Jodie Kidd was an icon of 'heroin chic'. Now, the mother and ex-racing driver makes a return to modelling at 34 - and she's still got THOSE cheekbones
- Talented Kidd, 34, modelled for Chanel, Chloé and Yves Saint Laurent
- Quit to take up professional motor racing then international polo
- Mother-of-one comes full circle as she is signed to Next Models
Iconic '90s model Jodie Kidd, who championed the 'heroin chic' look of the grunge era along with Kate Moss, is making a comeback.
She quit the business to compete as a professional motor racing driver at Silverstone and then play polo for England but Kidd is coming full circle and returning to the fashion world after seven years away.
The 6ft 2" mother-of-one, who still boasts the razor-sharp cheekbones she was famed for, has now been signed to Next models.
Jodie Kidd is returning to the fashion world after seven years away from the industry
'Even though I walked away from [modelling], I was still surrounded by it. I've always loved seeing it all in magazines, and my sister Jemma is a big make-up artist, so it was still part of my world. But I saw a big resurgence of my friends - Erin [O'Connor], Karen Elson, Guinevere [Van Seenus] - in magazines. There seemed to be this huge revival, with the public falling in love with them again, and they all look so bloody amazing!' the 34-year-old tells Time Out.
'It was so refreshing, as a consumer, to be looking at a beautiful woman for once, rather than a teenager. When I was modelling, I was a skinny little 16-year-old girl, supposedly selling clothes to 40-year-old women. I love seeing these women - not girls - modelling fashion,' she says.
Kidd, who features on the cover of this week's issue of the listings magazine, started out as a waifish teenager, but is now happy that 'proper, grown up' women are being chosen for fashion campaigns.
Kidd enjoyed the perks of modelling but after a while became disillusioned and left to explore other careers
She enjoyed the glamorous side of the job, such as drinking and partying with the Rolling Stones, and working for then-up and coming designers Alexander McQueen, Julien Macdonald and Matthew Williamson.
But Kidd was disillusioned abut the rewards hard work would bring. The control she had over her sporting career meant it was more fulfilling for her in that respect.
Kidd, still stunning at 34, has signed up to Next models and says modelling is her priority now
'Fashion was always something I had to learn. I would turn up and put 110 percent in, and be on time with clean hair and a full night's sleep. But it wouldn't necessarily make any difference at all, and you could easily lose out to someone who'd just come in stinking of booze. I had to learn that you can't do a "good job". With animals, what you put in is what you get out. As a competitor - showjumping and racing cars - I have the control. With modelling, you just had to sit there. It wasn't possible to have ambitions.'
While modelling is top priority for her career at the moment, Kidd says she would love to go back on Top Gear.
Kidd at the launch of the new Tom Ford London store last night with Tom Ford and restaurant critic AA Gill
Jodie Kidd in 1996 on the Milan catwalk wearing Anna Molinari
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