Bettina Hagen: modeling, fashion, painting
Bettina Hagen
In 1975, Bettina Hagen said goodbye to the modeling scene, but remained true to fashion. In Hamburg, she opened her own boutique and sold there self-designed knitwear. For some years, the now 56-year-old has focused entirely on painting. Her pictures - mostly landscapes in powerful colors - have already been shown at exhibitions in Germany, France and Switzerland. Bettina Hagen is currently designing the homepage of singer Jennifer Warnes with her own pictures - even though she was not able to operate a key on the computer two years ago. With ChroniquesDuVasteMonde.com Bettina Hagen talked about her career, changes in the modeling scene and a possible comeback.
ChroniquesDuVasteMonde.com: Recently, you starred as a model for ChroniquesDuVasteMonde Woman, 30 years after the end of her modeling career. Have you got the taste back?
Bettina Hagen: Yes, a little bit. I realized that I can still model. I'm mobile, can still move as in the old days. For years I did not think about modeling any more, but now two friends and I are thinking about getting three of us back in, for example for hair jobs: one is gray, one is blond, one is brown. That fits. There is a huge market for women over 40. We all discover that we are far from being old iron.
ChroniquesDuVasteMonde.com: Let's take a look back over 38 years: How did you come up with modeling at that time?
Bettina Hagen: After graduation, I thought about whether I should continue to work at gas stations or even try my luck as a model. Since I have just turned to the ChroniquesDuVasteMonde and was first photographed as a pretty reader. Then I was told that I was too chubby for modeling and I would rather wait another year.
ChroniquesDuVasteMonde.com: And after a year, did you come back?
Bettina Hagen: Yes, in 1967 I started to work with Charlotte March for the ChroniquesDuVasteMonde. The studio life was very exciting and I could still find something of the other girls there. Of course I had already brought a certain talent, but I still had to learn a few tricks.
ChroniquesDuVasteMonde.com: The ChroniquesDuVasteMonde was the prelude to a great career for you ...
Bettina Hagen: When the jobs in Germany became more and more, I thought: Are you studying now or are you trying it right and are you going to Paris as a model? I then married and introduced myself to a Paris agency. They just looked at me and asked: Do you want to fly to Milan? That same evening I sat in the machine to Italy. There I made a big fashion series for Ligna Italiana. From that point on I knew: no study, you will become a model now.
ChroniquesDuVasteMonde.com: That sounds like a dream ...
Bettina Hagen: Yes, but at the time I was exactly the right type of time. Suddenly a completely new type of woman was in demand: unadorned, natural, girlish. And I was the same with my freckles and the reddish hair. I was just lucky and it was really great for me to get out of this somewhat stuffy post-war Germany, straight into the big world. I found that exciting and did not regret it for a moment.
ChroniquesDuVasteMonde.com: How was the big world?
Bettina Hagen: Fantastic. I've come to know a way of life that you have not had here in Germany, with three-star food and great hotels. Added to this were the trips. Except for Asia, I have seen the whole world, including Mexico and Morocco. At the beginning of the seventies it was very special because these countries were not tourist destinations. And besides all that, I also earned some really good money.
ChroniquesDuVasteMonde.com: Have you been approached often on your model photos?
Bettina Hagen: In Germany I must have been really famous, without ever knowing that. After I had stopped modeling and 1974/75 returned to Germany, I was still addressed for years: "You were always in the ChroniquesDuVasteMonde, you know me yet." At that time, as a model, although not yet known by name but my face was very present in the minds of women.
ChroniquesDuVasteMonde.com: Today everyone knows Claudia Schiffer, Naomi Campell or Nadja Auermann. How has the modeling changed over time?
Bettina Hagen: At that time there was not yet this huge competition among the girls. We all got along well and were treated wonderfully. Today, the models are all about earning a lot of money as fast as possible. They are not very interested in their job. We, on the other hand, had a great time at work, played a part and felt a bit like artists.There were certainly negative side effects such as drug excesses and the like at that time, but I had nothing to do with it because I was always very down to earth.
ChroniquesDuVasteMonde.com: You have no regrets, as you said earlier. Were there still days when you hated modeling?
Bettina Hagen: I can only remember a really bad job. I had to stand outside for hours and was constantly watered from above. The photographer really tormented me. It was freezing cold, I was completely frozen and the water charges just did not end.
ChroniquesDuVasteMonde.com: And that disciplined life of always having to pay attention to what you eat and drink has never bothered you?
Bettina Hagen: I never did that. I have instinctively been eating healthily all my life, never been a lover of candy or junk food. I was happy to get to know the good food in the restaurants in France and everywhere.
Bettina Hagen: Chaussee
ChroniquesDuVasteMonde.com: When did you realize you should stop modeling?
Bettina Hagen: At the age of 28, I thought, before you are no longer wanted, you have to stop from you and do something sensible. And then I turned my back on the model existence - true to the motto: "If it's the most beautiful, you should go".
ChroniquesDuVasteMonde.com: After that, you designed and sold knitwear, and in the meantime you added another record and today you are painting. Are you staying with us or will you be back soon?
Bettina Hagen: I'll definitely continue painting. That has always been a dream of mine. I just did not dare at first and never wanted to go to an academy. My principle is always to do everything myself. I did not have any training for fashion either, I just designed sweaters, discussed the drawings with my knitters, and they put them into practice. That's just how I started painting. I belong to no art direction. I want to paint my dreams and catapult myself out of everyday life.
ChroniquesDuVasteMonde.com: Did you sometimes regret your modeling time?
Bettina Hagen: No, never because luckily I was always filled with what I did. And because for 30 years I have a partner by my side, who has gone through thick and thin with me. It makes life easier, and I'm grateful for that.
