Model and musician Rebeca Marcos. Image courtesy of Models 1

LUX contributing editor and model at Models 1, Charlie Newman continues her online exclusive series, interviewing her peers about their creative pursuits, passions and politics

Charlie Newman

THIS MONTH: Born in Germany and raised in Spain, 25-year-old Rebeca Marcos has achieved a remarkable amount in a quarter of a century. She started modelling at the age of 20 whilst studying for her Undergraduate Degree in Politics at City University and has since starred in campaigns for Whistles, Armani Exchange and The Kooples, and walked for the likes of John Galliano. She also plays music as part of electro-dance duo Park Hotel. Charlie speaks to Rebeca about self-confidence, career highlights and philanthropy

Charlie Newman: What was it like growing up in Spain and how easy was the adjustment moving to the UK?
Rebeca Marcos: My upbringing was wonderful. Family gatherings were always big and long, I was spoiled for food and good weather. We were encouraged to dance and perform for our family and the beach was super close. My neighbours and I used to go exploring the woods as small children and later on, I joined the scouts at school and we used to go to this old watermill that had no electricity or running water and also no parents nearby so that was wonderful.

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As a teenager Barcelona was a great city to be – very multicultural and beautiful. After school, in the warmer months, we could go to the beach just to hang out and even in winter it’s always sunny. I was a very happy child. I went to a German school from Kindergarten through to the 12th grade, so I grew up in a strange place culturally speaking. They are very opposite cultures in many ways so moving to London didn’t really feel like a cultural shock. I’m quite sensitive and introverted so I think I internalised the British default setting of being reserved and socially awkward quite quickly. I could read the discomfort in peoples faces with the slightest bit of over sharing, but London is also the place where I learnt manners! Either way, I was one of those European teenagers who loved Harry Potter and my graduation gown was of the colours of Gryffindor so I was living the life, plus the music scene [in London] is so much more stimulating than Barcelona’s.

Image by Rob Aparicio via Instagram @rebecamarcosroca

Charlie Newman: You have graced the pages of many high fashion glossies as well as walking for top brands on the runway. What has been your favourite job so far?
Rebeca Marcos: That’s such a hard question! I have had so many nice experiences and been lucky to work with some amazing creative geniuses. Years ago, I did a shoot for Urban Outfitters with Magdalena Wosinska and we just spent days hanging out topless in nature, riding quad bikes at Dave England’s house (a stunt performer in Jackass) and listening to music. It was great fun. But then I also shot the s/s15 campaign for Phillip Lim in Marrakech with Viviane Sassen and that was like a dream. Everything was beautiful, everyone was chill, we shot without hair and make up and then had a day left to go explore the YSL museum and the Souks. The wonderful production team (who had just finished working on Mission Impossible) helped me buy a gorgeous rug which they took to the hotel for me and I still have. The pictures are still some of my favourites and honestly, I think it was one of the most inspiring shoots I’ve ever been a part of. I also really love Christopher Kane both as a human and a designer. Fitting and walking for him is a very graceful experience.

Charlie Newman: If you could shoot with any photographer who would it be and why?
Rebeca Marcos: Carlota Guerrero. She is a brilliant photographer from Barcelona and I love her work and I bet she is a great human to work with.

Instagram @rebecamarcosroca

Charlie Newman: You shot The Kooples S/S15 campaign with your boyfriend – what was that like
Rebeca Marcos: It was a great experience. They are some of the nicest pictures we have together and it’s always wonderful to shoot with your best friend and in Paris. It was also the first time I shot with my guitar on set and in a way it was great to have Kristian there, but it was also a challenging experience which I grew from. He was the musician in the room, he was getting all the attention for that and I didn’t know if it was the fact that I am a model, or the fact that I am a girl in the underrepresented world of female musicians, or if I was being oversensitive and too insecure about my musical side. I really had to pull my pride together and to say: “No, actually I’m going to pull my guitar out as well. Nobody has invited me to do so but I’m not just going to stand here as a hot groupie because I really don’t think I need to.” It was awkward but I am so glad I did. It was a drama that happened exclusively in my head mind you, but still it was a very important experience for me.

Read more: How Los Angeles became a world-class art capital

Charlie Newman: How easy was the transition from modelling to musician? Do you find they compliment one another or do you find you have to prove yourself twice as much?
Rebeca Marcos: Well I don’t think I ever transitioned. Modelling is something I don’t think you can have any control over, it’s something that happens around you while you are “being yourself”. We are like muses for hire. I have done music since before I started modelling and I’m still doing both. There’s always people who think that if you are beautiful you can’t have any skills but who cares? Not me, I’m the one with both. I don’t look in the mirror and go, “shit I’m too beautiful to write some music today.” Who the hell thinks like that? People think they are ugly and stupid, when really their only problem is their self-esteem and binary thinking. I don’t subscribe to the capitalist idea that one has to work hard to be valued. I think if you love yourself then people won’t be distracted by your insecurities and instead pay more attention to whatever you want to express. They’ll figure out your value by themselves. And if they don’t, block them! I work with passion and that is always more productive than trying to prove yourself to imagined strangers. And if I’m supposed to work twice as hard then I’m probably heading for failure. I hope I’m not. Anyway, I definitely think music and fashion go hand-in-hand. They are both informed by and inform culture, and they inspire one another. So in theory it should be easier for me to work in both. We’ll see!

