ANNA CLEVELAND interview
by Renata Gorreri
Anna is a beautiful girl, an unconventional beauty made of perfectly balanced contrasts. Her mother is Pat Cleveland, one of the iconic top models in the ‘70s and her father is Paul Van Ravenstein, a photograph. Therefore art and fashion are part of her life since ever. She grown up in Stresa, a small beautiful village along the Garda Lake, in Italy, surrounded by art and beauty. She has always enjoyed the friendship of her parents’ friends and colleagues and has always attended the most important catwalks with her mother. She has an international culture and education; she is wise but with an astonishing personality; she lives in the fashion system, but she practices yoga and meditation, she cares about her inner life. For Anna it isn’t hard to combine different realities.
ANNA IN WONDERLAND – MIA LE JOURNAL N.XI WAVE ISSUE Photography Adriano Russo styling Elisabetta Cavatorta model Anna Cleveland
Hair ARMANDO CHERILLO @ATOMO MANAGEMENT, makeup SEIKO NISHIGORI @GREEN APPLE,
styling assistant GIORGIA SILVESTRINI, model agency @NEXTMODEL milan, photographer agency UNCONVENTIONAL ARTISTS, casting director DANILO DI PASQUALE, production TEN ARTIST,
location La Turista from Residenza Location
Please, let us know something more about you, amazing Anna.
Renata: Your walking on the catwalk is absolutely original. What does inspire you? The brand, your mother’s advises, the mood of the day?
Anna: All the above! thank you for noticing my strut! It takes courage to be outside the box you know?? I enjoy being inspired and listen to directions and interpret the clothing in my own way as an actress.
Renata: Everyday we hear people talking about beauty, the inner beauty, beauty of imperfection. But biases are still so strong, and girls and boys still have troubles with their image and their beauty. What shall we do? What is the fashion system doing on this subject?
Anna: Internal truth will set us free, in this fast-moving pace of the world we need to find ways to stay present and come back into our selfs a “coming home “. I find that many girls have not have the mentorship to look beyond external beauty. When we look at an object it is only a manifestation of a feeling, a thought a creation. What I love is to un~objectify the object. Just like I un~objectify myself. And in these times of social media demand I have seen the abscess more and more of connecting with our soul, true self, beyond the mask and EGO self. I have been blessed to have a mentor like my mother, like my guru guru mai chidvilasananda, like my lama Ganchen Rinpoche. In fast moving times like this we must look within, we must “come home”. Let’s search for internal truth, there is plenty of information out there passed on from generations of enlightenment. As a fashion system we NEED to unite and truly ask for it, to create imagery that is not OBJECTIFIED.
Renata: The Earth is in danger due to irresponsible human behaviour. But many of us started new behaviours to face this problem. The fashion system knows and tries to face it?
Anna: Yes absolutely! Everyone is awake and we all feel the urge to ACT united and communicate these necessary times for changements of human behaviour.
Renata: You practice yoga and you know the importance of breathing. What does mentally inhale and exhale the inner Anna?
Anna: Focusing on breathing helps to train the mind and body to be untied. It’s a daily practice. The mind is a muscle, we can train just like any other part of the body to be liberated from the repetitive and insignificant chatter. Once we focus on our breathing each of us can do our part in helping the planet by being CONSCIOUS. Connecting body, mind and soul. It’s that simple to change in breathing.
Renata: If I say wave, what does it remind you?
Anna: The flow of life.
Renata: I know that you love the arts, especially painting (your grandmother was a painter) and music. Do you practice them? Do you think they will become a profession for you in the future?
Anna: Yes, my grandmother lady bird Cleveland painted and played free handed jazz music on the piano. Painting of African American experience from the civil rights movements, to jazz clubs, to aspects of life such as slavery. My mother’s paintings are about rainbows and joy. We have two generations of art and paintings at my family’s house. Why not add on to the Cleveland expression legacy as well!
Renata: Is there a fragrance that you take with you on the catwalk?
Anna: Lavender