As the face of Miu Miu’s highly anticipated debut fragrance, we get to know actress-come-model Stacy Martin...
By Susan Devaney
With her whip-like frame, chocolate brown long locks and silky porcelain skin it’s not hard to see why this 24-year-old is finding fame at her feet already. Her Franco-English demeanour of insouciant coolness mixed with her impeccable sense of style has failed to go unnoticed too. From sitting front row at Chanel, Rag & Bone and Miu Miu, the fashion world has found their new rising star. Stacy openly admits this hasn’t always come with such ease. "To be honest I’m not sure I had a sense of style when I was a kid. My relationship to fashion was, let’s say, quite ‘non-existent’. I would mainly wear baggy jeans and t-shirts. Over the last few years I’ve found my own way of having a relationship with fashion that’s true to me and matches what I do day-to-day in my daily life. My favourite experiences and items are those that allow me to still get along with my day without having to think about what I’m wearing," she recalls.
Born in France, Stacy moved to Tokyo with her parents (her father is a hairstylist) at the age of seven before returning to her home country during her teenage years. At eighteen she ventured to London to study media and cultural studies at London College of Communication. It was during this tenure she signed with Premier Model Management. Stacy openly admits she undertook modelling to pay the bills and to become financially independent, rather than through a burning desire to strut the runway. Subsequently, she has appeared in several fashion spreads and publications. More recently, Stacy has become the face of Miu Miu’s debut fragrance, MIU MIU.
It’s not just the fashion experts who have noticed her chameleon-like qualities but the film industry wants her too. After her debut film role in Lars von Trier’s Nymphomaniac starring Charlotte Gainsbourg, Stacy’s film career is off to a flying start. With an A-list cast in tow, Stacy plays the role of Gainsbourg’s younger self. The similarities between the two are uncanny. From a likeness in appearance and fashion taste to Stacy’s resemblance to Jane Birkin – Gainsbourg’s famous mother. With several nude scenes with Shia LeBeouf and tackling a role of many dimensions, it appears that Stacy is a natural. By modelling whilst studying at university, fortunately she earned enough to be able to pay for acting lessons at the Actors’ Temple where she still studies. Unlike many other acting students before her, she hasn’t had to slog it out by receiving knock back after knock back after attending auditions. She’s one of the lucky ones. Over the past few months, Stacy has been working on a new project in Italy, which is now completed. ‘I’ve recently been shooting in Rome with Italian film director Matteo Garrone on his new film The Tale of Tales. The film is based on a collection of fairy tales by 17th century author Giambattista Basile,’ she says. The year ahead for her is set to look like a busy one too. "I’m also due to shoot with British film director Ben Wheatley for his new film High-Rise. Later this year, I have Nicolas Saada’s new film Taj Mahal. So there’s lots going on and I feel extremely privileged to be working with such talented people," she says, humbly. We can also expect to see her starring in Danny Huston’s The Last Photograph, out next year.
All images courtesy of Getty. ^
With her uncanny resemblance to the seventies fashion icon Jane Birkin, this ‘Girl with the Fringe’ (who is more than a little mysterious), is only getting started. It’s not luck, but her multiple talents and cross-culture allure that are shining through.
