Karlie Kloss delved into her difficult early days as a first-time mother in her new cover story for WSJ. Magazine.
The 29-year-old model admitted in the profile, which was published Tuesday, that she was in 'survival mode' after she gave birth to her son Levi, though friendships with famous moms including Ashley Graham and Emily Ratajkowski have helped her gain confidence.
The catwalk star also spoke about how she has developed 'thick skin' after marrying into the controversial Kushner family, and she traveled back to the 1960s and beyond with a series of stunning ensembles for the piece.
Learning to thrive: Karlie Kloss, 27, spoke about being in 'survival mode' after the March birth of her son Levi while showing off stunning '60s-inspired looks in her WSJ. Magazine cover story on Tuesday
Karlie admitted that after she and her husband Joshua Kushner welcomed their son Levi in March, she was left wondering, 'How does everyone do this?'
Since then, her panic mode has abated as her son is about to turn nine months old.
She's been able to turn to Ashley, Emily and fellow model Irina Shayk, all of whom who have their own young children, to help guide her through the process of raising a child while still being a busy parent.
'The mom group friendship thing — I was always like, Yeah, that’s cute but that’s not going to be me,' she said. '[Now] I don’t make a move without asking my mom friends.'
Becoming a mother also forced Karlie to reexamine her relationship with her body, which led to a more positive outlook.
'I love my body in a way that I never have,' she shared. 'I never imagined that I would have a career [in which] my body would be so intertwined with my success or failure. That’s something that I really don’t like about being a model, but — it’s part of the job.'
Listening to experts: Karlie said she turns to her famous mom friends Ashley Graham, Emily Ratajkowski and Irina Shayk for advice on parenting
![First to call: 'The mom group friendship thing — I was always like, Yeah, that’s cute but that’s not going to be me,' she said. '[Now] I don’t make a move without asking my mom friends'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/12/07/19/51458519-10285105-First_to_call_The_mom_group_friendship_thing_I_was_always_like_Y-a-10_1638905055304.jpg)
First to call: 'The mom group friendship thing — I was always like, Yeah, that’s cute but that’s not going to be me,' she said. '[Now] I don’t make a move without asking my mom friends'
New confidence: Becoming a mother also forced Karlie to reexamine her relationship with her body, which led to a more positive outlook
The former Project Runway host sounded defiant when it came to contorting herself to fit into the fashion industry's ideals.
'I think it’s really unfortunate that there are still such narrow kinds of ideas [like] you need to be able to fit a sample size. I’m not going to change who I am to fit that,' she said.
Kloss also spoke about her marriage to Joshua Kushner, the brother of Ivanka Trump's husband Jared Kushner.
Jared served as a senior advisor to former President Donald Trump, and Karlie has been blasted by some fans for her supposed coziness with her in-laws.
The model said she had to learn to toughen up to ignore criticism for her family connections, even though she publicly supported President Biden in the 2020 election.
'I’ve had to grow really thick skin as it relates to [being] impacted by other people’s opinions,' she said. 'Whether they love me or they hate me — because I’ve experienced all of it.
