Carla Bruni: ‘The ‘90s Were Fun, Sexy And Changed Our Lives Forever’

How would you ring in your quinquagenarian era? Some would throw a party, while some others would opine that a birthday trip is the appropriate way to celebrate being here for half a century. None of that seems quite sufficient though, when you’re one of the world’s leading democratic fashion houses. No wonder, then, that Zara, the Spanish high street behemoth, is firing on all cylinders to mark the momentous occasion of turning 50. When you’re Zara, a bottle of Prosecco in the office kitchen won’t cut it. Instead, you call up fashion photographer Steven Meisel, 50 of the world’s biggest supermodels, Karl Templer, to style the whole thing, Pat McGrath to do the make-up and Guido Palau to do the hair, and congregate them in a superlative fashion conclave to shoot a celebratory campaign that will set fashion hearts racing.

A masterful Meisel coup wouldn’t find its logical conclusion without the aid of his ‘90s super friends so, among the 50 faces that feature in the campaign shoot and video, there are some of fashion’s most recognisable faces who have worked with the photographer for the past 30 years. Whether you're Cindy Crawford, Amber Valletta, Linda Evangelista, Christy Turlington or Carla Bruni, when Meisel calls, you don’t hang up the phone. ‘Working with Steven was always and still is a dream,’ Bruni tells Grazia. ‘I’ve had the pleasure of seeing him in New York on private occasions since we’d last worked together but being on set with him again, especially with all my longtime friends, was very special.’

Since exploding on the modelling scene at the age of 19 in 1987, courtesy of a Guess Jeans campaign (which would later also launch the career of Claudia Schiffer), the former first lady of France has become a mainstay in fashion’s collective memory, captivating audiences with her flawless '90s beauty. Think of the decade and chances are your mind will conjure up an image of Bruni and her supermodel peers instantaneously, either from blown-up billboards or from the runways. Being reunited by Meisel must have been quite the meeting then? ‘I have so many memories with so many of them. To be a model in the '90s meant being at the right place at the right time. It was fun, it was sexy, we were young, we were having a blast, and it changed our lives forever,’ she says.

As anyone who’s spent an extensive amount of working hours bonding with a colleague could attest, those are often the relationships of which you never quite lose sight. ‘There are quite a few of the girls that I see on regular occasions, at fashion shows or events, and also privately. And thanks to Instagram, I reconnected with most of the others, too. At the end of the day, fashion always felt like a family to me, it still does and I’m very grateful for that and working together again was so much fun. Catching up and giggling with some of my oldest friends. Being back together again felt like being 25 again,’ she continues.

To cast such a close-knit group of friends for a project like this, then, makes perfect sense. It’s not just a campaign, it’s a coming together, a commemoration of relationship ties: those of the models with each other; the intimate connections they share with Meisel as the man who’s captured them for decades; as well as the tried and trusted connection Zara has established with its customers over the past five decades since opening its first store in 1975 in A Coruña, in Galicia, Spain. It shows not only in the signature Meisel black and white group shot but also in the campaign video, which sees the supermodel cast dance to Donna Summer’s I Feel Love.

It’s a familiar image for those versed in fashion iconography, as is the styling for anyone with a proclivity for minimal ‘90s fashion, which has been holding our wardrobes in a fuss-free chokehold for the past few seasons. The synergies between the cast and the collection (made up of timeless wardrobe workhorses) are undeniable. ‘My wardrobe essentials are mostly comfortable clothes. In everyday life I like to wear simple and easy pieces. I go for the perfect basics: a shirt or a light knit top and a pair of jeans are pretty much my uniform,’ Bruni says of her own wardrobe. But after years of working with fashion’s greats, surely her archives must boast more than just basics? ‘I was lucky enough to work with the most genius designers and many pieces I got to wear were absolutely incredible,’ she says. ‘But my most cherished piece has to be the dress that John Galliano made for me when I had to meet Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II. John graciously let me keep it and even though I only got to wear it once since at the re-opening ceremony of Notre-Dame, and probably will never wear it again. I treasure it.’

As for her number one fashion advice? ‘Don’t follow trends,’ she says, ‘but stay true to yourself.’ If there’s one person to take such advice from, it’s Bruni, bien sûr.

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Henrik Lischke is the senior fashion features editor at Grazia. Prior to that, he held the role of commerce writer at British Vogue, and was junior fashion editor at The Sunday Times Style. A first-class honours Fashion Journalism graduate from UAL: London College of fashion, Henrik is invariably on the lookout for the newest talent in fashion, that is driving the industry forward, and shining the spotlight on them whenever possible. He’s also got a passion for interiors design and the arts. Follow Henrik on Instagram @henriklischke.