Hand Model

Lisa Kenny Bass has the fashion world in the palm of her hand — PMXIVEPP]�� ,IV� IPIKERX�� PSRK�ƟR�gered hands have graced the pages of countlessmagazines, billboards, and TV spots in the golden age of advertising and editorials. She has worked with legends such as Irving Penn, donned hundreds-of-thousands’ worth of jewelry for the camera, doubled as Julia Roberts’ hands JSV� JIEXYVI� ƟPQW�� ERH� IZIR� TYX� GSRXEGX� PIRWIW�into Brooke Shields’ eyes. All to get the perfect picture. Age is just a number as they say, but

MX� GEVVMIW� WMKRMƟGERX� PIWWSRW�� 8LI� FIEYX]� SJ�interviewing people that have been around longer than oneself is the perspective they give you and the life lessons that you get from their stories. Lisa Bass shared beauty tips and fashion stories with us, but also her thoughts on the important role of aging women in the beauty industry, the struggles of a young working mother who had to choose between work and family, and the value of keeping oneself busy, curious, and open to new adventures at any time and age.

Interview - Patricia Yagüe Photography - Brendan Burke Assistant - Boxer

Fashion - Brais Vilasó Hair - Naomi Endo Makeup - Yoshie Kubota Nails - Sonja Noblin

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Patricia Yagüe: How does one become a hand model? Lisa Kenny Bass: I was going to the School of Visual Arts and was working as a graphic designer at a publishing company where we designed books. One book was called Creative Gift-Wrapping and they needed hands for the how-to shots. So my first job was with Tony Cenicola and he kept sayingto me, “you could be making so much more moneyas a hand model than as a graphic designer.” And I said, Alright! Great, sounds good! So I built my portfolio with him, and at one point he gave me the name of an agent. I was working for a PR firm at the time, it was my last year of school, and I was painting, too. This agency called me up and said “We’ve got five commercials for you next week, can you do it?” I said, “Yes, let me talk to my boss.” And I remember going in to see my senior artdirector, and he said to me, “Oh Lisa, I think you’re making a big mistake.” I saw him about a year later in the street and I said, “I just finished working with Irving Penn, do you think I made a mistake?” This world opened up and I had the pri-vilege of working with these photographers that I’d learned about in art school, and they were justincredible. Especially Penn, and Hiro, and Francesco Scavullo, and Patrick Demarchelier. Unbelievable photographers. From there I was introduced to the commercial world and I got to work with amazing art directors.

P.Y: Did you have to quit your job from one day to the next?L.K.B: I quit my job because it was very busy. Back then we were only maybe 10 women hand models who were working all the time. I think probably what opened up the industry even more was probably that Seinfeld episode when George Costanza was a hand model. I remember my agent saying, “Oh I wish that they never aired because everybody now is calling saying that they could be a hand model.” It’s very competitive now, and it’s a huge industry. But there were only maybe five or six of us at Ford agency, and there may have been only a handful more at a different agency. It was wonderful because it was just really quiet. We just

did our work, you get to meet amazing people and have fun on set. You were a part of creating so-mething bigger than you. I always felt like I was an assistant, which is so interesting that this magazine is called Assistant, because I still feel that way.

P.Y: Why do you feel that way?L.K.B: Because I was assisting this incredible image.

P.Y: But don’t you feel a part of it?L.K.B: It’s not about me; it is about the product that we were selling. And really, you have to make that look the absolute best it possibly can. It’s all about what you’re trying to sell and they give you a lot of money to do it. You shouldn’t have an attitude on set, just get in there and make this thing work.

