Dutch of Love

Totally gorgeous. Totally game. Cover model Jill Kortleve is our absolute latest crush.

Hollywood’s hottest is not blonde. She doesn’t drive a BMW (in fact, she doesn’t even have a license). And she isn’t drinking Erewhon smoothies, she’s too busy testing recipes at home in her leather apron. Meet Gabbriette Bechtel: she’s changing how girls everywhere think about their eyebrow width and how dark they can take their hair dye.

The Dutch model Jill Kortleve has exceptional ease both on the runway, and as the photos on these pages attest, in front of the camera. That’s the essence of Jill, a cool girl confidence that powers through whether she’s wearing the worn-in jeans she showed up in the morning of the shoot in Paris — or a Chanel bag stuffed into the bum of a pair of pantyhose. And while she cares little for the fashion machine, she casually manages to be as fashionable as they come. Her genuine optimism that everything is going to play out well has worked in her favor, finding her way from rural Holland to a flourishing fashion career bouncing between Paris, Amsterdam and Portugal.

Caroline Gaimari: Nice to see you in Paris for your HommeGirls cover shoot. Where do you normally live?

Jill Kortleve: I live in Amsterdam but I spend quite a lot of time in Paris because my boyfriend is from here and lives here

CG: How did you start modeling?

JK: I’m from Heerlen in the South of Holland. I moved to Amsterdam when I was 18. I met my friend [Wietske] — who would later become my agent — by going out. At the time, she was working at the door at the Chicago Social Club and after getting to know each other, she asked me if I wanted to join her performance agency. So I became a “performer,” meaning we would go to parties and festivals and dance on stage. This feels like a lifetime ago! It seems so out of character now to think about being a performer because I’m not really someone who likes to be in the spotlight in this way. When they finally launched the modeling agency, they asked if I wanted to join. I was actually one of their first models.

“When I was really young I wanted to be a cashier at the supermarket because I thought they got to keep all the cash at the end of the day.”

CG: Did you dream of becoming a model or being involved in fashion as a kid?

JK: Not at all. I’m not really a fashion girly. I try to be aware of it because it’s a part of my job, but I don’t know “who’s who.” Sometimes I think this naiveté has helped me to not get intimidated. How can I be impressed by someone if I don’t know who they are!

CG: But you like it?

JK: I do. It’s been five years now. It’s not as scary as people make it seem. Of course, it can be a tough industry but overall I’ve had a really good experience.

CG: What did you want to be when you were a kid?

JK: When I was really young I wanted to be a cashier at the supermarket because I thought they got to keep all the cash at the end of the day. This was my dream! Little did I know! Later as a teenager
my mindset was always like, “I’ll see where life takes me.” I was never thinking I would become a doctor or a lawyer. I guess this is still my attitude, although maybe I need to start thinking about a proper plan. But so far, it’s worked out pretty well.

CG: You think you need a plan, starting now? Pluto moves into Aquarius today, so today is the day to decide on your life plan.

JK: OK. Ask me again in a few hours.

CG: In with the old, out with the new. What is the most recent thing you’ve gotten rid of?.
JK: My tattoos! I’m currently getting rid of a few of my tattoos. A couple years ago I got quite a few within a very short period of time. So five or six have to go.

CG: So, growing up you weren’t a fashion girly.Can you remember your first fashion item crush?

JK: I remember being in high school, 15 years ago, and really wanting a Michael Kors bag. I needed a Michael Kors bag. I remember looking at them in Macy’s on a trip to New York with my mom, but I didn’t get it. It was out of my price range at the time. When I started working as a model, the first fashion item I bought was a Prada bag, which I was really proud of at the time. I still am! It’s timeless.

CG: What was your look in high school?

JK: I looked ridiculous, to be honest. High school would have been around 2010. In my defense, fashion at that time was in a weird place. Skinny jeans. Roman-gladiator-style strappy sandals. A flowery top. I was not fashionable at all. I mean, I’m from a small town in the south of Holland! Where would I get my inspiration? It’s not like you can walk down the street and see cool people.

CG: You also need to be able to ride a bike at all times.

There are hundreds of makeup tutorials on YouTube and TikTok inspired by Gabbriette (many caution viewers to practice a steady hand for that liquid eyeliner). “They’re sent to me every day,” she tells me. “I know exactly what everyone’s saying, but I’m like, I get it. People are so mad at other people doing food videos or whatever. I’m like, I can’t be the only person doing one thing. And I never have been the only person. There’s so many other food content creators or people with skinny eyebrows. I’m not the fifirst one. I don’t give a fuck. I never have.” There are more Gabbriette fan accounts on Twitter and Instagram than I can count. “I’ve always loved her style and the way she expresses herself through clothing,” a woman named Izzy who runs @gabbriettecloset, an account that posts and links to all of Gabbriette’s outfifits, told me. “The expression of her identity inflfluences others to dress however they want without judgment.” Recent outfifits linked by Izzy include a vintage Dolce & Gabbana lace-up leather dress, a latex Atsuko Kudo French maid dress, and a black lace I Am Gia maxi dress. If the students at your local high school are searching “Goth outfifits” on TikTok, you know who to thank.

“I was not fashionable at all. I mean, I’m from a small town in the south of Holland! Where would I get my inspiration? It’s not like you can walk down the street and see cool people.”

“Even now, before every show, I’m a bit nervous. It’s not a natural thing to do for me, but it gets easier every time and I start to find the fun in it rather than seeing it as something scary.”

JK: That’s my struggle in Amsterdam. I want to be able to look cute, but then how am I going to get around? So I just wear jeans and a shirt in Amsterdam.

CG: So the only difference in your style now is no gladiator sandals.

JK: No! How dare you? Also no flowery top! Anyway, in Paris I try to make a bit more of an effort to look cute, which is more fun here because people are not as closed-minded when it comes to fashion. Here in Paris there is a bit more self-expression when it comes to dressing.

CG: Can you tell me about the first fashion show you walked in?

JK: It was for Alexander McQueen. It was really cool. I remember I couldn’t even leave my hotel room the entire day before because I was so nervous! I think my London agent suggested me to the casting director, and it just started rolling from there. Looking back at pictures from that show, I was like Bambi in the headlights. Even now, before every show, I’m a bit nervous. It’s not a natural thing to do for me, but it gets easier every time and I start to find the fun in it rather than seeing it as something scary.

CG: Do you approach modeling like a performance?

JK: Well, I try to be as much myself as possible but if I’m too much “myself” I would just end up sitting curled up on the sofa.

CG: Speaking of performance, what are your top three karaoke songs?

JK: Great question. For this past New Years me and my friends were staying together outside of Lisbon and we did karaoke for hours. For my songs, it’s definitely “Believe” by Cher. I also love “I’m Outta Love” by Anastacia. Wait, let me look up the last one — something with a bit of heartbreak, lots of feeling.

CG: I feel like your register is a brawny, brassy woman. Is the third one Toni Braxton?

JK: Oh, that’s a good one. But no. It’s “You Oughta Know” by Alanis Morissette. I love it, you just scream your full body and soul out. We ended our New Year’s karaoke with it.

CG: You’ll have to let me know what’s on the 2024 karaoke horizon.

JK: A mood lifter. Maybe “Livin’ La Vida Loca” by Ricky Martin.

Laruicci knit culottes (left)

“Looking back at pictures from McQueen, I was like Bambi in the headlights.”

Source: https://www.hommegirls.com/blogs/volume-12/jill

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