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Editor's Note: Mari Rodríguez Ichaso has been a contributor to Vanidades magazine for more than two decades. Fashion, travel, gastronomy, art, architecture and entertainment specialist. Film producer. CNN Spanish Style Columnist.
(CNN Spanish) - I did my first interview via FaceTime and it was with Amanda Sánchez. She is one of the most important models in France and one of the most influential according to Vogue magazine, but ironically also one of the most unknown. She, like millions in the world, for more than a month has practiced social distancing, the #yomequedoencasa.
I am telling you about “unknown” because this Brazilian model - with a Catalan father and also a Brazilian mother - 40 years old, beautiful and very kind, is the “fit model” of Chanel, and all the collections of the French brand in the last 18 years. But, curiously, few people know her, so she is not chased by the paparazzi and no one sees her spend hours and hours in the Rue Cambon couture workshop, where they test her model after model. For years it was a human mannequin whom Karl Lagerfeld adored, just as Virginie Viard, the current creator of the firm, does now!
I find it superinteresting that a Latin American woman has this very original position in such a famous fashion house, don't you think? For this reason and because she was very interested in sharing with women of different professions, ages and parts of the world, in these difficult times, she wanted to know how Amanda managed the confinement in such a beautiful city, but that is suffering so much.
When we spoke on FaceTime, she had been locked in her Parisian apartment for 43 days, along with her 13-year-old son and her cat. And as the photos of his “running of the bulls” on Instagram had seemed nice to me (cleaning, vacuuming, dancing or playing with his son and his cat) I wrote him a direct message, he answered me… and voilà!
View this post on Instagram
# day44 #stayhome
A post shared by Amanda Sanchez (@amandasanchez) on Apr 29, 2020 at 4:12 am PDT
Once again I found that women are strong, tested in the most difficult circumstances and highly adaptable to the world around us. And no matter where we live, or how old we are, what our profession is or our ethnic and social origin. We are all very much alike and wonderfully guided by our love of family and life.
Amanda's routine during these days of “stay at home” is like that of many of us: cleaning the house, taking care of the plants, cooking (“I have learned in these weeks and it turns out that my son likes it”), doing the shopping with a mask and taking care of the required social distance, and spending hours and hours in his apartment reading, watching TV, talking to colleagues and staying, as he tells us, "as busy as possible".
- I am lucky that I have always enjoyed being at home ... And, since I currently do not have a partner, I can dedicate myself to my son, to my things and to reflect on what is happening ... But the most difficult thing is that I miss a lot I miss my family in São Paulo and my work, where we are like a family! A place where I arrive every day at 10 am and leave at 6 or 7 pm, and where everything is very relaxing. I feel out of place without being there ... I am very kissy and affectionate with my colleagues and friends. I very much doubt that in the future we can express ourselves like this ... Zero hugs and affection ..., what a strange world awaits us! It is something so different from my nature… Although I am lucky to be in good health, like my family and my closest friends… So every day I learn to develop more patience… And I have always been very calm! ”
- LOOK: Karl Lagerfed was not only the savior of Chanel, he also redefined fashion
I ask him how it is possible to find a “calm” Brazilian and he laughs: “I don't know, but perhaps in my way of being affectionate and loving, these Catalan-Brazilian genes are noticeable, since I'm not cold at all, and that Karl himself loved it. My nature is very happy, and that helps me a lot now. ”
In Paris they are very strict about social distancing, and you must take an official note to go to the market, to the pharmacy or to walk a maximum perimeter of 1 kilometer around the house. "And so I do ... I am very obedient, besides it is for the good of all. Although in mid-May you may start working. They have already told me and, to avoid public transport, I can walk from home to the atelier in just 20 minutes, as I always have, it would be wonderful ”.
Amanda Sánchez lived in São Paulo until she was 20 years old and, as many Latin American girls dream, she fulfilled her great desire to travel to Paris to look for an opportunity in the fashion world.
- I am very tall - I am 1.76 cm tall - and I have always been thin, so I thought I could model. And I was very lucky, because I went to a "casting" in Chanel, which was choosing "fit models" to fit the designs for a single preparation session in the studio. And they hired me for that session! Then they liked my style, my height and my measurements were what they were looking for ... and they offered me the permanent position! Karl and Virginie were very happy with me ... That was 18 years ago, and I maintain the same measures as then, even after being a mom.
Amanda, who attributes her physique to eating very healthy and walking all over Paris whenever she can, is a very lucky model right now because she has a permanent and permanent job. It is true that it is behind the scenes, but that same condition is what protects it because there are or are not parades in the future, clothing will continue to be manufactured. It is clear that the world of big parades with hundreds of people sitting inches away and harassed by photographers is difficult to return. It will never be the same as before the pandemic.
Preparing myself for this article, I found that the vast majority of models (with the exception of superfamous and millionaires such as Kendall Jenner, Naomi Campbell or Gisele Bündchen herself) are very concerned because they have unstable finances, depending largely on what they earn in parades, and fewer receive advertising endorsement contracts. A change in this format, in which the parades are postponed for a long time or are different with fewer models, can be very detrimental to them, many of whom are very young and beginning their careers.
Finally, as I have never known exactly what a "fit model" does and what responsibilities she has -I ask her if, in addition to being "the body" where they try on clothes, she has some "input" in her creation. And I loved his answer!
- Yes, they always ask me what I think and especially if the garment is comfortable for me. That is very important!… And now, after so long, I feel that I can give my opinion… besides that several years ago I also paraded on the catwalk of “shows”!
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