P.Y: What was it like the first time you worked with Irving Penn, who you knew so much about? L.K.B: I was so nervous inside. And I’ll never forget it; he had the watch on my hand, and his sets were always very quiet. Thank god Sheryl Bailey was on set that time and she just calmed everyone’s nerves. So the watch was on my hand and he was touching me and moving my fingers perfectly, and he said to me “So Lisa, how much do you think this watch is?” And I’m thinking, you better go high. I said, “I don’t know, maybe $50,000.” He never looked up, he’s still moving my fingers and he says, “It’s $350,000. Don’t drop it.” So I had to be very still, and I’m working with Penn, whom I’d lear-ned about at school, and he’s touching my fingers, just moving everything and now I’ve got this veryexpensive watch — I mean, there may have been like three in the world — and oh dear, here we go. It was great! We had a really nice working relationship.

P.Y: What was your most memorable shoot?L.K.B: Penn was probably the biggest moment. There are probably like five or six shoots that we did together for Vogue. For one of them he was drawing all these zodiac symbols on my hand. I feel very blessed to have had Irving Penn paint on my hands. Not many people can say that. And I

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remember asking him to sign a book for me, and he would say, “You better get in here quick because I don’t know how much longer I’m going to last.” It was really sweet. I loved him, he was great. It was also wonderful working with Matthew Rolston; for L’Oreal, I worked with Tyen from Paris who was fabulous. And Gary Perweiler was probably my favorite for commercials.

P.Y: Why?L.K.B: Because he hired me a lot [laughs]. So that helped. I love that whole world. The hair and the makeup, the stylist, and the special effects people, it was a lot of fun. I remember doing something for Bounty, that was so hard. It was a cast-iron pot, and I remember lying down on this plank and this giant tub of water was beneath me. I had to hit my mark every time with this cast iron pot, with the “befores” and “afters”, just scrubbing away toreveal the Bounty. It’s hard work. A lot of people are like, “Oh you’re a hand model, pshh.”

P.Y: How many hours do they put into one shot?L.K.B: I’ve had commercials that would go on for 17 hours. It just depends on the intricacies of the spe-cial effects that are happening, or if the sesame seeds are not perfectly placed on the buns. There are so many different variables that go into a great shot. The TV commercials now are just phenomenal. The de-

signs on the nails are awesome. We started to do thata little bit in the book that I wrote, Style on Hand.I was just going through it again and you know,we started to introduce all the different designson the nail beds, and because my nail bed was sobig there was plenty of room to play. But now it’slike everyone just exploded in this direction. I think it’s a lot of fun. Who would think to ever put green on your nails? And it looks great! You know, we were safe with red and purple, like a really dark purple. Grey I think was like “Woa” back then. P.Y: Tell me more about your book.L.K.B: I was always very particular about who I was going to be working with — whether Elissa Ferri or Roseann Singleton or Olga or Sheryl Baileyor Jin Soon — it was just a handful of people and that was it. I never went to the salons, and if I did, I think I was just too critical because these ad agencieswere paying me a lot of money. I really had to be very selective in who I let touch my hands. So I figured, you know what, either it’s going to be me, or the five that I just mentioned. I thought we should write a book about how to take care of your hands to make them the best that you possibly can.I will show you the tricks of my trade and what I do. For example if I had a paper cut, I would show you how to get rid of that and get it all prepared for that day. It’s a very comprehensive book, we talk about vitamins and what you’re eating. I mean I wrote the book in 1998…how many years ago was that? P.Y: It’s 17 years ago.L.K.B: 17! Oh my god! But you know what, it’s a testament to this book because I can tell you, everything that you eat, everything that you put into your body will affect your skin and your nails. You also have to be very careful about who you let touch your nails, and you should probablybring your own instruments to the salons. Because I don’t believe that they sanitize it well enough, how they’re pushing back your cuticles, it can even be dangerous. I haven’t even checked on Amazon to see if this book is still there [Editor’s note: it’s available]. I think the last time I did it, it was avai-lable for like a penny [laughs]. They don’t print the book anymore but we did go back to Rizzoli.

I feel very blessed to have had Irving Penn paint on my hands. Not many

people can say that.

