Fashion

Doutzen Kroes on why she’s not having more children because of her fears for climate change


Doutzen Kroes’ impact goes far beyond the fashion industry. At just 34 years old, Doutzen has already sashayed from a reign as a Victoria’s Secret Angel to multiple runways across the globe and even starred – and did her own stunts – alongside Gal Gadot in Wonder Woman and Justice League, where, picture the scene, she lived in Watford. Yes really.

However, Doutzen’s true and lasting impact will be in her activism. As an ambassador for Knot on My Planet the Dutch model has passionately campaigned to prevent the slaughter of African elephants, who for Doutzen, ultimately symbolises the state of our planet and the spiralling issue of climate change.

Aside from activism, Doutzen is not afraid of a good night out as Doutzen tells me, reclining in her London hotel suite. “I have been out in London – but never the cultural things,” she laughs. “Like when someone asks, ‘what do you do in London,’ I can’t just say I hang out in bars, can I?” Talk about one of us!

Now as Doutzen stars in the latest campaign for Ba&sh’s Teddy bag, she reveals why she is not having more than two children due to her concerns for the planet, how she has felt ‘underestimated,’ for being, ‘just a pretty face,’ and what being an activist means to her…

Why did working with Ba&sh speak to you?

With Ba&Sh we share the same values of family and enjoying life. Usually with clients you are on good behaviour but with them I could be completely myself. We would shoot in the morning in Ibiza and I woke up the founder’s 25-year-old son within an hour of being there at 6am. He must of woke up, and gone, ‘who is this? What kind of dream was that?’

You have such a strong voice. How has your relationship with activism changed throughout your career?

It’s something that comes very naturally to me. I remember Shell doing tests near the coast of France when I was younger and I told my mother, ‘I will not eat French cheese anymore.’ That little activist thinking, ‘I want to change the world,’ was something I took with me as an adult. The feelings and values you have as a child are your core ones and shape what you want to become. I am 34 now and I am starting to look back at my childhood and think, ‘what was I standing for and what did I want to be?’ And I definitely didn’t want to be a model, but I wanted to be an activist. I think this journey in fashion has given me so many connections and a voice that now it makes sense. Fashion is not my passion, but I think it’s a tool for me to use my voice and change the world a little bit for the better. There is so much going on right now, I almost need to stand back and see what is going on. I have started eating more plant based because I don’t know how I can do all these things and still eat meat. 10 years ago, I didn’t know eating meat was so polluting for the environment. I am learning new things every day and it’s important to share with everyone that, step by step, we can reverse what is happening right now. But we also need to be quick.

Does the state of the planet give you anxiety?

Yes! I think all the time that it must have been so nice to be my age in the 1980s and the 1990s and not know all the things that are happening and just enjoy life. But a few months ago, I realised what an amazing time this is, too. There is so much going on and we will look back at this time and be proud or ashamed of ourselves. We still have the chance to be proud of ourselves. It’s also a beautiful time for diversity and the fact that everyone has a voice now. You don’t have to wait for an interview in a newspaper anymore, you can use your social media outlets like Greta Thunberg. That generation is not waiting for their opinion to be heard, they are just expressing it. Our generation still over thinks everything.

Did you feel that it was ‘uncool’ to be politically minded or an activist when you were younger?

Yes, but now I think it’s so sexy when a guy says, ‘I am vegan!’ And you think, ‘oh my god he’s conscious!’ I remember being at school and my parents were quite conscious so I would eat healthy bread and the kids would say, ‘what are you eating? Your apple is poisoned!’ And when they came to my house I would say to my parents, ‘can we eat like normal families today – no quinoa.’ My parents were ahead of their time. We had a vegetable garden and I see the value of that now. I fight for nature now because I had and still have that connection with it. If you grow up in a city you don’t have that connection with the vegetables in the soil. We are so disconnected with nature which is worrying too.

What was the turning point in your career where you realised you could use your voice for good?

I immediately did. As a child I gave money to WFF and Green Peace and when I started modelling, I worked for an organisation called Dance for Life for AIDS and sexual education. Now I can make it really big with Knot on My Planet. When I arrived in Africa and see elephants for the first time, I realised they had similar emotions to us as humans. Even my son who was four was mesmerised!

Do you ever feel you have ever been underestimated for being a model?

Yes – I think so. People like to think of you as just being a pretty face. I feel like I had to learn. When I look at interviews from 10-15 years ago, I still have the same values, but I can express them better. But I think that’s growing up. I really know myself now, I don’t just throw out my opinion. Also, if someone has a different opinion, I don’t just go against it, I think I can learn from it. You can’t judge someone who lives in a closed off community for having a certain opinion as they might not have had the same ability to explore, travel and broaden their horizons like you have. If we would all listen that bit more, it would be much better. There is an urgency to save the planet and save ourselves so listening is being overlooked. We are the plague and we will destroy ourselves, if we don’t listen.

Do you feel pressure to be an activist because you are a mother?

Definitely. I want to leave a beautiful planet for them. There will be a planet but is that the planet we want to leave for them? It’s definitely in the back of my mind. I have two children and for now, that’s it because I don’t know what we are leaving behind.

Ba&sh Teddy bag is available now





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