the dog⌠just simple things and I love it.â
Time off during the pandemic and then being at home pre and post having her youngest child has meant spending most of her time at home in Miami, prioritising motherhood â even if it gets in the way of her own hobbies, exercise and self-care time. Adriana was known for her almost regimental fitness and diet regimes in the lead-up to Victoriaâs Secret shows. Sheâs been boxing since the age of 19 and is an advocate for meditation â but all that has to take somewhat of a backseat these days.
âOk, Iâm really struggling,â she laughs. âWith children and a baby, itâs hard to be at the gym every day, even though I really do love the gym. Generally, Iâve been doing a lot of cardio like jumping rope and running and also started adding weights which I didnât do before, and then Iâll do boxing say twice a week for 20 minutes. I try to go to the gym six times a week but Iâm not very successful, I really try but with the children itâs crazy. The other day I had my session with my trainer set up and then the school called me to pick up my daughter because she didnât feel well and then the other one another day, so itâs tough.â
Could she not let someone else pick up the children? âOn no, I really love it, I love doing everything with them, theyâre growing up so quickly. I look at my 14-year-old and I look at pictures of when she was a baby â itâs happened in the blink of an eye. Itâs funny because I didnât want children, but then I changed and now I want more kids!â
I ask her about her down time, if indeed there is any. âI used to meditate a lot but now thereâs no time. I barely have time to go out for dinner with my husband. So my meditation is going to the bathroom for five minutes and locking myself in and praying that my kids are not going to be knocking at my door and asking me for something they need,â she smiles. âI do love watching old Hollywood movies and Italian classics like La Dolce Vita with Anita Ekberg, Iâm also obsessed with Lauren Bacall and I use those films for inspiration when it comes to fashion but I only really get to watch films on the plane these days!â
And is fashion still a big thing for her? âFashion is in my blood,â says Adriana, who has worked with brands including Versace, Prada, Loewe and Louis Vuitton. âWhen it comes to designers, I love Tamara Ralph. I think sheâs so elegant and I saw her comeback this year. I was so excited to see all her designs. Iâm also waiting for a comeback from Riccardo Tisci. I love him, I think heâs so creative and so different, and I canât wait to see his return.â
Despite the business of motherhood, Adriana has managed to find time for work, be that modelling, documentary-making, humanitarian work or in her role as a FIFA fan ambassador, which the self-proclaimed lover of the sport is continuing with into next year.
âI canât share a lot of details of the work Iâve done with FIFA yet but I can say that there wasnât one single trip that I did with them where I wasnât involved in a charity. We went to visit a few hospitals, different countries, different schools and we went to visit a particular place that really caught my attention.â
Adriana, who worked on the FIFA: A Love Letter to Rwanda short earlier this year, canât share the details of the latest project but tells us the story of meeting a humanitarian worker who has rescued 100 young children from politically unstable countries and is providing them with education and a place to stay. Sheâs passionate about being able to tell this womanâs story in detail soon.
So what else can we expect from the woman who was named Victoriaâs Secretâs most-valuable model? âA lot of things happened this year for me, but I wouldnât call it my comeback yet. I think my official comeback will actually be next year,â she reveals. âYou guys will see that. Thatâs all I can say for now!â We canât wait. As many of Adrianaâs fans have exclaimed: The queen is back.