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P.Y: Other than being competitive, do you think the industry has changed in other ways since you first started?L.K.B: I think it’s exploded now. It’s so exciting to see all of these different colors that are happe-ning on nails, I love it! I stepped away to raise my children, so essentially, these last 10 or 15 years, I would be pulled out to do these things which I love doing. I would always feel like it’s a vacation away from the family. I feel like now they know where the refrigerator is [laughs], they know how to do their homework, I feel it’s time for me to phase back in and get back to work.

P.Y: Do you think it’s impossible to jugglefamily and career?L.K.B: For me, it’s not easy. I remember one job, right when I had my first child, it was in NewJersey, and it was 3 A.M. and I was still shooting this commercial. I was breastfeeding at the time but my baby was about three hours away. Myhusband was wonderful, he would bring the baby to the set, which was great, but since we lived in South Hampton it was just too much. So I made that decision because my family is going to be with me for just a nanosecond and then they’re going to be out in the world. It was a choice that I made and I’m glad I did. I love them, and I’ve been really lucky.

P.Y: Have you thought of starting your own agency?L.K.B: No. Only because I love the flexibility I have in traveling with my kids, and I know it’s actually probably narrowing down too, until they graduate. So I probably have another eight years of traveling with them during their school breaks, and if I start up a company, I’ve got to go in 100 percent. So, maybe when I’m, you know, seventy,I can do something like that.

P.Y: I am very curious to know, how does it feel to touch people that you don’t know?L.K.B: [Laughs] I guess you just sort of separate that notion of, “Oh my god, I’m going to be tou-ching somebody.” It’s all for the end result, which is

L I S A K E N N Y B A S S

that photograph, or that image that you are trying to sell. I remember doing something for Neutrogenaand it was this beautiful leg model, and my arm was right on top of her leg so it would appear as if it was all hers. Essentially, the reason that they would hire two different people is that there’s no possible way to make that image look as if it were coming from one person. You’ve got to get in there and make this thing work. That’s how I approached it all the time. I remember for Brooke Shields, she was doing this contact lens ad, and there wasabsolutely no way, even for me, to put the contact in my eye and look perfect. They had me come in and put a finger right in front of her eye. She has beautiful hands, trust me, it’s just that there is no possible way to contort your body to make that image work. It’s never about the models; it’s always about the image that they are trying to sell, or what the product or the magazine wants to convey.

P.Y: So there was never an uncomfortable moment? Even when you had to touch someone’s mouth?L.K.B: That was actually an Irving Penn shot. It’s weird, you feel them breathing on your finger [laughs]. But it’s an extraordinary shot, it’s beautiful and it’s Irving Penn. I remember doing something with Botox, when it started to become really big. Putting a needle right on this girl’s face, and I thought, I don’t want to poke this beautiful face! So you have to be very steady and really calm.I think that’s maybe why I got asked to work a lot, because I’m just laid back.

P.Y: And how was it to work with JuliaRoberts?L.K.B: I got to the audition, and I didn’t know who it was for. I often didn’t know who it was for until I actually showed up. And so wardrobe came up to me and said, “Ok, we want you to go upstairs and get into Julia’s clothes.” I asked, “Who’s Julia?” And they said, “Julia Roberts, it’s for the movieThe Pelican Brief.” I was like, “Oh my god! Ok.”

P.Y: The agency would send you and you didn’t know what it was for?

