I’ve known Marlene for years now; we used to be neighbors after I moved to Jersey City. I remember seeing her and her husband David in the elevator and I would be in complete awe at how attractive they are…. You really don’t see people like that on a daily basis!! It was actually a little intimidating at first! That being said, they are both so nice, friendly and down to earth… The type of people you can hang out with, drink wine and talk about life for hours.
After launching the blog, I would run into Marlene in and around JC and she always looked so fabulous. I knew I wanted to pick her brain and get the inside scoop on the model world… We first met at my office aka The Warehouse Cafe to chat, drink green tea (cause that’s what models do) and than afterwards Marlene invited me over to her amazing apartment in the Powerhouse District she shares with her handsome hubby David (yes they are both that good-looking)…we did a fun photo shoot and she also showed me how to walk the runway!! Marlene is such a cool chick! major girl crush alert.
What’s your name? Marlene Landauer
What do you do? I work as a model.
How long have you been a model? Over 10 years now. I started when I was 17.
How did you start? My parents are both actors in Germany and they were kind of famous, so I was basically with my mom one night and this lady came up to us and asked me if I ever thought about modeling…. I didn’t really want to follow my parents foot steps of being an actor. We were in LA looking for acting schools at the time and this lady told me to go to LA Models because they had an open call. I remember being really nervous. I went, and they signed me.
What do you like about modeling? I love that it’s like the school of life. There is nothing that can really prepare you for it. You are completely on your own at a very young age. You have to figure shit out, and its hard at times…
People are going to read this and be like “Really? It’s hard to be a model?…. explain. The hard part is more on the psychological… you are really young, you leave home when you are so young. Its more like the “no’s” that you get all the time like “Here’s your book, thank you”. You go to a casting and you don’t know if they like you or not… its such a fast paced industry and you don’t know if you’re going to make it ever.
The competition is also tough, they always tell you it’s not there but it is there.
I could see how it would be hard being a model in a sense that you are always being judged. You are not opening your mouth and they judge you. Nowadays there is more to it then just the body and the face, but it’s also how you come across, are you lovable. The whole bitchy super model that used to be popular in the 80’s is not a thing anymore… the super models of today are sweet and very loving.
I was told when you are a model, 29 is old! Yeah it’s old but again, I work more now then I did. I also feel like the older I get the better I look, and I also take much better care of myself. In New York there is a market for older models, I know girls that are in their mid 30’s and they have kids and they do a few Olay campaigns which pays crazy money….
What kind of modeling do you do? I started out as a runway model like everyone else, I traveled to Athens, Paris, South Africa….LA and Milan…. I did all the markets, to build my book. The older you get, you switch to more commercial modeling. You don’t really do the shows anymore, cause the show girls are sick skinny… they don’t really pay you to do the shows, it’s all about the exposure. At this point I do fittings, a lot of online work like Gilt… some catalogue, some editorial which I love because it’s fun.
I do photo shoots sometimes, but I am not a model. Any tips? It’s all about confidence. I just read your post on Facebook, about how you are finally accepting your body the way it is…. I finally accepted myself as well… just because I look a certain way doesn’t mean I don’t have insecurities. I work hard for how I look, I workout every day. In the end it’s all about confidence, if you portray and convey confidence.
What are you wearing now? This is a J Crew mens sweater, I love wearing mens clothes… The boots or Bus LA, this is a bag from one of my clients. My pants are Club Monaco, the Jacket is Mango and the sunglasses are Burberry.
How would you define your style? Practical, yet cool. My look is classic… you can put pearls on me and I look 35 immediately so I am definitely more…. All Saints, leather jacket, leather pants, biker boots… a white t-shirt.
What’s in your bag? Right now, workout clothes. I go to The Sports Barre, I love them…. an eaten protein bar, a wallet, my makeup. My favorite thing is this key chain my mom gave me… a hairbrush. This Bobby Brown mascara is the best. It’s worth every penny.
What is the craziest thing a photographer asked you to do? Stand on top of a phone booth in high heels in the middle of Manhattan.
Do you ever say no to things? Not really, I like to be challenged. I trust my agency…
What about nudity? My book is full of boobs…
What about vajayjay? Yeah, but they are tastefully done!
How long have you been in JC? I moved here 5 years ago. I fell in love with a boy from Jersey City. David grew up here.
Is David a model too? He is so handsome! He is not actually! A lot of people think that, he works for a tech company. He loves to do artistic things though, we have Blvck and White collective which is our project with Davids brother.
Do you have a favorite JC Hangout spot? I like it here! we go to Marco and Pepe a lot, Orale, Satis in the summer… Jersey City is so cool. There are so many new places opening.
What was the highlight of your career? I did German Vogue. I worked for Karl Lagerfeld, and I was his fit model for two seasons.
Wow. What’s a fit model? They do four collections a year… the designer goes from sketching the collection and then have a pattern maker that makes from muslin a prototype and then he needs a fit model. You are constantly with the creative team….It’s really cool. You see the collection go from the beginning to the runway.
Do you ever feel like you are just there….its not about you, you don’t have an opinion… basically you are a hanger…. Yes. But it’s also what you make of it.
Cause you have a great personality…. That’s the thing, the whole industry is changing, they care about your measurements but within with that they want to work with fun people. With Narciso Rodriguez, we’ve known each other for 8 years and there is a history there… it’s his baby and he creates a collection and he needs people he can trust and feed off of. He will ask me, “do you like this? would you wear this? what do you think of the fabric”.
What’s next for you? My parents are actors, so at some point I might want to get into that. I’ve been studying since I came here with different teachers… so if that happens that would be great… also working on Black and White collective… I definitely see myself in the creative world.
Any tricks of the trade you can share? Behind the scenes scoop. Models work really hard. Those reality shows show a different side, I think models are really cool people. You can’t be successful unless you have a good personality.
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