Charlie Newman: So can you tell us a bit about your band Park Hotel?
Rebeca Marcos: Park Hotel is a dance band. We are a duo fronting it, but we are really a great live band of up to 6 musicians: guitars, synths, drums and percussion. The sound has a post-punk feel to it, but it’s hugely influenced by funk, EDM and even disco. But it’s got a bit of a dark vibe too. It’s like a nihilistic party. Me and Tim – the other half of the duo – met 4 years ago. He had been concocting this project in his head for a while and we’ve been gigging for a couple of years now loving life.

Charlie Newman: What music did you grow up listening to? Do you come from a musical family?
Rebeca Marcos: Yes and no. My parents aren’t very musical but my sisters played violin, cello and piano whilst I was growing up. My dad exclusively listened to about 5 different albums of about 4 different bands, the only international ones being Pink Floyd and Santana – great musical taste, just a little limited. My sisters and my mum just liked the radio, and my sisters were hugely into the Spice Girls, Shakira and Britney Spears. It wasn’t until I was a teenager that I got to expand my musical horizons and I found out that Pink Floyd’s early stuff was a whole different kind of psychedelic.

Image courtesy of Models 1

Charlie Newman: In light of the #MeToo movement, is there anything within the fashion and music industry you would like to see change?
Rebeca Marcos: Well, I believe values are stronger and more reliable sources of change than rules. Sure, models shouldn’t be sent to photographers that are predatory and same with producers that never get called out on by money-minded labels. But both industries are becoming more and more saturated, women just need to keep standing up for themselves and getting together, and the roles that are available to be played by individuals of any gender should be more fluid. If people truly focused on being more compassionate and respectful from the get go, these things wouldn’t be hard to understand, no matter how privileged you are.

Charlie Newman: What advice would you give to young models starting out now?
Rebeca Marcos: Be strong, focus on your happiness and try to experience the teenage years of your career as life experiences and not as career building. Young girls shouldn’t be expected to have figured out what type of brand they want to develop, or be pressured into having a stellar career immediately.

Charlie Newman: Are there any philanthropic causes that you are particularly passionate about?
Rebeca Marcos: The charity of *Talk To Your Local Homeless Person* even if you just say: “how is it going?” and spare some change. They need to be humanised and we are all individually responsible for the people who have fallen through the cracks of our society and need help. We don’t have to give change to every single one of them, that is not our responsibility, but at least keep them and their pain in mind, because that is the least we can do.

Follow Rebeca Marcos on Instagram @rebecamarcosrosa  and her musical endeavours via @parkhotelband

Photographer, body positive activist and model Emma Breschi. Image courtesy of Models 1

LUX contributing editor and model at Models 1, Charlie Newman continues her online exclusive series, interviewing her peers about their creative pursuits, passions and politics

Charlie Newman

THIS MONTH: 25-year-old model Emma Breschi has only been signed to Models 1 for two years, but has already graced the pages of Vogue Italia and starred in the Vivienne Westwood AW17 campaign. She is also a body positive activist and photographer. Charlie speaks to Emma about life behind and in front of the lens

Charlie Newman: Firstly lets talk about your childhood. You moved to England in 2010, but grew up in Thailand. What was that like?
Emma Breschi: I’ve had a very multi cultural up bringing, I’m half Italian and half Filipino. However, I was born in Switzerland, have lived in Malaysia, and for the most part Thailand. Growing up in Phuket, which is one of the bigger islands of southern Thailand, was literally a dream. As a kid, you couldn’t ask for a more perfect place to grow up. To me, it was paradise, and throughout my youth I lived as a total beach bum! There really is nothing like living by the sea, surrounded by some of the world’s most beautiful beaches. I was spoilt! I miss being by the ocean, but the truth is England has some incredible beaches too. I pretty much just moved from one island to another. I do miss Thailand, and it will always have a place in my heart. It was my home for a very long time, but I am happy that I moved over to the UK when I did. I’m not scared of change and experiencing new things, for me, that’s very important.

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Charlie Newman: What struck you as the biggest difference socially and culturally between life in Thailand and in England?
Emma Breschi: There wasn’t much difference. I was still the same person, I just had to adjust to living in a new country where everyone spoke English! Making new friends couldn’t have been easier. I found it funny at my new school that everyone would refer to me as “the American girl” because I had the accent. So it was interesting explaining my background to people and “what I was”.

Image courtesy of Models 1

When I started my A Levels, the fact that I could study photography as a core subject was a shock! I had no idea how to take photos properly, but I was so eager to learn. I really enjoyed art and story writing, so for me, photography combined the two. When I moved to England, I really made it my mission to become a really good image maker and storyteller. I had no idea where it would take me, but it has led to some incredible experiences!

