{"id":106262,"date":"2018-05-11T11:30:18","date_gmt":"2018-05-11T15:30:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/models.com\/oftheminute\/?p=106262"},"modified":"2023-03-18T18:37:35","modified_gmt":"2023-03-18T22:37:35","slug":"sabina-karlsson-on-modeling-and-becoming-a-mom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/models.com\/oftheminute\/?p=106262","title":{"rendered":"Sabina Karlsson on Modeling and Becoming a Mom"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Sabina Karlsson<\/a> is more than a singular beauty. The freckled half-Gambian Swedish native has been modeling since the age of four, and over years, has worked for the likes of Jean Paul Gaultier, Armani and others. Starting out as straight-size and transitioning into the plus-sized market, the model has become an advocate not just for herself but women more broadly. Now, the New Yorker, who walked Michael Kors, Christian Siriano and Chromat this past New York Fashion Week, is on the verge of being a mother. Writer Ashley W. Simpson caught up with her to talk about the state of the industry, what needs to change, and what motherhood, and modeling while being pregnant, means to her. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Interview by Ashley W. Simpson<\/strong>
\nPhotography by Steven Yatsko<\/a>
\nEdited by Irene Ojo-Felix<\/p>\n

What do you think the current state of the fashion industry and what we can do to change things?<\/strong>
\nI\u2019ve been modeling as a curvier model for about 8 years now, so I\u2019ve totally seen the big changes that have been going on since then since I started in 2010. I get to do beauty campaigns, editorials, which I wasn\u2019t able to do before. There were a lot of things that weren\u2019t accessible to me at all as a size 12. It\u2019s just really nice to see. But I don\u2019t think we\u2019re there yet. Absolutely not. I walked three shows this past NYFW, and I\u2019m pretty sure I could do a lot more, time-wise. So, I think we\u2019re not there yet, but I\u2019m very positive about what\u2019s going on. I\u2019m seeing more and more clients opening up and using a diverse range of models. Finally!<\/p>\n

What do you think needs to be done to change attitudes, change practices, and to have a healthier perspective?<\/strong>
\nFirst of all, I think it starts with the designers. Christian Siriano, Michael Kors, Chromat\u2014designers like that that I\u2019ve also walked for. When they start using curvier girls and don\u2019t put a stamp on it. J.Crew, I\u2019m working with a lot. I\u2019m one of their first curvier models and I\u2019m really happy about it.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not a marketing thing. But just using diverse types of beautiful women which makes sense. <\/strong>
\nTo me, it\u2019s not rocket science. Why wouldn\u2019t a woman in a size 12 or a size 14 be able to wear a dress like that too?<\/p>\n

And to be able to see a beautiful woman reflect what she wants to look like in that dress.<\/strong>
\nExactly. More designers have to start doing that\u2014big names\u2014so people will actually listen. What I can remember from being a straight size model, a skinnier version of myself, I remember fashion week would determine how your season would go. If you would do a lot of shows, you would also do a lot of campaigns, editorials, things like that. If more designers were to include curvier models during the shows, that would probably open up opportunities along the year, which will benefit not just other models but also people out there, women and girls. It\u2019s like a water effect. It\u2019s more than just the careers of the models. It\u2019s beyond that.<\/p>\n

To me, it\u2019s not rocket science. Why wouldn\u2019t a woman in a size 12 or a size 14 be able to wear a dress like that too?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

What are you excited about now? Do you think the industry is changing in substantial ways? I would like to think that as we address all these issues there will at least be a conversation and an opportunity for people with a stronger perspective to create some change. <\/strong>
\nI\u2019m being very positive. Before coming into the curve industry, without categorizing it too much, I wasn\u2019t really expecting anything. Back then 8 years ago, it was like, yeah, you can do e-comm for this specific plus size brand, but now, I see girls doing Glossier, L\u2019Oreal, which makes me very positive knowing that things are happening and there are so many opportunities coming up. I\u2019m pregnant right now, and I was also a little bit worried with that. Like, how is the industry going to view that? Are they still going to book me when they find out? Or when I start showing? Are they going to dismiss me? They haven\u2019t. I mean, I walked fashion week in February. I told Christian Siriano, Chromat and Michael Kors\u2014all of them knew that I was pregnant, and they were like, okay, you\u2019re pregnant, let\u2019s just dress you accordingly – I didn\u2019t want to announce it at that time. They would just dress me in order to make me feel comfortable and enhance my curvy body like they always do. Sometimes, what I\u2019ve heard from other women before who have become pregnant in the industry\u2014or just women in general, it\u2019s not always appreciated by other coworkers or bosses. So, I\u2019ve had a really good experience with that. I did a regular job, which is to say, not a maternity job, just yesterday. I\u2019m still working even though my belly shows. <\/p>\n

