The era of supermodels was extremely competitive, and that’s why when I became part of a professional agency based in Vienna, it was a real confirmation that the belief in myself was not in vain.
In the nineties, she was one of the most recognizable faces on the Macedonian fashion scene and among the first domestic models who managed to build an international career. Today, three decades later, Alec Naumovski is still present in the world of fashion, but from a different perspective – as a co-owner of the “Models IN” agency and the man behind the success of the new generations of models.
In a conversation about summer plans, fashion then and now, the transience of time, fame, beauty and personal peace, Naumovski reveals what life looks like when the spotlights are turned off, and you leave behind a career full of experiences, travels and valuable life lessons.
To begin with, where this summer and how long is this period the right time to recharge batteries and enjoy a little of everything?
– To be honest, I’m not a big fan of summer. Skopje knows how to be relentlessly hot in July and August, and in that heat, thoughts and creative energy somehow evaporate. Only the nights retain that special mood when I can really work, when silence becomes a collaborator. There are always plans, but the real recharge for me would be a few days in the Netherlands, with my niece Emma.
We remember you as one of the symbols of the Macedonian fashion scene in the 90s. What was that time like through your eyes and what will today’s generations never be able to experience from that era?
– It was a different time, both in fashion and in the way people thought. Friendships had a different weight, things worked maybe slower, but definitely more substantial. There was no short cut in fashion then, you had to have real originality and prove it every day. The era of supermodels was extremely competitive, and that’s why when I became part of a professional agency based in Vienna, it was a real confirmation that the belief in myself was not in vain. Today, when I look at it from a distance, I recognize it as one of the periods in which I grew the most, both professionally and personally. The habits I built then, responsibility, perseverance, the ability to overcome challenges are, in fact, the capital I carry to this day. What today’s generations probably cannot experience is that specific rarity of fame. Back then, recognition meant something, it had weight and depth behind it. Today, anyone can be famous overnight, but the question is what they will be remembered for.
When you look at a photo of Alec Naumovski from thirty years ago today, what’s the first thing that goes through your head?
– I feel something similar to when you watch a movie that you know you’ve lived, but it seems unrealistically far away. I keep some old magazines and when I open them, I don’t just see myself, I see faces, places, emotions, a whole world that no longer exists in the same form. There is also sadness in that, but a beautiful sadness, the kind that reminds you that you have really lived. The transience of life is not tragic, it is just true. And the more you accept it, the more it becomes a space for gratitude and not for regretting the past.
Back when you were starting out, there was no social media and overnight fame. Do you think it was harder to succeed back then or is it harder to stay relevant today?
– Back then, I went to castings with a map in hand, I waited for two hours just for the designer to look at me, and that in conditions of competition that was merciless. But in that heaviness there was also a kind of purity, you know exactly why you are there and how much it costs what you strive for. Today, social media has given everyone a chance to be seen, and that’s nice in itself, but it’s also created a kind of attention inflation. When everyone is shouting, it’s hard to hear the one who really has something to say. So, I think back then it was harder to get in, and today it’s harder to stay. And the latter, in fact, is the bigger challenge.
You have met many famous people in your career. Which one of them left the strongest impression on you and what do you remember it for?
– We remember people not only by what they achieved, but by what they left us in one moment, by a gesture, by a sentence, by the way they looked at you. From our spaces, I would single out three exceptional women, each magnificent in what they do: Nadica Georgieva, Karolina Gocheva and Kaliopi. From the international scene, I remember Sonia Rickel, a woman who also understood fashion as a philosophy, the photographer Andreas Bitesnich, Danny Brijot of Renegade Sunwave, and Gabriel Yard, the composer who created the music for Betty Blue and The English Patient, music that is eternal precisely because it is deeply human. But perhaps the strongest impression was made by a jazz musician with just one sentence: never talk about your own business, let others do it. To this day I have not forgotten her.
You often talk about the success of the models you manage. Have you ever recognized a part of young Alec in someone and immediately knew they were going to have a great career? And what is it like to work this job?
– There is a specific moment when you look at someone and you know, you can’t exactly explain why, but you know. It’s not just about the physical appearance, but about some inner strength, about the way they stand in the space. And yes, in some of them I recognized something from what I wore when I was in their place. It gives me special joy when they succeed. I like to think that with Nadica we are passing on not only knowledge, but also an attitude towards this work, an ethos. The agency is different when the models know that someone really believes in them. Back then, male models were a rarity on the international stage, and today there are six from our “Models IN” agency alone who are walking the world catwalks. That’s something I’m really proud of. And the beauty is also in what follows, in the friendships that remain even when the cameras are turned off.
You look almost unchanged for years. Is the secret in genetics or is there a life habit that you never deviate from?
– I suppose that genetics plays a big role, but more than that I believe that the appearance is a reflection of the inner state. I occasionally get a refreshing laser treatment, but I’ve never been drawn to the idea of rejuvenation in the truest sense of the word. Aging is a natural process and each wrinkle is, in fact, a record, a proof that you have experienced some things, you have gone through some battles. To delete them means to delete the stories behind them. It’s much more important for me to be happy with who I am and to be surrounded by people who matter to me, that’s, I think, the right recipe for good looks.
You have successfully kept your private life away from the public. In an age where everyone shares everything, is it a conscious resistance to modern trends or simply your character?
– I think it is simply my character, although over the years it has become a conscious choice. Every person has an inner world that deserves to remain private, not out of fear, but out of self-respect. When you are constantly looking for external validation, there is something deep inside you that is not resolved. I learned a long time ago that peace does not come from outside. Sometimes I will share something that I like or that moved me, but what is essential, what is really mine, I want to keep to myself. And I find a special beauty in that.
After everything you’ve experienced, travels, shows, successes and acquaintances, what makes you really happy today when the door of the agency closes and you’re left alone?
– The silence. And the gratitude that comes with it. When I am alone with myself, I do not feel emptiness, I feel fullness. It’s not something you get overnight, you have to learn to live with yourself for a long time, to be your own best interlocutor. Friendships that last for decades, travels that broaden your view, a good book, a good movie, these are the things I value. It’s not in the grandiosity, life is beautiful in the little things, if you know how to notice them. Peace and tranquility really have no price and more and more I think that is the only true treasure.
