Were you always interested in the fashion industry? Did you know about it before hand?

I knew nothing about the fashion industry, but I’ve always wanted to be a model. I used to do ballroom dancing and when I was at a competition, one of the moms was like “who do you want to be” and I said “I want to be a supermodel” and she laughed at me. Back in the day in Russia we had no Vogues, we didn’t really have a fashion industry whatsoever. I grew up and there were like, only 5 channels on TV. I was really tall, really skinny, and had freckles everywhere! I think when I would tell people that I wanted to be a model, they would kind of laugh at me so I never felt comfortable talking about it.

When I was 13 or 14, I started talking to my mom about it and she said, “Absolutely not” because A) we didn’t have any modeling agencies in Russia and B) back in the day you would hear in Moscow that all the “model girls” were prostitutes. We had a trusted family friend who owned a modeling agency in my city and my mom got fed up with me begging for so many years and was finally like, “fine let’s go and see.” Pretty much that’s how it took off. I met IMG through them and then I went to do a modeling contest in Milan with IMG & MTV and I won that. I thought, oh my god it’s my first time on a plane and I’m outside of Russia.

You weren’t expecting that level…

No! For me at that time, I was just so excited to go to Milan. I didn’t really care if I won or not, I was so psyched! When I was 15, I went with my mom. There was no bone in my body that thought that anything would come out of it. Then I won.

At that time, I didn’t speak a word of English. They called my name and I was so checked out and no one was going up and they kept saying “You! You!” I feel so grateful because dreams do come true.

How were those first years? It sounds like you really enjoyed it. Sometimes it can be harder for girls who are younger in the industry. Were you excited by all of the new experiences that you got to partake in?

Of course. I remember when I first came to New York I was 15 years old and I was in this huge city! I had never traveled in my entire life except to Milan that time with my mom for the competition. I was by myself, I was at the models apartment and that was a different time when cell phones were just coming in. I had no idea how to deal with any of it. It was harder in a way because you couldn’t really communicate with your family as much and I still had school. I was a straight-A student and it was very hard for me to do both. But, I was so incredibly committed to do both that I finished with straight A’s and I went back and forth for 2 years. I think at 15 years old you’re really cocky and think “I can do everything, I got it, I’m an adult!” Then you look back at it, and I have no idea why my mom let me go!

Honestly, I look right now at kids who are 15 and I’m like, you’re a baby. I was raised in a really wonderful home and my parents and grandparents were amazing. For the first 2 years I definitely did not treat it like a job, it was like “oh my god I’m flying here and flying there!” “There’s champagne backstage at fashion week, this is amazing!” When I finished school and I was deciding whether to go to college or go to New York, it was hard for my parents. For me, I think I still have a hard time that I never went to school and it’s something that I want to do at some point. But this was my dream and I’ve got to see where it takes me. At that point, I was shooting for Sports Illustrated. I had really amazing opportunities and you can’t just give up on that.

So at that moment was that when it really clicked for you that this was something that was really becoming a career?

I think I looked at it and I was like, I’m 17 years old and if a 17 year old can provide for herself and her family? I always was full, I always knew that I was very determined and I was smart and hard working and if things didn’t work out I had my family and I could always go back to school. Honestly, I feel like it was yesterday but it was 16 years ago. I have no idea how the time flew by.

In your career, when did you realize that you had gotten to that next level? What moment stood out in your head where you realized “I’m Anne V.”

You know, I never really feel this way because the thing is I really love my job and I don’t really love the term “supermodel.” I’m a working model and I have an opportunity to do really amazing jobs but I feel like the “super” part makes you not human. I feel like I’m very personable and I just don’t really like to treat myself that way. I also really wish that I enjoyed it a little bit more back then. People always ask, oh what could you recommend to young models? And I always say enjoy and really be present. Even if it’s crazy, find the beauty in it. Literally I’ve had so many amazing moments.

What are your favorite moments?

I mean, doing the Victoria’s Secret show…that was for sure. I enjoyed it but you work so hard to get to that point. You are so healthy, you work out every single day to look that amazing and sometimes you would do that show and the next day you’d have to wake up at 4AM in the morning to go to work and I’m like I don’t want to go to work, I want to party and celebrate that I did this damn show!

I’m like I don’t want to go to work, I want to party and celebrate that I did this damn show!

Exactly but not every model gets the opportunity to do so…

Yeah and that’s where I felt like it was unfortunate that I really didn’t get to enjoy it those moments. If I could go back it would have been nice to savor every single experience. I think we also get a little bit jaded. We work in New York, we get on a red-eye and work in Paris and then get on a train and go to work in London that night, then wake up to go to work and fly back to New York. We do crazy things.

You talk a lot about when you’re a model at a certain level you feel a lot of pressure to maintain a certain body image. How have you dealt with body image working for Victoria’s Secret, Sports Illustrated, and various fashion magazines? As a model how do you deal with it and stay body positive?

I think it definitely took me a while to figure out. I never went like, crazy big but I was big for our industry. When I came to New York and put on weight I was like, I did track and field my whole life but I had never been to the gym. I had no idea what a gym looked like or how to eat a salad. So, for me it was so hard because, I never really had a mentor. When you’re 15 years old or even 17 years old, you have your agents and you hope that they’re wonderful enough to help you but we really don’t have a big support team of girls who are like, “I got you. Don’t worry. It’s not the end of the world. Your boyfriend broke up with you? Don’t worry you’re going to have 5 more…” It was so hard for me because literally my agents were like, you’ve got to lose weight and I didn’t know how to do it! I was 17 years old what was I supposed to do? I think more too it’s a big mental thing and when your industry takes you the way you look and then you put on weight and then people don’t take you. It can make you think there is something wrong with you.