After my A-Levels, I assisted a great photographer for a few years, Jean Philippe Defaut, who taught me a lot about reportage photography. I then went travelling alone for a few months to photograph whatever or whoever I came across. I went to Hong Kong, Spain, Croatia and Norway. Then with that [portfolio], I applied to LCC to study Documentary Photography (because it was my dream to shoot for National Geographic), but they rejected me – I was heart broken! I had another interview lined up with LCF, but I had no fashion in my portfolio whatsoever so I knew my chances of getting in were slim, but for some reason, I did.

Fashion opened my eyes to a whole new world and to an interesting way of creating imagery. It was and still is so exciting for me! I truly believe that things happen for a reason… After I graduated from LCF, I was scouted to be a model (which I never thought I’d end up doing) and now I’m working with some of the fashion industry’s most influential and creative minds! It’s incredible how life turns out sometimes…

Read more: Sassan Behnam-Bakhtiar’s mesmerising art opening on Cap Ferrat

Charlie Newman: You’ve shot for the likes of Hunger magazine, Malone Souilers, Puma and Dr Martens. How easy was the transition from behind to in front of the camera? Did you feel like you had something to prove or did it make it easier to understand?
Emma Breschi: For me, I think modelling and photography go hand in hand. I have learnt so much about photography working as a model, and I think understanding the different roles and jobs that are involved when creating an image or story is so important. You couldn’t have a final product without the team behind it, so respecting, understanding and even educating yourself about the different people involved is so important! You couldn’t make a fashion image without your models, photographers, stylists, make-up artists, hair stylists, designers, set designers, assistants and producers. Each and every role is so vital in the creative industry. We have to understand each other because we need one another to create magic. I honestly think becoming a model has made me a much better photographer.

Instagram: @emmabreschi

Charlie Newman: Many high profile photographers have recently been shunned from the industry due to sexual allegations being raised against them. How do you think the industry can better protect their talent and prevent people from abusing their power in the future?
Emma Breschi: Well the truth is we have no control over what other people do or say sometimes so I always say we need to be the one in control of ourselves and the choices we make. And it is most definitely ok to say “NO!” There is nothing wrong with saying “NO!” I think we are getting better at communicating and we have access now to various safe platforms where we can talk to one another, advise, discuss and have respectful conversations about what is right and what is wrong. I think in the past, we were told to be quiet or else! It’s all about respect and it’s time to educate one another on what that word really means.

Charlie Newman: Do you have any personal experiences of overcoming this?
Emma Breschi: I’ve worked with some very talented people who have showed nothing but kindness and respect towards me. However, not every job is like that, which is normal. I don’t mind someone being a little rude or angry, at the end of the day that’s not really my problem and I never take petty things like that personally as long as they’re respectful. I have had experiences, where people (both men and women) have been very disrespectful to me in this industry. Treated me like I wasn’t even human. I always remain professional on the job, but if you go out of your way to emotionally abuse or inappropriately engage with me, don’t expect me to be quiet about it. Put some respect on it!

Read more: New levels of sophistication in Ibiza Town

Charlie Newman: As a model myself, I often struggle to pave my way through the weird and wonderful world of social media, but you are a shining example of someone who has nailed it. I check your feed regularly and I am always inspired by your wit, body confidence, fearless approach to taboo subjects and brutal honesty. Your fan base are extremely loyal (me included!) – what message would you like to put across to them?
Emma Breschi: I am humbled by anyone who takes the time to listen to all the smack I talk and weird things I get up to. I just hope that I’m putting a smile on people’s faces!

Instagram: @emmabreschi

Charlie Newman: When you put such a strong voice and image out there you’re inevitably going to be faced with criticism. How do you deal with the haters?
Emma Breschi: If you’re putting your own opinion and thoughts out there, you have to accept that not everyone is going to agree or be on the same wavelength as you. That’s life. I can’t control what people say or how they react towards me. I’ll read it and be open to having a discussion or conversation about it, but if you’re just screaming angry words that really has nothing to do with me. It’s a reflection of the person’s own problem or issues that they might have with themselves or whatever. So I won’t waste my energy or cry over something a complete stranger types on my Instagram. Simply: block + delete.

Charlie Newman: You’re frequently praised as a positive body campaigner. Does feeling beautiful and happy with your body come naturally to you, or is it something you’ve had to work on?
Emma Breschi: I haven’t always been confident in myself! Growing up, you experience all kinds of things that might bring you down, but that’s just life. Without the challenges I wouldn’t be the person I am today. I  woke up one day and decided that I wouldn’t let those things stop me from moving froward. You have to acknowledge that you have no control over what others might say or do, but you have the power to chose how you deal with it. I have learnt to accept that I can’t please everyone, but I can please myself. I’ve learnt to let go of the self doubt and allow myself to be happy with who I am and who I choose to be.

Charlie Newman: When you’re out of the public eye, what do you do to stay grounded?
Emma Breschi: I spend my days out in nature with my dog or go surfing. I love having time alone.

Charlie Newman: What future projects do you have lined up?
Emma Breschi: I’m doing some self portraits now for a few designers which is really exciting! I’d really like to do more of that, combining my own creative work as an image maker with my modelling.

To view Emma Breschi’s photography visit: emmabreschi.com 
Instagram: @emmabreschi