Exclusive: 10 Questions with Model Clara Zapffe

Meet Clara Mølsted Zapffe, a 16-year-old model signed with Elite Copenhagen. (It also happens to be her birthday today!)

In her blog, Black Nails Dirty Kiss, Clara comes across as a sweet, confident and very beautiful girl from Denmark. I caught up with her for an interview, and I’m pleased to say that the experience has definitely made me a fan!

This is part one of the interview, where she recounts why the person who discovered her as a model couldn’t be checking her out, and her life as a model so far.

L: Who is Clara Zapffe?
C: Clara Zapffe is a student, a model, a blogger and more. She is perceived in many different ways- honest, dominating, crazy and mature.

In her professional role as a model, she tries to be as outgoing and as easy to be around as possible. She knows how much politeness and an open mind counts in the fashion industry. Even if the people she works with may not behave like that, they expect the model to.

In private she is very goofy, perfectionistic (about both school and work), easily worried and she thinks a lot about the things and people that matter to her.

She puts a lot of effort into being a good friend and daughter. She also likes to think that it is right to believe in the good of a person, despite how people in the industry or at school may not always have the same way of thinking.

L: How were you discovered?
C: I was out, returning some Christmas presents in a department store called Magasin, in Copenhagen, Denmark, where I’m from. Standing on the escalator, I noticed how a petite man, wearing silver shoes, was staring directly at me. I thought to myself that he couldn't be 'checking me out', since he looked, well, sorry for my frank way of speaking, homosexual. He was standing there with another man.

He got off one floor before me, and honestly, I felt relieved to have gotten away from him. When I went into Topshop to look at a sweater, I saw that man again from the corner of my eye. He was now walking directly towards me!

I looked around confused, thinking how it couldn't be me he was looking for, until he stood right in front of me, asking me if I was a model. I told him, that, no I sure wasn't and he immediately asked me if I wanted to be one. I said, yes, that might be fun, and so he gave me his card, asked for my number, and told me he would call on Monday. So he did, and a couple of days later my mom and I went to the agency to talk it through. After that, they offered me a contract.

L: Did you ever think that you would model?
C: In my earlier teenage years, I noticed that I was taller than the other girls and that I had a petite bone structure. So even though I thought that I could model, I quickly pushed that thought out of my mind, since I was completely convinced that I wasn't pretty enough to do it. It was truly a surprise.

L: What do you like most about modeling? What do you like least?
C: I love meeting new and interesting people. For photoshoots, I like the idea of creating a story with just one shot. It's like I get to interpret the clothes and play someone else for a day, and that's fun.

I think the best thing about the runway is the adrenaline rush you get. I'm always totally high when I get off the runway after a show.

I don't like how some people in the industry treat you like a doll, and act as if you can't hear what they are saying about you. You feel like you’re worth less than them, and that's not a great mood to be in when you have to perform your best.

L: What is the most memorable experience you've had as a model?
C: Hmm...there are many things I would say. This fashion week in Copenhagen, I opened my first show ever. That was a pretty big deal to me, but the shows in fashion week generally offer a lot of new and fun experiences.

Part two of the interview is available here, where she discusses blogging and her daily life!
Remember to check out Clara's blog: Black Nails Dirty Kiss.