Chicago Tribune

(MCT)

The go-go boots were long gone when Linda Rodin peaked as a model.

Last winter, at age 65 — decades after being scouted by photographers in Italy — she was cast in the pre-fall ad campaign for The Row, the high-end fashion house of Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen. Two years earlier, J.Crew booked Rodin for its fall catalog. She posed for Vogue in August 2011 and more recently for the Dutch magazine Rika.

“I find it hysterically funny that 40 years later, when I’m wrinkled and a mess, they love me,” Rodin said. “I’m 66 and still look cool in jeans, I guess.”

During her four-decade hiatus from modeling, she moved back to her native New York from Italy, owned the boutique Linda Hopp in Soho and fashioned a career as a stylist, working at Henri Bendel, then as an editor at Harper’s Bazaar. She has dressed Gisele Bundchen, Halle Berry, Madonna and Laetitia Casta.

More recently Rodin launched an eponymous luxury skin-care line, inspired by the essential oils she was mixing at home. Stopping at space519 in Chicago to meet fans of the original Rodin olio lusso face oil, she told us about being a silver-haired, fuchsia-lipped ambassador of the baby boomers — and a radiant hero to women half her age. The following is an edited transcript of a conversation with Rodin.

Q: How much time do you spend getting ready?

A: 15 minutes.

Q: How many steps are in your skin care regimen?

A: One. Well, two. I’m coming out with a cleanser in November. I cleanse my face at night, only at night, with a granular powder. I pat my face dry, then I put on my face oil. In the morning, I just rinse my face with water, pat it dry, and put the oil on again.

Q: What inspired the skin-care collection?

A: I like oils. I made mine in my bathroom. My nephew came over one day and said, “What are you doing with all these oils? Who do you sell these to?” I said I don’t sell them. I just know the formula by my eye. I had 11 oils. He ordered 11 beakers, and I made it five times by eye perfectly. I knew the proportions; it’s like when you’re cooking. I decided I wanted to make a body oil, because when I get out of the tub, I like an oil for my body. Then I added a lip balm and hand cream and a soap and a candle and I have two perfumes.

Q: Do you stay out of the sun?

A: I wish I had, but I lived for the sun. We went to the beach every weekend. We didn’t wear sunblock, just oil, anything to get tanner. I don’t regret the time I spent there, but I do regret the damage it caused. I have sunspots all over. I don’t like that, but it’s too late now. And some of my best memories are at the beach.

Q: What do you wear on an average day?

A: I wear jeans almost every day. I like vintage Levi’s. Today I’m wearing a cotton shirt. I like men’s shirts, vintage shirts. I have a lot of gypsy kind of embroidered, billowy sleeve shirts. I like long sleeve T-shirts, and I’m wearing one with a Comme des Garcons, kind of like an apron. It’s backless. I bought it at the beginning of summer. It looks great with everything. A lot of Comme des Garcons is so complicated. But it’s just this easy, crazy thing.

Q: Is that one of your favorite designers?

A: I love Comme, I love Celineand Acne. I walk into any store. I’m very democratic that way. You never know what you’ll find. That’s why I love the flea market. I’ve been going to the one on 25th Street and Broadway for 25 years. My first stop anywhere in the world would be a flea market. I’ll do the museums after.

Q: What have you bought so far for fall?

A: I bought two great outfits at Acne, boiled wool, heavy wool pants that are kind of above the ankle and very flared. They’re a little clowny, but I like big sweaters to go over them. Very charming, not sleek but simple. There are good shoes at Acne too.

Q: Do you have favorite sunglasses?

A: Celine, Miu Miu, Dries Van Noten. I wear glasses all the time. Everybody says they’re sunglasses, but they’re all prescription; I can’t see.

Q: You modeled in Italy?

A: I moved to Italy around 1970. I was about 19, and I lived there on and off for three years. I learned Italian; that was my plan. I did modeling on and off. I didn’t have an agency. But I met people along the way. I was American, so that might have been interesting. I speak fluent Italian, so it was kind of fun. I modeled a bit in New York but not seriously. I didn’t start modeling again till now. It’s so much fun. I think it’s just interesting, to be a representative for baby boomers. I haven’t dyed my hair, and haven’t had a face-lift. I’m just trying to do it my way. I guess it’s daunting for a lot of women. It’s daunting for me too. I don’t like my wrinkles. But my motto is health is wealth. Having wrinkles is a luxury at a certain point.

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