Hunter Schafer
The Gen Z icon embraces the transformative magic of Ethan James Green’s lens
What is your definition of beauty? What does beauty mean to you?
One of my favourite reference points for unabashed beauty is Paris Is Burning. It really highlights a group of people who are celebrating their beauty to the nth degree in a world that’s telling them to be small and to stop existing. My other one is Leonard Cohen’s song Suzanne. My favourite rendition of it is the Nina Simone cover. The lyrics are so stunning.
Is there an artist, an art piece, a sculpture or any sort of art that really resonates as beautiful with you?
I’m a big art lover and Fallin’ - Manma - Air by Aya Takano is one of my favourite paintings. I have a little print of it at home and it’s this gorgeous girl leaning over the frame and there are airplanes coming over her and the sky is bright yellow. It resonates with our shoot today in that it’s sexy but also powerful.
When you close your eyes do you have a moment or a memory of beauty that comes to mind?
I recently went to Ohio with a group of my best friends to watch the total solar eclipse and it was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. It was a life-changing moment.
Is there a smell that you associate with beauty?
Ramen noodle. Maruchan. Just the 10-cent packets. I used to eat it literally every night when I was a kid and it’s one of the most comforting things.
How about taste?
The same. Ramen noodle. Maruchan. I eat it all the time.
A sound?
There’s a Miranda July movie that I love called Kajillionaire and there’s a scene where an old man is waiting to die, but he’s alone and all he wants is to hear people in the living room and in the kitchen, just clinking things or something. I sleep better when I can hear people doing homey things, like clinking silverware or watching TV or something like that.
A touch?
I went to Greece last summer to this beach of smooth, beautiful pebbles that you can run your hands through. That’s one of my favourite tactile feelings.
What does beauty look like?
Windmills. I love windmills so much. [North of Los Angeles] you can drive through these fields of windmills and it’s so surreal and beautiful.
