At 91, Carmen Dell’Orefice, the world’s oldest living supermodel, continues to push the envelope as she bared it all for a recent photoshoot.
The model appears to be glowing as she relaxes on all-white bedding for the photograph that was taken by Fadil Berisha for New You magazine.
Talking about posing n#de, she says, “It’s their perception of what they see in you or me. We are there, a synergy starts to happen, and they bring it out. It’s where their mindset is. The photographer’s mindset is high, not in the gutter. It’s all projection.
We’re all silent actresses, and that’s what it’s about,” reports Page Six. This month, the stunning silver-haired beauty is featured on the cover of New You magazine alongside another beauty Beverly Johnson, now 69 years old, who made history in 1974 by being the first Black cover model for Vogue.
“I like to go on the record to say this woman is my idol,” People quoted Johnson as saying about Dell’Orefice.
“She is model goals. She’s been a mentor to me and doesn’t even know, and I have the utmost respect for this woman. I know all of her photographs. She has the biggest, most stunning body of work of any model in fashion.”
Meanwhile, Dell’Orefice said, “It’s where their mindset is. The photographer’s mindset is high, not in the gutter. It’s all projection. We’re all silent actresses, and that’s what it’s about.”
In 1947, when she was only 15 years old, she graced the cover of the fashion bible, Vogue, making her one of the magazine’s youngest cover stars of all time.
“With [photographer] Irving Penn, I brought my first double page in Vogue to life,” she recalled her initial appearance in the magazine a year earlier.
“He told me to try to breathe as little as possible and don’t move. Just sit there. Irving was a really good friend to me, and he saved my life physically. He made me go to the Vogue staff doctor to ensure I was healthy enough to work because, in those days, you needed permits due to child labor, especially at my young age.”
Talking about growing older, Dell’Orefice said, “We keep growing every day, and we’re not finished until the day we’re finished,” She continued, “You learn something from the day before, and you’re constantly changing yourself like the hands of a clock. Time is passing, but you can’t see the hands move. That’s happening to humans daily, and it’s how you handle and accept the change.”
Since then, Dell’Orefice has walked the runways for designers like Thierry Mugler, Moschino, Isaac Mizrahi, and more, and has starred in ad campaigns for retailers like Sephora, H&M, and Missoni.
The native New Yorker says that parenthood and self-love are what has helped her stay so youthful.
“Men and women should care for themselves and love themselves. One of the secrets to maintaining beauty is doing what you do for a baby, nurturing and feeding the baby with love,” she said.
“That’s what we should do with ourselves: nurture ourselves, love ourselves, and give that kind of energy to ourselves.”
