With inimitable class, style, beauty, and grace, Karen Mulder possessed a candor and kindness that was so uncommon for her success and time. Owing to her small town Dutch roots and unostentatious upbringing in Vlaardingen, Netherlands, Karen adopted a down-to-earth disposition and a seize the day world view that kept her grounded throughout her career:
“I had a really nice childhood without worries and that gave me certain principles in life that I think you would only learn as a child; you would not learn them in the fashion business.”
Though not having any grandiose ambitions of her own from an early age, she knew that a white-collar profession was not something she wanted to aspire to: “My parents always have very different ideas about what I should become than I had, so kind of as a child you’re being pushed toward this very serious direction. My father would have loved for me to be an accountant, ‘Oh, fabulous.’”
I don’t know what it is that makes me feel alive
I don’t know how to wake the things that sleep inside
I only wanna see the light that shines behind your eyesI hope that I can say the things I wish I’d said
To sing my soul to sleep and take me back to bed
Who wants to be alone when we can feel alive instead
As a teen Karen was very thin, tall, had short hair, wore braces, and never thought of herself as anything remotely beautiful: “I spent hours at the table with my mother who tried to feed me. Finally, I hid the food under the plate. My hair was cut short, I looked like a basketball player, says Karen. “I was horribly self-conscious, I told myself that when I was rich I would make myself redo everything.”
Because we need each other
We believe in one another
And I know we’re going to uncover
What’s sleepin’ in our soul
Because we need each other
We believe in one another
I know we’re going to uncover
What’s sleepin’ in our soul
What’s sleepin’ in our soul
Despite Karen feeling horribly self-conscious and deploring her looks, she was fascinated by all things fashion, constantly looking at and being absorbed in fashion magazines, where she would happen upon Elite’s Look of the Year contest:
“They saw me [her friends] looking at this fashion magazine all the time with this contest in it and I just couldn’t put it away because I was always fascinated by everything fashion, beauty, and hair products, and I was just absorbed in this thing the whole time and they were like, ‘Karen I think we’re going to have to send some pictures!’”
There are many things that I would like to know
And there are many places that I wish to go
But everything’s depending on the way the wind may blow
With Karen’s short cut, braces, and lanky frame, she could never fathom winning or even competing in something as glamorous as Elite’s Look of the Year contest, yet while away on vacation, friends submitted snapshots of her to the agency. Like a dream, Karen was selected, came in second place, and landed a modeling contract. Although Karen was apprehensive about smiling because of her braces, she couldn’t help but feel her strange smile aided her in the end.
I don’t know what it is that makes me feel alive
I don’t know how to wake the things that sleep inside
I only want to see the light that shines behind your eyes
“I feel like I’m a very lucky person, I’ve worked hard but it’s not like I ever had to suffer to get something, it’s always kind of happened like this.” Relocated to the city of Monaco, Karen for the next few years would be featured in editorials for Grazia, Marie Claire, L’Officiel, Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Glamour, Madame Figaro, and landing covers for ELLE and Cosmopolitan in the late 1980s.
In 1990, Karen would finally start to experience major success as she graced Miss Vogue, did ad work for Chanel and Christian Dior, while walking for some of the biggest names like Givenchy, Christian Dior, Hermes, Karl Lagerfeld, and John Galliano! Even with all her early success, Karen’s star was only going to soar higher in the following year! By 1991, Karen Mulder hit superstardom, landing her first of five Vogue covers of the year, walking for everyone from Alberta Ferretti, Chanel, Chloe, Christian Dior, Dolce & Gabbana, Giorgio Armani, Karl Lagerfeld, Lanvin, Nina Ricci, Oscar de la Renta, Prada, Ralph Lauren, and Giannie Versace iconic Fall/Winter 1991 show.
