The Girl Next Door with 12,9 Million Followers: Interview with supermodel Barbara Palvin
Barbara Palvin. She has been one of Forbes’ most sought–after and well–paid models for years, and the influential models.com considers her one as of the most renowned models. At only 26 years old, her career has already reached amazing heights: we see her everywhere from cover photos and campaigns to the red carpet of Cannes, her name is mentioned alongside the biggest fashion brands and leaders of the fashion world, and on Instagram, she has more followers then the entire nation of Hungary. In the last few years, she grew from a successful supermodel to an entity bigger than herself: a true icon. However, she still stands with two feet on the ground. We were able to hold an exclusive interview with Barbara Palvin herself about fame, celebrations, failures, successes, the value of au naturel, and the future, which has not yet set in stone.
I met Barbi in a café in Budapest, and I wasn’t surprised by the circumstances: she arrived back from a fashion gala in France the night before, and the next morning, she would already be flying to New York for more work. What did surprise me was her natural aura – during our conversation, Barbi revealed herself as easy-going and nice. Her “girl next door” Instagram image is not part of a cleverly built PR stunt; this is the real Barbi. She is shockingly mature for her young age: her confidence, world class presence, and the professionalism she brings to her work are maintained all while she remains true to herself, despite her fame. However, this wasn’t always the case; between sips of detox smoothie, she explains her path of finding her true self.
“In the past, it was difficult to harmonize the persona I showed the world and the person I was inside, but I realised that the only way to enjoy my work was to be myself. But that comes with its own controversies: I am timid and extroverted, shy and confident at the same time.”
Barbi talked about being at war with her body on many social media sites and also during interviews, which is difficult to believe coming from someone who has become world famous for her beauty. The Barbi that sat in front of me – without any make up on, eyes watery from her allergies, wearing a sporty, loose jumper and sneakers– still outshone the street with a natural glow; a feat that us regular mortals wouldn’t be able to manage, not even with hours of careful preparations. But when I asked her about the war with her body, it became clear that the reasons for her insecurities come from her very profession.
“The more people pay attention to your looks, the more you notice every little imperfection. I will never be a hundred percent satisfied with myself: there will always be small things that bother be, mostly about my figure. If I didn’t choose this profession, it wouldn’t be an issue, but now I have to pay attention to it because every extra pound can look monumental on a photo. Unfortunately with my body type I really have to pay attention to my figure – taking it easy for only two or three weeks can already destroy the leanness I had been building for half a year before. But luckily, I’m managing to love and accept myself more and more.”
Although she has had an incredible number of projects since she was spontaneously discovered on the street by Icon Model Management at the age of 13 (which landed her a global appearance on the cover of the French L’Officiel), she still believes that she isn’t ready for many opportunities.
“I haven’t felt ready for the runway until now: at 26 I still have the soul of a child, hence at 19 I definitely wasn’t ready to do sexy poses in my underwear during the first Victoria’s Secret fashion show – I had to train both body and soul for that. Acting is similar: I could have gotten a bigger role in Hercules, but I didn’t dare to do it; I was afraid that I wasn’t good enough yet, and would have ended up disappointing myself. It is one of my basic characteristics that I postpone things because I’m afraid of failure.”
But she accomplishes everything she undertakes with such a speed that it could be the envy of even the best race car: both hands are not enough to count the number of photo campaigns and fashion events she starred in during the last couple of months, and she will continue to do so internationally. Does this perpetually travelling and slightly workaholic girl ever rest?
“I have to admit, I didn’t take a proper vacation for almost 12 years until 2018 February. Then I spent the first two months relaxing at home and travelling around Europe with my friends. But it was what I needed; any more rest and I would have gone crazy. I’m in the middle of it all again, but luckily I can sleep during long flights; waking up at dawn and short trips with flight connections are far more tiring. I can usually handle this pace for two months, and then I allow myself at least a few days of rest.”
During the past 13 years Barbi spent in this profession, she has accomplished a few tiny and negligible career feats: not once but twice she has appeared on the cover of Vogue, and again on the covers of L’Officiel, Harper’s Bazaar and Glamour; she became the L’Oreal Paris ambassador; she has won the Rookie of the Year Award from Sports Illustrated, Model of the Year Award from GQ Portugal and Glamour Women of the Year; she has starred in the perfume campaigns of Armani, Nina Ricci, Lagerfeld and Calvin Klein; and also has become the face of world famous brands like Chanel, Armani and from 2019 she is also a Victoria’s Secret Angel – to name only a few. Even with a career as amazing as this, failures can happen. These are certainly hard move on from, but the most difficult task is remaining true to yourself when you reached the top. Barbi has seemed to manage even that.
“This profession is built on failures – with many ‘no’s and disappointments, later, with enough determination, you may receive big ‘yes’s. Personality is always the most significant factor: the career of a model is undoubtedly a team effort, but it is you who stands alone during photo shoots or events, not the manager, therefore it is important to communicate in a way so, at the end of the day, people like working with you. You also have to be a good judge of character; it is the only way to shut out superficial people: those who only ever get close to you when they know others can see you smiling together. People say that I still remain myself, real. I have not been swept up by the fashion world; I am a real, a bit boyish girl. I can see it in many world famous stars; it seems as though they lost the normal way of life: many of them desire naturalness and I believe I remind them of it.”
