Yasmin Le Bon: ‘Models today don’t look like they’re having fun’

The grandmother-of-four says models on the catwalks now don’t smile as much - George at Asda

Yasmin Le Bon has just realised that, after 40 years of marriage, she has started to dress a bit like her husband, the Duran Duran frontman Simon Le Bon.

“It’s accidental,” she laughs. “We quite often get changed separately and then meet and go, ‘Damn, I’m wearing the tweed jacket.’”

At a recent gala event in Cannes, they both showed up in white tie (“I just didn’t feel like being in some ball gown,” Le Bon says of her effortlessly cool Tom Ford suit). Or she’ll happily steal things from his wardrobe and brazenly wear them in front of him, such as a pair of Antony Price trousers that he “hasn’t noticed” are gone… yet.

Yasmin and her husband Simon matching in Cannes last year - Pascal Le Segretain/amfAR/Getty Images

“He’s always been a great clothes horse,” she says. “His clothes look insanely good on him. He had some cracking stuff in the Eighties that he’s still got: fabulous jackets and suits. He makes it look good, and sometimes I give it a try too.”

The supermodel, of course, has a vast wardrobe of her own. Rising to fame as the first British Elle cover girl in 1985 and working at the epicentre of the Nineties supermodel scene, Le Bon built up an envy-inducing collection of pieces by the world’s best designers. Happily, she’s still got most of her fashion treasures, too.

“I find it so difficult to get rid of things; I’m quite nostalgic,” she says of her Alaïa and her Halston collections and the assortment of Manolo Blahnik shoes that she has been adding to since she was 19 years old. She can name every pair.

The model styles a Tom Ford for Gucci suit with Bottega Veneta brogues and a Prada bag in Paris with Simon (1993) - ARNAL/GARCIA/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images

“I have let go of some things – anything that isn’t making me feel good,” she says. “The things that are just minuscule and that I can’t get over my left knee any more, they’ve had to go. My daughter did a clear-out with me a while ago, and it helped me, but we still had an argument. I think it’s easy for other people to tell you to toss things away, but when you’ve worked hard for something, you feel it, don’t you? I certainly do – and I can remember how much I paid for everything too.”

Le Bon is still in demand as a model. Now 61 and a grandmother-of-four, her generation is perhaps the first to defy all the supposed rules about ageing in the fashion industry. Just like Cindy Crawford, Christy Turlington and Linda Evangelista, she is saying yes to the work that interests her, on her terms.

Yasmin Le Bon attends the Nela London at The Whiteley opening last year - Aimee Rose McGhee/Dave Benett/Getty Images

It takes a particular level of “Super”, though, to be as coveted by Fendi as by Asda. Le Bon walked the runway for the former in Milan last year, but her newest photographic campaign is for the latter. She stars alongside her eldest daughter, Amber, modelling a new denim collection for the supermarket’s George brand.

“As much as I adore designer fashion, I am acutely aware of the cost of living,” she says. “Certainly my bills have never gone down. So I want to feel relevant and like I can have fun with my look without it costing the earth. These are clothes that I haven’t had to hide in a cupboard or feel guilty about spending a ridiculous amount on, [like] a pair of jeans, which, knowing me, I could easily do.”

She first took Amber to work with her in 1991 as she modelled on Karl Lagerfeld’s Chanel catwalk, carrying her then-toddler, who was “beaming from ear to ear”. All of the Le Bons “live in each other’s pockets”, she jokes (as we speak, the entire family is away in the Cotswolds), but Amber, now 36, is almost like a creative business partner to Yasmin.

Walking Karl Lagerfeld’s Chanel catwalk with her daughter, Amber, in 1991

“I never imagined I would ever be in a position where I would be able to share what I do at work with my daughter,” she says. “It’s a really nice thing to be able to share, because it’s a very odd profession.”

Le Bon looks back fondly on the early days of her career but says it was hard work, designed to look effortless and glamorous. “We did a lot of fashion shows back in those days; we would really pack them in,” she says. “I do feel a great deal of the fun has gone out of fashion shows now; they are quite impersonal. It’s a different way of working. When I first started, I’d be stopping and talking to the audience, and you’d be twirling around, taking off your jacket, and showing how clothes moved, but also laughing and enjoying yourself.

“Now they can be very serious; the models walk fast and look straight ahead and don’t smile. Sometimes we were having too much fun… it was a great time, and I am glad I was there.”

Modelling for Fendi during Milan Fashion Week last year - Daniele Venturelli/WireImage

Le Bon has always been the self-deprecating supermodel – honest and real, rather than lofty or snobby. I ask her for her best supermodel styling tip, and, cackling, she tells me to soften a butternut squash in the oven before you cut into it. Her real tips, though, are centred around feeling confident and enjoying expressing your personality through your clothes.

“As I’ve got older, I’m actually more experimental than I used to be,” she says. “I can’t be that person who looks the same every day and has a uniform. I always like an outfit to have a twist, or to feel a little bit unfinished and blasé in some way. Mostly, though, I’ve always wanted to have fun when getting dressed. Look in the mirror, take a breath, and just go for it.”

Yasmin Le Bon’s styling tips

Suit up

I feel really safe in a suit. Tailoring pulls you together – I love Saint Laurent and Tom Ford suits. If you spend on those key investment pieces, you can have fun with everything else.

Add a brooch

Brooches are so useful, you can use them everywhere. On scarves around the neck, on shirt collars, or to secure belts if the buckle is broken.

Look in the mirror

I hate looking at myself, but you have to. When you’ve got your outfit on, don’t pose, just move naturally, but do have a proper look at it in the mirror and try things on and see what works.

Add something personal

As a rule, I always wear something that belonged to my mother or father. It might be a ring – some little thing that just means “I remember” and they are always with me.

Get Yasmin’s look

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