2023-12-09 22:00:59
Yara Shahidi, you grew up in front of the camera. What do clothes have to do for you?
Jennifer Wiebking
Editor in the “Life” department of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung.
In my personal life, fashion has always been a form of self-expression for me. My parents kindly allowed me to express myself visually at every stage: there was the time when I refused to put on pants and only wore skirts and ankle-high sneakers. Or the time I only wanted to wear school uniforms. I still have school uniforms from schools I never attended. Recently there was a phase in which I only wore jogging suits. Many actors find that about 50 percent of the time they enjoy the things they do outside of filming: the red carpets, the getting ready, and so on. I enjoy this from start to finish. Sometimes I dress like the person I would like to be and I use pieces that give me self-confidence.
What would such a self-confidence piece be?
My glasses. One is very thick and black, one is frameless and almost disappears. This makes me feel like a respected gentleman.
Speaking of men: Do you talk to male colleagues about fashion?
Yes, but they take so much less time to complete. When I mention that it took me a few hours, they reply: Really, I started half an hour ago.
Max Mara and the Women in Film Foundation are now honoring you with the “Face of the Future Award”. Why is that important?
Because this award shines a spotlight on the type of industry we most want to work in. With women, the industry is more progressive and the stories are more diverse. Ultimately, it shows that Max Mara also takes women’s stories seriously.
What kind of image of women is circulating in Hollywood in the post-MeToo era?
Before, there was always this fear of taking the wrong step. For many, this meant that they were never able to do the work they actually wanted to do. The fact that someone has so much power to make an actress disappear into obscurity is absurd.
There are now many more female producers and directors in Hollywood.
Yes, the power that women now have behind the camera also liberates us in front of the camera. I mean this in terms of how we can perform in this world. I benefit greatly from the fact that so many women have put their careers on the line to improve this industry. And the films are getting better too. In the past, a female character should be as broad as possible so that as many people as possible could see themselves in it. Now people are finally realizing that it can only be about the superficial stuff and that a prototype of a woman is being shown that doesn’t really exist. Real life stories tell much more about what it means to be a woman.
You have been raising your voice for a long time: you spoke out against him in Donald Trump’s first election campaign, but you couldn’t even vote because you were only 16 years old.
This is mostly simply due to the conversations that have been part of the dinner table in my house for years. My grandparents were already active in various social movements. Then as I became more famous and people started asking me questions, I happened to have some answers because I had been thinking about it for a long time. I was considered an activist before I could even think about things properly. I was 14 at the time, and that’s an interesting attribution. That’s why studying was important for me.
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You graduated from Harvard last year with a degree in sociology and African American studies.
The four years at university were an important time for me to understand what work I wanted to keep private and when I would like to appear with it on the public stage. It’s a double-edged sword today: if you don’t share something on social media, people will feel like you’re not interested in it. If you share too much, it seems like you just take care of everything. I had to learn that – and also that it’s okay to be uncertain. In this world, you can quickly feel like you have to have a clear stance on everything. But it’s also okay to be 23 and not sure.
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