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Model Karen Elson on Music and Motherhood

Karen Elson. Photographed by Heidi Ross

By Nana Nørgaard and Benjamin A Wendelboe

Karen Elson is known for her flame-colored hair, porcelain skin, for being a “big favorite” of Vogue creative director-at-large, Grace Coddington, and her many outstanding covers (more than 30 international Vogues), as well as campaigns for Louis Vuitton, Cartier, and Tom Ford, to name a few. The former wife of rock star Jack White of The White Stripes made her catwalk comeback at Paris Fashion Week last summer at the Atelier Versace Fall 2016 show.

She is also a critically acclaimed singer and songwriter, with her debut album, The Ghost Who Walked, coming out in 2010. This year, the mother of two released a new album, Double Roses. The record is laced with orchestral rips and melancholic lines that one can only imagine refer to her ex-husband. “In the end I forgive/I was set free by what you did,” sings Elson in a haunting voice. Vogue Arabia caught up with the enchanting and versatile artist at this year’s Roskilde Festival in Denmark.

Karen Elson. Photographed by Heidi Ross

What is your musical inspiration?
It comes from a lot of things, to be honest. Seven years is a long time to go between albums, so for me, the inspiration was just my life. The stuff that goes on in my head. Every time I try to write a song that’s not from the heart, it doesn’t work. I can only write songs from the heart.

How has your style evolved since your first album?
Since my first album, I grew up a lot. With the first album I was still quite shy, even about the songwriting process. I had to hide everything in a story. This time I was a lot more vulnerable and fragile with my feelings and the songwriting process. I think the biggest difference is that I became a lot more fearless and vulnerable at the same time, and I’m already ready to make another one. Once I’m done with the touring cycle, I’ll be ready to make another record by next year, for sure.

Listen to Karen Elson’s second album, Double Roses.

Did you find the transition from modeling to singing difficult?
Coming out as a singer was fine, because I’ve always been singing, so it wasn’t like a drastic career change, but I think just owning up to it, and doing it, and performing live in front of people, that’s the only thing that’s different. In the past I would sing and play music in my bedroom, the only difference now, is just that I’m doing it in front of people.

Do you ever wish you had launched a career in music instead of modeling?
I sang in choirs as a kid and in terrible bands when I first moved to New York, and I always knew musicians. It was always what I wanted. But when modeling took over everything, it was wonderful as well, because I don’t think I would have had the opportunity to sing if it wasn’t for me being a model. When I moved to New York it all started happening.

Karen Elson. Photographed by Heidi Ross

You’ve since left New York for Nashville. Why the move? 
It felt like a nice, peaceful, quiet place to raise my kids. They’re protected and sheltered – until they become teenagers, and it all goes out the window. But at least they’ve had a good, stable childhood. It’s very important to me. Living in NYC or LA and being children of a model and a famous rock musician, there’s just too much available for them. I didn’t want that. People have asked my daughter to do photo shoots. She’s 11. If she were older, and she could make up her own mind, that’s fine, but while she’s a kid, I’m going to protect her. Me and Jack, we’ve been through all that, so we’re just much more savvy to how you can be taken advantage of, and much more protective of our kids because of it.

How do you find balancing motherhood while on the road?
It’s hard. I’m away from them for quite a few weeks and it’s so hard. I’ve got to say, this is the longest I’ll ever be away from my children. That’s the biggest challenge of all of this, trying to juggle motherhood and sort of coming through for your career as well. I’m figuring it out – my kids are a lot older now, it’s easier now than when they were babies. A lot easier. And they are very understanding of my career and also respectful of it – the way they’re respectful of their dad’s as well. But it’s not easy. You want to be around your kids every day – every mother wants to be with their children every day. Yeah, you can get a few days off, but to have weeks away – it’s challenging. It just feels like, “What’s your purpose?” But that’s the way it has to be. It’s the only way.

Karen Elson. Photographed by Heidi Ross

As a model, do you focus on or worry about aging? 
I pay it little attention. [The artist just celebrated her 38th birthday.] I’ve always just been me – always just done what I do. I think with modeling, the past few years it has finally dawned on me, like “Oh, I’m not a kid anymore.” But I really don’t care. It is what it is, you can define someone by their age or you can define them by who they are. I was just doing a shoot with Susan Sarandon the other day – she’s 70 and she is the sexiest woman I’ve ever met in my entire life. She radiates strength, class, and deep intelligence. She’s phenomenal, and I don’t look at her and think anything but deep admiration. I’m not judging her by her age, so I try to do the same with myself.

Nana Nørgaard and Benjamin A Wendelboe live and work in Copenhagen. When not writing about art, music, and fashion, they are on the road with rock band The Bowdashes

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