Ishira Kumar

Nastassia Lindes October 2011 face of the Month, Photographed by Ash Gupta 838MG

This month, 838MG and Agenda Magazine picked Vision Model Nastassia Lindes to be our Face of the Month. Nastassia has striking features that make her stand out in a room and a personality that is tangible and real.  Nastassia was born in England but moved to Santa Monica when she was just five—she considers herself a California girl. With a mother who was a model in the 70s, she was introduced to the world of modeling at a very young age.  “I started getting scouted when I was twelve, so I kind of always knew I would get to it eventually,” she says. And it was just two years later that she did sign with an agency.  “I was in a bowling alley.  I was fourteen. I had really short pink hair and Francine Champagne talked me into it.” Nastassia switched to Elite Model Management for a few years but recently signed with Vision, which is also Francine’s company. “It was sort of full circle,” recalls Natassia.

She started working immediately doing a lot of look books, “A sun-glasses ad that never paid me till today!” and even a fitting for Bebe. “I can tell you one of the most embarrassing things that happened to me at a casting. I realized when they called me in that I had my dress on backwards,” she says, “but no one said anything, so I don’t know if they realized.”

One of her favorite jobs has been shooting a look book for Rouche in South Carolina.  She says, “It’s beautiful, one of the most amazing places I’ve ever been, and so much history there. I love history.” Nastassia also loves working with Japanese clothing companies and has had the opportunity to work with two so far: “I love their clothes; their sense of style is so fun, and they’re nice people.” She says maybe someday she would like to go to Japan for a couple of months to work, but right now the prospect of a foreign city alone sounds terrifying to her, “And I would probably spend too much money!”

Nastassia also wants to return to London at some point. “I went for a month recently, but next year I want to go for more time and actually work there.”

The first thing I noticed about Nastassia was her lack of any pretense. Wearing jeans, a vintage belly tee, and some Doc Martens, she seemed more “real” than a lot of the other models I’ve met. So I asked Nastassia about her personal style. After a long pause, “Most of the things I own are under 10 dollars. I’m such a scavenger. I mean, I love old things, and I sew, so I alter stuff. Salvation Army is my favorite place. I live in Silver Lake, so it’s perfect.”

See the fashion editorial.

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Credits:
Photographer: Ash Gupta
Stylist: Jaqueline Bower and Kinga Szani
Model:  Nastassia Lindes