‘I’m definitely a multi-tasker,’ announces Karlie Kloss at 8am from her home in New York, seemingly unaware of just how much of an understatement that is.
At 23 years old, the supermodel has launched her own school, created a cookie business to raise money for the charity FEED, is the godmother to Jourdan Dunn’s son and has been hailed by Diane von Furstenberg as a ‘force’ leading her generation – all while broadcasting her life to five million Instagram followers and running her own YouTube channel.
Alongside becoming the face of Adidas by Stella McCartney (‘an honour’), Karlie’s latest move is a two-week academy in her hometown of St Louis, launched this summer, to give young women the opportunity to learn how to code and develop their own apps. She is learning to code herself, and has just finished her first year at NYU following a separate business course at Harvard.
Does she enjoy confounding expectations of what models should be? ‘Since the day I started modelling, there have always been false stereotypes,’ Karlie tells Grazia. ‘But I’m not here to prove the world wrong. I just want to be the best version of myself.
‘I recognise that I am in a position to have influence on other people, and I do not take that lightly. I want to use it to inspire people to push themselves. In two weeks we’re completely changing these young ladies’ knowledge and understanding about this technology. A lot of them leave being transformed. That to me is success.’
Off-duty, Karlie is equally busy in her role as Taylor Swift’s right hand woman and an integral member of her infamous squad. After meeting backstage at the Victoria’s Secret show three years ago, the pair became fast friends, travelling the world together and sharing an apartment in New York. They were most recently seen at Taylor’s annual 4th July party, posing alongside Cara Delevingne, Gigi Hadid, Blake Lively and the group’s latest addition, British actor Tom Hiddleston.
Friendship group envy? Yes. But the squad has not escaped controversy. Last year, feminist writer Camille Paglia accused Taylor’s girl gang of being elitist, claiming that the singer’s ‘twinkly persona is [..] a scary flashback to the fascist blondes who ruled the social scene during my youth.’
But Karlie is quick to brush off any criticisms, saying, ‘My friends are truly, genuinely, kind, caring, thoughtful people. I think that’s what draws everyone in my friendship group together. We are all very supportive of each other and we really care about each other. We are a big network of really great friends who all have very international schedules and lives. We try and get together as much as possible even if we’re all travelling in different places. We’re in touch constantly.’
The group, she says, helps her through the ‘highs and lows’ of her career. Despite campaigns for Topshop, Dior and Lanvin, Karlie admits she hasn’t always felt comfortable in her own skin.
‘I grew up the tallest in my class and was always being teased for being skinny,’ she says. ‘I was a lanky teenager. Whether it was those people at school, or people online now, I had to develop a thick skin. You have to learn to cope with those people’s opinions, and that’s why it’s so important for women to be surrounded by people who really, truly support them. You have to have a core support group.’
As for the future? ‘I want to use my platform to reach my voice further and wider, keep building my career and reach and be able to make a positive impact in many ways.’
All in a day’s work for Karlie Kloss…
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