In the same year, she also did major ads for for Calvin Klein, Gianfranco Ferre, Giorgio Armani, Max Mara, Valentino, Versace, Yves St Laurent, and probably her most acclaimed feat of the year, landing a contract with GUESS Jeans which further cemented her ascension! By the end of 1991, Karen had appeared in over 50 fashion, graced multiple Vogue covers, and appeared in one of the most iconic fashion editorials of the 90s, “Wild at Heart” photographed by the one and only Peter Lindbergh!
For the next couple of years, Karen would dazzle in ads for Trussardi, Ralph Lauren, Genny, Chloe, Jacques Fath, Revlon, Celine, Versace, and numerous times for Yves St Laurent. Karen also walked in the wildly popular annual Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show from 1996 to 2000. The year 1997 would serve as Karen’s swan song in the world of high fashion, where she once again graced the runways for such names as Christian Dior, Herve Leger, and John Galliano. She was even featured in Sports Illustrated photographed by Andre Rau.
In just a decade, Karen Mulder achieved what most could only dream of in the world of a top fashion model, accumulating some 200 magazine covers, being featured in ads for some of the most recognized fashion brands like Calvin Klein, GUESS, and Max Mara, while illuminating in iconic fashion shows in the 1990s like Versace, Chanel, Prada, and Thierry Mugler!
Although she didn’t have the repute or longevity of some of her contemporaries of the era, outside of Linda Evangelista, Karen Mulder is easily my favorite supermodel of all time. I loved Karen’s style and personality more than anything. She had such a cool femme fatale vibe, yet she had such an air of intelligence and sophistication. It’s no wonder she was regarded as a cinematic beauty and dubbed “The Blonde with Class.” Or as Valentino once enthusiastically said:
‘She touches the essence of what femininity is. She’s just out of this world!’
As impressive as Karen’s entire modeling body of work was from editorials, magazine covers, and campaigns, her runway work is by far my favorite and it’s were Karen most shined. Her walk was like an effortless glide with playful seductiveness. She had such poise, masterfully accentuating every look and every angle. Her whole aura exuded vivacious charm and self-assuredness. She was the star of her own motion picture.
“When I’m on the stage I feel like I’m somebody else, I’m not me, I like to pretend I’m somebody else.”
From her most iconic looks from the runways of Chloe, Christian Dior, Dolce & Gabbana, Chloe, Karl Lagerfeld, Lanvin, Nina Ricci, Valentino, and Versace, like her idol Catherine Deneuve, Karen majestically radiated like some Sin City meets monochromatic silver-screen come to life.
Because we need each other
We believe in one another
And I know we’re going to uncover
What’s sleepin’ in our soul
Because we need each other
We believe in one another
I know we’re going to uncover
What’s sleepin’ in our soul
What’s sleepin’ in our soul
Even with her hardships over the years, Karen as a person was so extraordinary. Editors, designers, agents, and writers alike, marveled at her work ethic, professionalism, kindness, and honesty. You can see clips on YouTube where she readily takes quips at fashion, being a supermodel, and fame, yet she’s so personable in talks and is so welcoming to reporters and fans.
“I am a good person, very easy to deal with, who lives and lets live. It is very important not to judge people too early. I could not have a distant and arrogant attitude towards someone I do not know. I think that everything we do in life ends up having an impact on ourselves sooner or later. If you are nice to others, it is easier for them to be with you.”
Karen’s story is almost unbelievable. Like Mike Tyson or even Peyton Manning, she came from nowhere, but once Karen caught fire, people couldn’t help but be drawn to her magnetic poise and once in a lifetime talent. And true to form, Karen couldn’t see herself as any more special or different from anyone else: “I’m just me.”
Karen Mulder was such a remarkable person. When I think of a supermodel, I think of Karen Mulder. In no time at all, she achieved so much, while personifying true kindness and humility. It’s one thing to be able to sell covers of magazines, fragrances, and designer clothes with one’s beauty, and it’s another to actuate love, kindness, and inspiration.
Oscar Wilde once said, “The only difference between the saint and the sinner is that every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future.” But Karen Mulder is just Supersonic to me.
Super Love Unknown 
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