Fortunately, despite the often dishonest dark side of the profession, Barbi has also gained fantastic friendships and experiences since her career began.
“I became really good friends with three models: Stella Maxwell, Alexina Graham and Soo Joo Park – so much so that sometimes I stay with them for days. Beyond these friendships, there are many other aspects to this profession that I love: I met incredibly interesting people and I never would have imagined traveling to so many exciting places.”
And what else could be the favourite place of some who has travelled around the world than…
“Budapest. I live here, I feel at home here, and my heart belongs here.”
Our conversation was interrupted by not one but three dog videos: Barbi and her sister, Anita became the proud owners of a Shiba Inu puppy called Sushi – and it was great to see that although she can glance at you with her characteristic look of confident sensuality from any world-famous brand’s campaign, she still zooms in to countless pictures of her tiny puppy with the same enthusiasm as the rest of us. Between two ‘look how cute’s, she added with her characteristic humour that she had taken the first step towards motherhood by owning a dog. Naturally, after the compulsory ‘oh my God’s and ‘so cute’s, I had to ask about those next steps towards motherhood.
“I’m ready to have a family and I would like to be a young mother: it would be great if I could start a family when I’m about 30. Of course I cannot know beforehand how frightening would motherhood be, because naturally it is an enormous responsibility. But I’m certain that I would keep this same pace with my children.”
These desires are surprising from Barbi, as they are far from the glam and fame of the fashion world: but even more surprising how consciously she manages her online and offline habits.
“I haven’t had a laptop for eight years, and have been without a Facebook profile for seven. Awaiting sleeplessly at night for an answer in the dim light of the computer screen, or thinking about why so many people check in to an event that you weren’t invited to, is very poisonous. I try to isolate myself from all of that; therefore the importance of social media in this profession is particularly difficult.”
Although Barbi is not a fan of social media, it loves her very much in return; her Instagram profile has over 12 million followers.
“I would say that this kind of attention is an enormous pressure, but at the end of the day I wouldn’t be any different with 8000 followers either. I know, of course, that a well-taken selfie brings more likes than a group picture with my friends, but what I communicate to so many followers is a far greater responsibility. I would like to give a good example, first and foremost, by remaining natural and showing in my pictures and posts that you don’t have to be well dressed and wear full make up to be loved and accepted. In the future, I would like to deal with this topic more seriously – to talk about self-confidence and share all that I have learned these past years.”
During our conversation, the thought of online reactions saddened Barbi more than once – because with this much attention, a supermodel receives many malicious comments along with the kind and supportive feedback.
“It would make me so happy if people weren’t so judgemental. They don’t know me, they can’t see into my life. If they could only know how even one negative opinion hurts me as much as anyone else… and how every single malicious comment strikes me. I know all too well that I’m not perfect, and I would love if we could rid ourselves of this negative way of thinking and learn to support and improve each other. I’m not talking only about myself: with a positive attitude we could achieve far more in everything.”
We did not linger on these sensitive topics, and instead of painful moments I asked her about celebrations and her opportunities to let her golden brown hair down with her busy and rather strict lifestyle.
“I always reward myself after finishing a big job. Last time when I arrived home from a 2-week Armani photoshoot, we had a feast with my family and later in the evening I went out with my friends. I really love my birthday as well, but I’m always moved to tears when showered with so much love, especially from my close circle of friends. It was very difficult to find them: I almost believed that I couldn’t trust anyone before we met, and to this day I’m truly grateful to my sister for introducing us. It is wonderful that, thanks to Anita, I could finally have an honest and helpful circle of friends in Budapest. I love them terribly and the many adventures we have accomplished together.”
Regarding programs and hobbies, Barbi manages to remain natural even in her free time: she does not care for extravagances, and enjoys the simple pleasures of the real world.
“I read a lot and I love fishing. My friends and I take a trip to Barcelona or Belgium whenever we can. In Budapest we often go to escape rooms, and we love board games that require creativity, like Cluedo or Catan. Yes, I matured and grew up – but the tomboy I was as a child is still in me.”
As Barbi slowly finished the last drops of her enormous smoothie, I saw that our time was coming to an end. As a last question, I asked about her motivation as a model who seems to have achieved everything.
“I don’t think I could ever just lay back and be completely satisfied: as soon as I achieve something, I have a new goal. I believe that life is good when we have something motivating in front of our eyes. Besides my career, I would like to continue to participate in the charity work that is close to my heart, and through my fame raise awareness to the global issues happening right now. In the future, I would like to do interactive and intellectual work where I have the chance to use my creativity more: I would like to be prepared to become a businesswoman by the time I’m thirty. I have always been good with numbers, I am interested in finance, and I would like to put more energy into our family businesses. I enjoy my work, but I feel that I haven’t really found my calling in life yet – and it may not be modelling.”
Despite her sporty outfit and easy-going personality, she calls a taxi with an innate French elegance and leaves. There are many things behind her, but the road ahead is still long – in every sense. Where does she go from here? Only time will tell what the future holds for her after Budapest, New York, or her modelling career – but no matter what she chooses in life, she will certainly remain the beautiful, honest and truly real person as we know her today.
(This article was originally published in Fashion Street Magazine – The Anniversary Issue 2018. Photos: © Oleg Borisuk for Fashion Street, Text by Zsófia Tillinger)