L.K.B: Sometimes no, sometimes yes. They didn’t tell me that I was doing a commercial for Madonna. That was when Alek Keshishian, who did her Truth or Dare film, was doing a Japanese sake commercial. The set was very tightly secured; I remember being escorted to the bathroom. I did not meet her. But back to Julia Roberts, they wantedme to get into her outfit and I thought, “Hasanybody looked at me, like hello?” I remember looking at myself in the mirror thinking, “Oh my God.” So I walked downstairs and said, “I have no problems doing this but don’t ask me to sit down because I will rip this skirt to no end” [laughs]We shot in New York and then they asked me to fly out to Los Angeles and I get a call saying “Can you fit into size 28-32 Levi’s 501 jeans?” I’m like, “No, I can’t do that.” I remember just not eating the entire way just to get into these jeans. It was fun. And again, she has very beautiful hands. But at the time she had just married Lyle Lovett and she was on her honeymoon and I think that the film may have gone overtime so it was probably cheaper to get me in. A year ago I get a call from a director saying, “Do you think you could be on set in L.A. tomorrow? Julia’s going to be here and we really need somebody to be her hands.” And I’m like, “Oh, I just put my husband on a plane and I’m here with the kids so I can’t do it.” But it would’ve been fun.P.Y: Did the way to take care of your hands change over time?L.K.B: No, actually I’ve taken care of my hands consistently the same all throughout. I’ve got my little secret remedies that I keep doing. I’ll tell you a secret — Elizabeth Arden 8-hour Cream is perfect for your cuticles, it’s the best, I love it. I’m doing the paraffin treatments, but the best thing as I get older is just to take more vitamins [laughs].

P.Y: Really?L.K.B: Yeah, I take a lot of vitamins. And that’s basically it, just wearing the gloves. But raising children and having my family and having a home and dogs, my hands are into everything.

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Special thanks to Acme Studio

P.Y: So is there a market for aging hands?L.K.B: Yeah, I think so! You know, older women have more money to spend. That’s a giant market that you’ve got to focus on.

P.Y: Are there older women who are hand models?L.K.B: Usually not. I haven’t noticed it.

P.Y: It’s interesting because of course there are so many older women that we can market to. Everyone is going to age eventually.L.K.B: There are definitely some issues with aging and I’ve noticed sometimes just because I was driving so much, the left hand would get a little bit of sun, and the right wouldn’t, so there were more spots. You can’t get away from aging. It’s definitely going to happen.

P.Y: Yeah, and it’s ok actually! I think that’s what we need to tell people.L.K.B: Well, there was something on recently about Cindy Crawford revealing her stomach in a shoot for Marie Claire. She looked awesome! This is, unfortunately, what happens but she looks incre-dible! But it’s your style, it’s your confidence. You’ve gone through so much that you’re like, Whatever! It’s going to be fine!

P.Y: But then when we see a man with the same wrinkles, with the same white hair and we love it! Why don’t people look at women the same way?L.K.B: Really, women are harder on other women.Maybe the men are just like, “You look great.” So, maybe it’s…

P.Y: It’s our perception you think?L.K.B: Yes, I really do. Because you know, you look at Cindy and she has two children that are probably my children’s age and I can identify with this. I know what she’s going through. I can em-pathize. I know the struggles, I get it, and you look like that in the meantime?! That’s incredible. So just welcome it. It’s all going to be ok, and I think that as long as you are loved, or you can love, you’ll be fine. The wrinkles, if anything, they signify a past that you have accomplished.

P.Y: I agree. Obviously being a hand model you were in the beauty business — have you felt any pressure throughout the years that you had to be beautiful and well taken care of?L.K.B: It was interesting, my last audition I thought I’m not going to go anymore. They’ll see my hands and then they’ll see my face and it would be like a mix-up for the casting. I just felt like they wanted the younger hands. And I thought, “Al-right, it’s time to pass the torch”. But I still believethat people my age have so much more to say and we know that time is of the essence, so we’ve got to do it now. There’s no time for waiting and making your hands look prettier or getting them back to where they used to be. They’re never going to be back there, so either you’re going to take it now with the confidence you’ve got. The hands can defi-nitely express that, and make it work. Sell it.

P.Y: What’s the best piece of advice that you’ve been given, that you have kept as a model?L.K.B: Tony Cenicola said, “Just remember, everything that you touch, you touch it as if it’s crystal. Like it is so delicate and so precious, and you’re there to support it.” That was it. It just made perfect sense, because really, it wasn’t about my hand it was always about the product and suppor-ting it. And that’s why I always felt like I was the assistant.