Can you talk a little bit about your experiences modeling while being pregnant?<\/strong>
\nI\u2019ve been lucky that I\u2019ve felt good throughout my pregnancy. I had two weeks in the beginning when I was nauseous and that was not fun. I\u2019m used to the pace of traveling and working so it wasn\u2019t that hard for me to keep going.<\/p>\n

What are the challenges and has anything surprised you?<\/strong>
\nIn the beginning, I was a bit worried about how much my body was going to change and on an emotional level too. Thankfully, it\u2019s been a smooth ride and it\u2019s only towards the end that I\u2019ve started to feel that I can\u2019t travel as much as before and long days on sets take a toll on my body.<\/p>\n

Has your approach to modeling, either on camera or when walking runway, changed in any way during this period?<\/strong>
\nI\u2019ve started to appreciate the industry even more and the people I work with. I\u2019ve gotten so much support, especially from my agency that has been so thoughtful and always making sure I\u2019m feeling good. I\u2019ve also realized how big part of me and my life, my job means to me, so happy I can do this for a living.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m pregnant right now, and I was also a little bit worried with that…Are they still going to book me when they find out? Or when I start showing? Are they going to dismiss me? They haven\u2019t.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

What advice would you give to other expectant moms who are working in the industry?<\/strong>
\nListen to your body and don\u2019t push yourself too much. Each person\u2019s pregnancy is different from one another\u2019s – don\u2019t compare yourself and feel less if you can\u2019t do what you\u2019re used to.<\/p>\n

Are there models or women in general who you look up to as you prepare to be a mom yourself?<\/strong>
\nI look up to my own mom on how loving, caring and patient she is as a mom. Also to women that balance mom and work life. It\u2019s going to be interesting to see how I\u2019ll manage to achieve that balance myself.<\/p>\n

What are you most excited about as an expectant mother?<\/strong>
\nThat I\u2019m about to love someone in a way I\u2019ve never had before. I don\u2019t know what to expect, but I do know it\u2019s going to be an adventure.<\/p>\n

What are you hoping to see in the future? Are there specific clients you are really hoping to work with? What changes would you like to see?<\/strong>
\nPersonally, I would like to walk more fashion shows, and not just in New York. I want to do the whole thing like I used to when I was a bit younger. I want to do bigger things and open up more doors for myself and other colleagues and women and young girls, too, for them to understand that being unique or being different or just being you is something positive. It\u2019s something you should be proud of. I didn\u2019t have a curvy, freckled girl to look up to when I was growing up back in Sweden that I could see in the magazines or on TV or in advertisements. I just want to do bigger things. I know that I could do a high fashion campaign. I know that I could do editorials or be on the covers. I know that. I\u2019m a model and I\u2019ve been doing this my whole life. It shouldn\u2019t really be about my size. It should be more about what I\u2019m capable of doing.<\/p>\n

Anything else? A lot of the conversations that are happening, at least with the groups like Model Alliance, are spurred by the conversation surrounding Weinstein and everything happening there. Do you have any thoughts on that conversation?<\/strong>
\nI just think it\u2019s really good that it\u2019s finally being brought to the surface and that we are talking about it because that\u2019s unacceptable in every single way. But I don\u2019t have any experience on my own so I don\u2019t have anything to talk about in that way. I\u2019m just very proud of all the women and girls who are standing up for one another and supporting one another and also sharing their stories, because that can help other women and girls stand up for themselves and do that, too.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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