Former Supermodel Iman is Interviewed
SAVIDGE: Her name is synonymous with fashion, her iconic face with modeling. Iman talks face to face with Fredericka Whitfield about being a business mogul and her staying power.</s>FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Fashion week in New York means a lot of excitement on the run ways, among the models and the fashion designers. Someone whose fame rose from the runway, Iman, says been there done that. She says you will rarely find her at a show today. She tells me she loves how models of today are seizing the opportunity, recognizing that the catwalk and magazine covers can be a springboard for even bigger business breaks.</s>IMAN, CEO, IMAN COSMETICS: I was awarded the fashion icon award. I was, I was totally surprised because it's not a yearly award that they give, they have given it only to another four women, I believe Kate Moss and Nicole Ritchie, Sandra Bernhard and I can't remember the other one. I have to say, it's great for the ego, at my age, I'm 55, so I thought, how perfect, you know, right?</s>WHITFIELD: Very relevant.</s>IMAN: And to top it off, Barney's gave me two windows and it was all celebration and love fest for a week.</s>WHITFIELD: Something tells me it's forever.</s>IMAN: Fashion is not forever.</s>WHITFIELD: So you say fashion is not forever, however, did you ever realize you would have this kind of staying power in the industry of fashion, of beauty, of business?</s>IMAN: No, it's all a surprise. If anything, I was more confident about my legacy, cosmetics. I was confident if the women got their hands on the cosmetics, they would be a believer. As Iman, I have no idea how I lasted or why I lasted this long. And to top that off, I had stopped modeling in 198. To be still relevant in this industry, I have no clue, I have no clue how it happened. But I'm glad.</s>WHITFIELD: You did something that was unique, you forged a relationship with fashion designers, you had Calvin Klein, you had people asking you, how would you put this together? How would you wear it? If you wanted to make a statement, you wanted to put it on Iman.</s>IMAN: Unfortunately they don't use models like that anymore. Models used to be muses, and they really paid attention how you wear your own clothes and your personal style. So now that doesn't exist. And, yes, that had a lot to do with it. When I see Oscar de la Renta, I saw him at Versailles, he said you haven't aged a bit.</s>WHITFIELD: That's probably true, actually.</s>IMAN: I think a lot of models today understand the branding of one's self, they really do understand, because it's a new generation of models and of business that is at hand. They have a business plan. They have seen how Giselle or Kate Moss have navigated this, and so they are really aware the longevity doesn't exist anymore. It's a very tough business. Lots of growth will go into it and the amount of girls that go into it, I would say 5 percent make it. It's a tough competitive business. And you loses your identity. You lose your identity, you lose yourself. You only see yourself through the eyes of how they judge you. So it is really tough on a young person.</s>WHITFIELD: So now what does your family say about the choices that you made that went as far back as when you were 18 and 19?</s>IMAN: They still think I made the wrong choice.</s>WHITFIELD: No, they do not.</s>IMAN: They think I would have made better in public service. I personally think I probably can do more on the outside than the inside. Inside is tough. You have to play by the rules.</s>WHITFIELD: Perhaps your philanthropy is part of public service.</s>IMAN: That's the only thing I'm really proud of is my philanthropy.</s>WHITFIELD: Fantastic. Your vision, your next act?</s>IMAN: I don't know. Usually it unfolds itself, you know, and it reveals itself. I wish I could say that I planned a lot of the things that have happened to me, none of it was planned. But once they arrived, I recognized it. I don't have it in my head, but once they arrive, I recognize them as my path.</s>WHITFIELD: Instincts mean something?</s>IMAN: Instinct means a lot. You know, I'm taking advantage of an opportunity when it comes. But it somehow reveals itself. When I was writing my book, "I am Iman," I had no clue what I was going to call the book. And as we went along, an English young man said it will reveal itself when you finish the book. The day I finished the book, it actually revealed itself. A lot of people say I'm being grand, "I am Iman." People in the streets sometimes say to me you look just like Iman. I say I am Iman. My name Iman is a man's name. So it's a play on I am a man.</s>WHITFIELD: Your dad played a big role in that, right? For some reason he said this young girl is going to be different, is going to be unique and I'm OK naming him a man's Somali name?</s>IMAN: The funny thing is that in the rest of the Middle East it's a girl's name. But in Somalia it's a man's name. So it's a high name, like to have faith, to have faith in god. And I do.</s>WHITFIELD: Next Iman tells me face to face the secret behind her 20- year marriage to rocker David Bowie.