Lynda Carter is the ultimate cover girl for the December 2024 edition of Harper’s Bazaar Vietnam.
The original Wonder Woman actress, 72, sat down with model Coco Rocha for an interview with the outlet to discuss empowerment, fashion, her legacy and the pressures of staying relevant. In an exclusive behind-the-scenes video shared exclusively with PEOPLE, the timeless beauty’s unique charisma can be seen on full display as she poses for photographer Tom Marvel.
During the shoot, Carter radiated confidence in a captivating high-fashion wardrobe, including dresses from Jean Paul Gaultier by Simone Rocha, Louis Vuitton, Giorgio Armani and Alexander McQueen.
Coco, 36, who is a Canadian supermodel, opened up the conversation reminding Carter about how they met during a Gaultier show, and asks the actress to reflect on the individuals in fashion whose clothes she loved to wear throughout the years. Of course, some of her earliest memories of fashion and couture stem from the set of Wonder Woman, the beloved series she starred in from 1975 to 1979.
The series was a stepping stone for the actress that paved the way for her to work with other renowned designers such as Bob Mackie.
“My first experience with couture or fashion, really, was at Warner Bros. Studios,” Carter told Coco. “And when they made Wonder Woman costumes and they were doing everything, I was really understanding what it took to make that costume.”
“I mean, they used real whalebone in the corsets that they made for me for the show. And I met Donfeld, who did the costume,” she adds. “And then I did a bunch of specials and I had Bob Mackie and I have so many of his great costumes. He did costumes for Carol Burnett, and Cher, and for so many of the big specials of those days.
She continued: “It wasn’t necessarily high fashion, but it was that kind of detail that was so specific that made it exciting to be put into those clothes. And then in the ‘80s, I started to understand more about fashion — by going to MoMA and attending fashion balls, that sort of thing.”
Coco and Carter also agreed that being thrown into fashion and observing everything is the best way to learn about the business. And understanding the difference between a designer and a stylist is crucial, especially when it comes to developing an understanding about what looks good on you.
“Designers are the ones that do it. And the stylists are wonderful in that they can put different looks together, as opposed to just one designer,” Carter told Coco. “A stylist can mix and match and do some things like that for a wardrobe or something. But a designer is a designer. A designer works their tail off. You are not a mannequin.”
Carter then recalls something that Coco told her during the Harper’s Bazaar photo shoot. “You said something to me earlier that was very interesting,” Carter reminds Coco, who was present for the cover story. “You said, ‘They’re not interested in me; they just want me for the post.'”
“I think that’s nonsense because there aren’t a lot of you, “Carter elaborates. “There aren’t a lot of people that can put on a dress and really make whatever you’re in come alive. And that’s artistry. That is difficult to find. If it were easy, why not just put it on a mannequin or a little stuffed doll? Because it doesn’t work. If they could do it, they would do it because it’d be a lot less expensive.”
She continues: “So please don’t undermine the models that you put your dresses in, or the people you put on your covers. I’m tired of people acting like their faces, bodies, and how hard they work doesn’t matter. I think that they should be celebrated. The models should be celebrated and treated with dignity.”
“That was the best. Thank you,” replied Coco. “I say that to the young generation of new models I work with, and they don’t believe me.”
Carter, too, agrees about paying it forward and learning from each other, and thanking everyone along the way. She even credited Coco for a few things she learned from the model during her Harper’s Bazaar cover shoot.
“It is about value and humanity in what we do. And we need each other,” says Carter. “We need one another. And as we pass down our art to one another, as you helped me produce what we did today — a cover for a beautiful magazine — all the people around us, each one of them, deserves a thank you.”
She adds: “Working with you, Coco, as you showed me your moves and what you do, helping me to look as fluid as you do on film, made me feel more at ease on camera doing this today. So, as we pass these things forward — whether it’s politically, in business, art, photography, or whatever — I learn from the younger generation what I have taken for granted for many years.”
Read the full interview at Harper’s Bazaar Vietnam.
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