The flame-haired British supermodel takes Vogue back to Oldham, to reflect on her Northern upbringing, being bullied at school, her meteoric rise in the modelling world and her new life in Nashville.
Elson’s rise, however, wasn’t without its challenges. “I was bullied a lot. Nobody expected anything of me,” she tells Vogue in this rare, intimate documentary. “I’ll never forget, they all laughed at me. Everybody [at school] coming up to me and saying: ‘You’re not fit to model socks.’ But I wanted more.”
Homeward Bound With Karen Elson
More from this series
Supermodel Roots
Adut Akech: A Life Down Under
Supermodel Roots
Joan Smalls: Puerto Rico Calling
Supermodel Roots
Naomi Campbell: Back To Brixton
Supermodel Roots
Natalia Vodianova: From Paris With Love
I haven’t shared a lot of my past; it’s almost like this dirty secret.
“
“My first thought when Vogue asked me to return to Oldham was panic,” Elson reveals. “Why do I not like going home? Whenever I come back here, I’m confronted with what I left, everything that I ran away from essentially… I’m bigger than this, I’m going to escape, I’m going to get out of here,” she adds, in a moment of nostalgic reflection. “That was the dream.” It was a dream fulfilled that also led Elson to another… the pursuit of music. Below, the video in full.
Supermodel and singer-songwriter Karen Elson was just 16-years-old when she was signed to Boss Model Management in her hometown of Manchester. Her career in fashion soon soared, with more than 35 Vogue covers to date and multiple global campaigns for Miu Miu, Dior, and Louis Vuitton, with many landmark moments. And she’s never looked back — until now.
“My first thought when Vogue asked me to return to Oldham was panic,” Elson reveals. “Why do I not like going home? Whenever I come back here, I’m confronted with what I left, everything that I ran away from essentially… I’m bigger than this, I’m going to escape, I’m going to get out of here,” she adds, in a moment of nostalgic reflection. “That was the dream.” It was a dream fulfilled that also led Elson to another… the pursuit of music. Below, the video in full.
Watch now
“My first thought when Vogue asked me to return to Oldham was panic,” Elson reveals in this uniquely personal video. “Why do I not like going home? Whenever I come back here, I’m confronted with what I left, everything that I ran away from essentially… I’m bigger than this, I’m going to escape, I’m going to get out of here,” she adds. “That was the dream.” That dream also led Elson to pursue music.
KAREN ELSON
VIDEO
15:41
15:41
16. Februar 2021
Autorin: Ann-Kathrin Riedl
Videographer: Maik Schuster
READY TO GOU?!
10 Gründe, die Peggy Gou zum derzeit faszinierendsten Star der elektronischen Musikszene machen
Ready to Gou?!
10 Gründe, die Peggy Gou zum derzeit faszinierendsten Star der elektronischen Musikszene machen
16. Februar 2021
Autorin: Ann-Kathrin Riedl
Videographer: Maik Schuster