Lila Moss has opened up about her journey into modelling, revealing that her supermodel mum Kate Moss tried to 'put her off' the career for one very important reason – her mental health.
Speaking to British Vogue, the 19-year-old said: "My mum always put me off [modelling]. She was always like, 'If you wanna do it, you can, but I wouldn’t recommend it'." As for why that is, British Vogue referenced a 1992 shoot in which Kate – who started modelling at the age of 14 – was left feeling traumatised after straddling a shirtless Mark Wahlberg for a Calvin Klein campaign. "Nobody takes care of you mentally," Kate told Vanity Fair in 2012 of her experience in the modelling industry. "There’s a massive pressure to do what you have to do."
It's something which the now 48-year-old was keen to combat, driving her to open her own talent agency in 2017 and offer the kind of support to up and coming models that she missed out on. Daughter Lila is signed up to Kate's agency, and told British Vogue: "When I was younger she was scared that I’d fall into the same trap, I think."
That's not to say Kate has always been against Lila following in her footsteps, with the mini-me revealing that it was her own self confidence that prevented her from doing so in the past. "I remember Mum asked me to do something with her when I was 13. I said yes. And then I woke up and I was like, 'I can’t do it!'," she said. "I was so shy – and I had braces."
But, within a few years, Lila had made her mark on the modelling world, starring in her first campaign for Marc Jacobs Beauty at 15-years-old. "I know Marc, and I love his stuff and what he does, so I felt like it was right," she recalled.
Previously, Lila – who is type 1 diabetic – has been praised for her ground-breaking decision to wear her insulin pump on the runway. Speaking about her condition, the 19-year-old told The Kit: "I think not many people know that I have diabetes. It’s not visible from the outside, so no one would really know just by looking at you."
"Absolutely love that you don’t hide your pod, you’re an inspiration to so many living with T1 diabetes," a fan said on Lila's Instagram in response to her walking the runway with her insulin pump.
