COVERSTORY
As a filmmaker and photographer, Amalie Gassmann exudes creativity. Here, she talks about being a world citizen and her passion for nature
Amalie Gassmann is a dynamic force of creativity. As a writer, model, photographer, creative director and filmmaker, she brings a multifaceted vision to life through her passion for storytelling.
“I try to be a multi-hyphenate in terms of the creative space, because I really love everything,” she tells us when we speak before her Hello! Fashion cover shoot. “And I love collaboration. So any opportunity to work with other people and create something together is pretty much the main mindset I have.”
For Amalie, who is still only 28, it all began at the age of 12, when she attended a Christmas party in Paris with her mother and caught the eye of Jeni Rose, head scout for IMG Models. Although legally she couldn’t sign to the agency until she was 16, this encounter marked the beginning of her varied career.
“When I was signed, I was still in high school so I would do modelling here and there. Then, once I graduated, I took a gap year and lived in Sydney, Australia, for a couple of months and also travelled to New York – I did the modelling circuit for a year, before I went to college.”
Amalie was born in San Francisco and raised in Paris by parents who valued artistic expression. Her mother, Gay Gassmann, is an art consultant and fashion writer; and her father, Uli Gassmann, likes photography, painting and architecture.
“We are a very creative household. Growing up, I was always trying out different things. If I wanted to do ballet, I would do it. And I did pottery, painting… my parents really let me dive into different hobbies,” she explains. “And if something wasn’t for me, or if I didn’t like it, it was never, ‘Oh, you should finish it, because we started it’, it was more, ‘What else do you want to try? Let’s keep it going and see what your interests and passions are – and if they are in the creative field’,” she says, before confirming, “And they are”.
In addition to being a multi-hyphenate multitasker, Amalie is multilingual (English, French, German and Japanese) and comes from a multicultural background. With a German father and a Japanese mother, she embodies a fusion of influences that undoubtedly enrich her perspective and creativity.
“I feel like I can sum up the different cultures in terms of feeling. I think that my Japanese side, which is my mother and grandmother, feels very nostalgic, there’s a warmt
