6 minute readActress Maihara, who was Maihara Herold before she wised up, has attended more fashion shows this season than some editors. She wore a patent leather pencil skirt in Tory Burch. Then at Burberry with my close friend and industry co-star Marisa Abela. Hmm! She appeared in the front row of Courrèges wearing a leather bra. McQueen. Calvin Klein. Marc Jacobs. Thom Browne’s presentation during Super Bowl weekend. And now, like Hilary Duff in The Lizzie McGuire Movie, Maihara has taken over Rome.
She was there to pick up Valentino’s latest collection, a series of wildly embroidered opera coats and candy-colored lace-edged slip skirts by Alessandro Michele, unofficially wrapping up fashion month. “Alessandro, in my opinion, remains one of the few dissenting voices in the fashion industry,” says the actress, who co-stars with husband Armando Rivera, Zazie Beetz and Tom Felton in the new horror film They Will Kill You. “His designs are unique and he’s not afraid to sell us a fantasy! I felt a really beautiful restraint in some of the looks, keeping with Alessandro’s flair without making it seem reductive. I loved[the show]!”
A self-proclaimed fashion buff, she has many ideas about the end of the world, the beginning of the Miranda Priestley era, and even who in the industry she would choose to marry.
The rockstud shoes you wear on the show…I think you’re the second person to get them, after Miranda Priestly.
are you kidding? oh. Am I in the Miranda Priestley era? I feel like I can do that too…However, this is the first time I’ve met Alessandro[Michele, Valentino’s creative director]. I have been an admirer from afar for a long time. The time he started Gucci was the time I started getting more interested in fashion. Honestly, I hope I don’t fangirl too hard when I meet him.
Looks like you’re doing really well this fashion month. Was that a deliberate strategy?
In fact, it’s so funny because I definitely said no a lot! I chose shows that I thought were important to me. Yes, definitely, there is a strategy to fashion, visibility can do wonders for actors, and the relationships that can be built can be fruitful. But I really love fashion. I’m passionate about fashion and culture, and I actually care about fashion and culture, so today I’d like to join the conversation about fashion and culture. Fashion shows are like performance art and I feel like my world has expanded in a new way. As an artist, I feel inspired when I see a show that has authentic theatrical elements. So more than that’s good for me professionally, I actually dig it.
I heard that you are also interested in crystals and tarot. Do you do metaphysical rituals while traveling?
I was really lazy this time. I didn’t prepare any equipment and I was really pissed that I didn’t bring a pendulum. There were a few decisions I made that I thought could use some guidance right now. But in the end, I met a psychic in Paris. I was attending an Alo Yoga event and Geeta was there too. I sat with her for a little while and she was really nice and I got a metaphysical fix that way. I don’t necessarily come to this program looking for strict guidance. I always find it really interesting to see what comes through and what truths and perspectives emerge. It can be very informative if left alone. I don’t take everything a psychic says as gospel, but it’s more information and you can do whatever you want with it.
What does your character Harper Stern think of you?
Oh, this is a great question. No one has ever asked me that before. To be honest, I wonder if she knows me. I don’t think Harper consumes that type of media. She definitely doesn’t use Instagram. Even in season 1, her Instagram looked like stock photos and was terrible. She really doesn’t have time for the Internet. Maybe she’s on some weird Twitter thread or some Reddit forum about finance (I’m sure that exists). I really think she’s off the internet. Also, I don’t know if she watches much TV. Maybe she’s appearing on a celebrity game show out of guilt? Is there something in the background? But I don’t think so. she is watching the news
Who is your Roman archetype when you’re in town: Audrey Hepburn from Roman Holiday, Lizzie McGuire from Lizzie McGuire, or Emily Cooper from Emily in Paris?
Lizzie McGuire. All you had to say was Lizzie McGuire. I was born in 1996. Let me call you Lizzie McGuire.
You were also living at the core of Harry Potter mania. Tom Felton will be starring in the upcoming movie. Did you care when to set it?
Of course I was interested! I was surprised. Draco?! And now it’s my real buddy – even if it’s a lowly one, like a regular one. He is one of the most normal people I have ever met. He gets absolutely tortured, and some fans may really have a right to that, but he always deals with it so gracefully. He’s always generous with his time no matter what, so I always think, “leave me alone.” He’s a really sweet guy and works really hard.
Your popularity has also increased dramatically. Have you ever met any weird or parasocial fans?
Nothing really terrible has happened. Someone got really excited and touched my face, which I really didn’t like. Everyone would hate it if a stranger came up to them and grabbed their face, right? But they were excited, and I understand. When you’re watching TV, it can feel like someone in your living room is actually there, which can be overwhelming. It may be confusing. So I have a lot of tolerance and patience with people’s reactions, even up to the point of disturbing my personal space. Please don’t touch my face.
You’ve talked about your eating disorder as a teenager and your recovery as an adult. For those of us with a history of eating disorders, fashion week can be a very challenging place. How has your experience been this season, especially as body diversity seems to be becoming less common on the runways?
It’s really difficult. In fact, it’s so exciting to me that I talk about it with a lot of my friends. To be honest, I find it very distracting to look at some of the runway collections right now because the models are so thin…I think that has a lot to do with capitalism turning the human body into a hanger and forcing consumerism on us. There’s something really anti-women about it. It’s about draining a woman’s entire life from her body because that’s the only way to be seen as attractive or necessary. And I think that influences the clothes themselves. Many clothes don’t have sex anymore.
Because it all takes place on a TV show.
I can say that the Miu Miu show changed that a little bit for me. I was like, “Okay, Miuccia!” She said, “I don’t care! I’ll get it dirty, I’ll get it dirty.” I felt the same way about McQueen. Sex is coming back. I think when people feel like the world is coming to an end, they stop caring and just make what they want.
Easy to Fuck, Marry and Kill: Yasmine, Eric or Henry?
You’re going to get me into a lot of trouble here…Okay, I’ll answer this as myself, not as Harper. I have to kill Eric Tao — I can’t have any kind of intimate relationship with him, he’s my senior. I want to fuck Henry because it feels like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. And I would like to marry Yasmin, because she is the most attractive of them all. It’s not because she’s a good person. I want to be clear! That’s because she’s clearly the hottest.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
