Model Grace Hartzel on the Power of a Gutsy, Game-Changing Haircut

What’s one ticket to a supercharged modeling career? A daring, identity-shifting haircut. Vidal Sassoon famously bared Grace Coddington’s swanlike neck with his Five-Point Cut in 1964. Julien d’Ys took scissors to Linda Evangelista’s chestnut waves in 1988, launching a pendulum swing of hair changes. And in 2013 Guido Palau reimagined golden girl Edie Campbell with a jet-black shag that brought the mullet back into the conversation. Of course, such transformations call for a double dose of artistry—both the visionary wielding the shears and the person boldly inhabiting the new role. So when Vogue set out to document an about-face cut for the November issue, the casting came easy: Palau took his spot behind the chair, and model-of-the-moment Grace Hartzel sat as his willing coconspirator.

The result—which followed a volley of inspiration-centric texts between them and a couple of days on set in New York City this summer—skirts the line between punk and ultramodern, the sort of thing that calls to mind a CBGB-era Joan Jett while also catching the discerning eye of Tom Ford: The newly shorn Hartzel opened his show in September and stars in the Fall campaign. Now, after she turned heads on runways and sidewalks during fashion month, the Vogue story has landed, accompanied by Lena Dunham’s essay [link] on the liberating power of no-rules, no-fear cuts.

For another insider’s perspective, we caught up with Hartzel by phone during a music-fueled trip to Berlin to talk about her own self-administered hair experiments, the march toward gender fluidity, and her road-tested wellness remedies.

Given the history of legendary models getting legendary cuts, has there been a point in your career when you wanted to break away from the pack?
Totally, because I’m a person who always needs to be reinventing and changing my look. I originally had normal, long hair with a middle part, so I cut my fringe because I was feeling, like, really stuck. That’s what kind of launched my career with Hedi Slimane.

Did you actually take scissors to your own hair?
Yeah, I was 17, on spring break in Florida with my family. I was reading an anime book about this girl who had bangs, and I was like, “Wow, I want to be her.” So I went to CVS and bought cheap scissors and cut my bangs in the bathroom. My parents were like, “You ruined your whole career!” They were really upset and had a whole talk with me, like, “Grace, is this your inner conscience saying that you don’t want to model?” And I was like, “No, I am just so bored with my hair right now!” They look back at it now and laugh.

When did Hedi Slimane come into your orbit?
After that, in September. I had done the show for him before, when I didn’t have the bangs, but then when I had them, I was exclusive to Saint Laurent. He flew me to L.A., and I did the Pre-Fall campaign, the denim campaign, the Fall/Winter, and it went on from there. It was a ’60s thing with the big, fluffy bangs. I felt confident with my bangs. I felt more like myself.

Fast-forwarding a few years, how did you react when you heard about the Vogue shoot?
I was so excited, because I had wanted to change my hair for so long—and to be able to do it with Vogue was something that I needed. It’s good to have someone who backs you, like Hedi backed me with my bangs. I would have cut my hair anyway, but it’s more difficult now in modeling; we’re not as free, necessarily, just because we’re afraid of not getting jobs, afraid of being too editorial, too commercial. And I really trusted Guido.

What sort of discussions did you and Guido have beforehand?
We had been texting and [sending] Instagram photos. We wanted it to be a collaboration. He had this one photo of Blondie that was really cool—it’s a lot like my hair—but we wanted to mix that with Joan Jett and a bit of the Chelsea cut, where they shave the back of their heads and the rest of it is long in front of the ears, with short fringe. But we definitely wanted to create something new. We would sit and talk, cut a little bit, talk some more. Then the next day he cut some more. It was a process.

You seem game for anything—but was there a knee-jerk reaction when he chopped off your hair?
It’s just hair. It’s going to all grow back!

Why do you think renegade cuts are having a moment? Are people craving a sense of identity with social media?
With social media and everything nowadays, it’s actually pretty cool, because when I was going to school everyone would wear Abercrombie; everyone would be in unison. Right when I started [modeling], the models that were doing well all looked the same. You would go to the castings and everyone was wearing all black, long middle part, baby blonde hair, same boring black bag. Now I think it’s changed, where the models who are more unique and have their own personal style are doing better.

What has the reaction been to your new haircut?
Really good. My best friend, Lili Sumner, is here in Berlin, and Lily McMenamy, too. I just saw them the other day, and they were like, “Oh, my gosh, it’s so crazy. It suits you so well!” I feel really good in this hair; it doesn’t feel forced. For a moment [with my old bangs] I was super into Jane Birkin, and I still am. But now I’m starting to create something new. I feel like my hair is a bit futurist, because differentiating between male and female is not really relevant. Androgyny is more popular now.

Do you fit in better in Berlin with your new haircut?
Totally. I am actually probably pretty boring here! We went to our friend’s concert last night, and it was all these people with incredible style, so unique, so retro-punk. The girls had spiky hair, shaved heads. It was really cool.

What’s the latest with you creatively?
Right now I really want to do music, and I have, like, 10 songs I’m working on. I’m studying this music system, Ableton—it’s good for making electronic music or recording live music. And I’m singing on the new track from La Femme. It’s their first full English song. I kind of want my music to be a mix of electronic, synth-wave, punk, but a bit retro disco.

That’s a list of words that could maybe describe your hair. Are you finding freedom in the way you are styling it lately?
If I go out, I can gel up the top part, which is shorter than the rest, and make it into kind of a Mohawk. But I’ve been a bit lazy! It’s cool, because now I don’t have to wash my hair [that often]. It’s healthier for your hair to let all of the oils do their thing.

Speaking of health, how do you manage to stay well with your travel schedule?
I take a lot of really good vitamins, like B complex, which is all energy stuff. And I take this reishi mushroom mix that you can find at Whole Foods—it’s a powder that you mix into water, and it gives you energy and boosts your metabolism. I also have this extract from green coffee that I put in my yogurt. I feel so good all day. And I eat a lot of greens and stuff. In this business you can’t feel like crap—you have to be on all the time!

 

 

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