From the age of 15 Magnet Kaumann made its way on the catwalk abroad and today it is the favorite of designers such as Valentino, Donatella Versace y Schiaparelli. In addition, the Argentine top model who outshines the catwalk queens –and is the daughter of Miuki Madelaire a symbol of the underground scene of the 90’s– he makes music, questions the hegemonic beauty in the fashion industry and underlines the need for more diversity: “There has to be more variety of bodies”.
One day away from presenting their new songs at the Richards Cultural Center (Wednesday 24 at 8:00 p.m. in Honduras 5272, together with Lisa y One) and in dialogue with The Urban Planetthe artist tells what it is like to be part of the mainstream in fashion and what inspires her when composing, and reflects on the prevailing stereotypes.
–What makes you feel chosen by the most renowned designers?
–It is a great honor for me and I am very happy to work together with people that I admire so much and to be part of their creative process. Also I learn a lot from them. I love being aware of the references that designers take and how from that they create something completely new.
–The creativity of which designer you worked with impacted you the most?
I really admire the work of Donatella Versace because I was always interested in his story. I love his whole Italian thing, well exaggerated; I think what he does is super fun. While fashion today points to something very androgynous, putting being comfortable and oversized first, Versace keeps the super feminine aesthetic strongwith dresses, tight skirts, scarves, high heels and those prints that make you feel like a diva on the catwalk.
The back of the Imán Kaumann fashion shows: embroidery, composition and talks with other top
Imán says that to kill boredom while waiting for parades, there are two activities that never fail him: “I do embroidery and write lyrics for future songs”. It is that, according to her, on each trip to the capitals of fashion, “everything necessary to make music” accompanies her. She very recently finished recording a new album, which she composed almost entirely while on a trip: “Whenever I return to Buenos Aires I finish them”.
Have you made friends with other models? How is the flow with them? (from Bella Hadid to Kendall Jenner)
–The truth is that I paraded with all the tops (Laughter). They are all super cool. It is often believed that among the models there is competition but nothing to do with it. We are colleagues, we work on the same thing, we share moments, we have long waits for castings and fittings and we end up becoming friends.
-What other things do you feel that unite them?
-I think that being a job that makes us be away from our homes and our loved ones, there are many lonely moments. That is why among the models a kind of brotherhood is created to accompany us and support each other.
– Do you find so much social life tiring?
I have my moments. When I’m outside I love hanging out with the other models and gossiping regarding Fashion Week, but I also like walking alone and discovering new places.
–What are those plans that you enjoy alone?
–For example, settle in a museum for hours or go to a park to relax. When I am in Argentina, what I enjoy the most is staying in the countryside or in the Delta with my boyfriend and my family and not seeing anyone else.
What is the fashion campaign you most loved being a part of?
I really enjoyed doing a campaign Let’s throw in which I had to do my own version of a punk song (Rise, by Public Image Limited). It was a really fun video where I sang and danced. I love when I can show my most musical and artistic side when working as a model.
Imán Kaumann: “Many girls put their physical and mental health at risk due to the pressure of being skinny”
About the pressure that exists on models that generates that many suffer from eating disorders to conform to stereotypes, Iman expresses: “It is something very sad and I feel that it has to change now. In my case I never pushed myself because I was always very thin but It makes me very sick to see how many girls suffer and put their physical and mental health at risk due to the pressure of being skinny.”.
“I think the first thing is well-being and health. And if this job prevents you, better not do it”, addition. And he points to those who make decisions in the industry: “I think I would have to change the way of showing mostly very thin models: there has to be more variety on the catwalks”.
-The case of Linda Evangelista (former supermodel who denounced what she suffered with cosmetic treatments to look young) is very shocking, right?
–This is a topic that I think recurring mind: Why do many people consider a woman following 50 “old” but not a man? Why does the work of female models expire at 30 years? I feel that they have to show all ages… in all stages of life there is beauty. As for Evangelista… I don’t think it’s wrong to have surgeries, everyone does what they want with her body, but the passage of time has to be accepted more in women.
