Not to make this all about me, dear The Most-er (we need to come up with a fandom name, y’all) but I’m beyond excited about this week’s guest. None other than Hannelore Knuts, the Belgian supermodel legend and international creative polymath, is Dominique’s guest in the loft this time around and you’re going to want to take in every minute of their talk. Dominique and Hannelore get into it: from their Catholic school days to Hannelore’s photography student beginnings and unwitting start in fashion (“What is a stiletto?”). The timelessly chameleonic Miss Knuts talks overcoming her young self’s shyness - hiding under Eugene Souleiman’s hairdressing table backstage with a book - to feeling comfortable in her skin on the runways of Prada, Versace and Alexander McQueen or on set with Inez and Vinoodh, Juergen Teller, Steven Klein or Meisel - via an unforgettable catwalk shoulder brush with a classic supermodel. Find out where the nickname ‘Ultramegalore’ came from and how she got the David Bowie stamp of approval. You’ll also glean from this episode what heart wisdom means to Hannelore and where she sees her life (and the universe) headed next. As they say: I cannot can.
Dominique lets us in on why she feels Hannelore had to be a guest on The Most:
“Hannelore Knuts was one of the top 3 people on my The Most wishlist. She is hands-down the most accomplished model in the history of our country and that’s not up for debate. No other Belgian model has walked the runways of Alexander McQueen, Ann Demeulemeester, Balenciaga, Chanel, Chloé, Christian Lacroix, Dolce & Gabbana, Dries van Noten, Fendi, Givenchy, Gucci, Jean Paul Gaultier, Lanvin, Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs, Miu Miu, Moschino, Paco Rabanne, Prada, Romeo Gigli, Sonia Rykiel, Veronique Branquinho, Veronique Leroy, Versace, YSL, Yohji Yamamoto… And I believe those were just show confirmations from the first two seasons she ever walked. It’s basically unheard of. HK is also a muse to some of the best painters in the world and I will never forget her embodiment of David Bowie in the Stephen & David Dewaele/Radio Soulwax-movie ‘Dave’.
I knew that she had moved back to Antwerp from New York and started cautiously approaching her to come visit me in the loft. Hannelore trusts me as five years ago, she had asked me to conduct the one and only interview she and her father’s son were willing to give after the news about her pregnancy got leaked before the end of her first trimester. I even remember her making some adjustments to the article as she thought I was being overly protective of her and she sharpened some of her statements. Still, when it came to my podcast made sure I didn’t push her too much as I wanted her to be comfortable when she finally come over to record an episode. I think I first mailed her in July and here we are, she came over literally two days ago and we had the best conversation.”
