Top model Malgosia Bela is styled by Morgan Pilcher in ‘The Enigma’, transitional casual elegance lensed by Hugo Comte for Porter Edit August 9, 2019./ Makeup by Marianna Yurkiewicz; hair by Michal Bielecki

Gillian Brett sits down with Malgosia Bela to talk her years of struggle with imposter syndrome, second acts, parties and the pitfall of social media.

Shirt Peter Do; shorts Alexander Wang; boots Prada. Malgosia Bela by Hugo Comte.

Malgosia Bela on social media:

“I think I’m losing a lot of jobs because I’m not on Instagram,” she says, folding herself into a wicker chair in the secluded Corsican beach resort where she is vacationing with friends and her film director husband, Pawel Pawlikowski, following her PorterEdit cover shoot in Warsaw. “But it’s a conscious choice on my part. It’s true that if somebody books me, it means they don’t mind that I don’t have it.”

. Blouse The Row; bikini top Anemone; jeans Balenciaga. Malgosia Bela by Hugo Comte.

Sweater Alexander Wang; shorts Nagnata; boots Prada; hat Albus Lumen. Malgosia Bela by Hugo Comte.

Malgosia on her long battle with “imposter syndrome”:

“I’ve spoken to my husband, who is a great film director, about it a lot; how even great artists can feel like cheaters,” she says. “I also struggled with a big sense of guilt, but when I talk about it now I can see that there was a lot of sacrifice and loneliness and things that we had to give up. It took me a good few years to accept [modeling] as a job, really, and to deal with that sense of guilt that it’s not a real job, just sitting there looking glamorous. Only after I had my son did I come to terms with it.”

Top Versace; pants Peter Do; sandals Prada; sunglasses Andy Wolf. Malgosia Bela by Hugo Comte.

Blouse and boots The Row; bikini briefs Matteau; hat Sensi Studio. Malgosia Bela by Hugo Comte.

Malgosia Bela on her mentor, Richard Avedon, also the subject of her master’s degree thesis:

“I guess because he had such a huge presence and personality, I took everything he said and did as a lesson and piece of advice,” she says. “He taught me that shooting is an intimate conversation, a dialogue between the model and the photographer. When you really focus on this dialogue, nothing else matters – high heels, uncomfortable clothes, wind machines. In the end, it gave me a lot of confidence in front of the camera. Working with Avedon was a turning point for me in this respect.”

Bikini top Haight; shorts Vince; ring Malgosia’s own. Malgosia Bela by Hugo Comte.

Cardigan Vince; scarf *(worn as skirt)* Loewe; boots The Row. Malgosia Bela by Hugo Comte.

Malgosia Bela on being healthy at 40:

“My lifestyle is much healthier now. Twenty years ago, it was mostly coffee and cigarettes and being constantly on the run,” she says. “Now I love to eat well, sleep well and I need some kind of sport to mentally feel good in my skin.” She swims for an hour a day, five days a week, and uses a noncommittal mix of natural, organic skincare. “I’m very happy to put anything on my face that smells edible and feels like oil. That’s what happens after you hit 40 – you learn how to treat yourself with a bit more love.”

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