Supermodel Noémie Lenoir Talks Her Balmain Campaign—And the Secret to Her Brilliant Curls

“Everything comes back all the time,” says Noémie Lenoir, rather wryly. “Naomi is back, and Claudia, and Cindy, so I thought, Why not maybe me?” The French supermodel, who ruled early-aughts runways from Gucci to Gaultier, has dropped by the Vogue.com offices from her East Village home to discuss something else that’s returned—billowing curls, a larger-than-life fixture on the Fall 2016 runways and Lenoir’s modeling signature. Those soft, romantic spirals have taken the spotlight once more in a new Balmain campaign that showcases the 36-year-old’s dreamy texture.

Back in 2000, Lenoir recalls the way stylists would take a brush to those curls, teasing them out into a textured Afro—a dramatic shift from the slicked-back ponytails of her childhood. “I hated my hair!” she says, tugging at stray bits of it. Now, it’s part of the reason she’s back in the business, working alongside Olivier Rousteing and Balmain’s hair designer Nabil Harlow to push for more diversity in fashion, starting with that loose, natural hair. “Balmain told me they believed in the curls,” she says, “and it was fashion that made me like the curls, and to be who I am.”

So, how does Lenoir keep her striking lengths in check? A carefully layered haircut is key—“Otherwise, you look like a trapeze!”—as is a daily, hydrating Kérastase mask. Once a month, there’s an olive and argan oil mixture that she rakes through her mane and lets soak for the weekend, as a two-day softening treatment. Finally, Balmain Silk Perfume spray, spritzed on each morning, adds shine and a woody scent—and that’s it. “For my hair, less is better,” she says. “Can you imagine if I put more volume in my hair?” We bet it’d be all the rage next spring.

 

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