While interviewing Iman for a supermodel-on-supermodel Q&A in Citizens of Humanity’s glossy magazine Humanity, Christy Turlington Burns ended up revealing plenty of fascinating details about herself, as well. When Iman mentioned that she hadn’t walked in a fashion show since 1989, Turlington Burns said she tries to avoid attending them nowadays, saying, “It’s just not fun and you feel like you’re in a fishbowl.”
While Turlington Burns has continued to model for clients like Calvin Klein, she has stepped away from the runway to focus on other things, and she shared her reasoning for that decision:
“I thought about it for a long time, and I guess I really haven’t fully given modeling up, but in my mind I did, because I went back to school and moved on in my life. And when I went back to school, same thing. I remember somebody telling me that they were in a location van and they saw me walk by with my backpack, and they were like, ‘Oh, poor thing.’ And I’m thinking — ‘Poor thing? I’m getting my education, you fools.’ But I remember thinking about it. I think I had finally quit smoking and had gained some weight, and I was in Paris for the couture shows and I remember that moment when I thought, ‘You know what, I’m doing something healthy for myself, and they’re judging me and I don’t want to subject myself to it anymore.’ And it’s such an empowering feeling when you can make that choice. “
