Jessica Alba Covers Marie Claire, Talks Sexy Image and Dressing For Herself
If you're going to do a fashion spread for Marie Claire, it helps to have Donatella Versace—who says June cover girl Jessica Alba has a "perfect body, sexy with curves"—in your corner.
Indeed, Alba does Donatella proud in the June issue, gracing the cover in a purple Versus dress with racy lace-up details, plus a metallic Versace number in her accompanying spread with lensman Tesh.
The glam shoot—which also sees Alba vamping it up in designs from Lanvin, Oscar de la Renta, Salvatore Ferragamo, John Galliano, and Gucci—is a far cry from the sex object image the actress had early on in her career.
"I had a show [Fox’s Dark Angel] that premiered when I was 19," Alba, who recently founded The Honest Company for eco-friendly baby products, says. "And right away, everyone formed a strong opinion about me because of the way I was marketed. I was supposed to be sexy, this tough action girl. That’s what people expected … I felt like I was being objectified, and it made me uncomfortable. I wanted to be chic and elegant!
“I like to get positive attention. But if I have a choice between someone noticing in a negative way what I’m wearing and going, What was she thinking? or someone not noticing what I’m wearing, I would rather not make a statement at all and just have a good conversation instead.”
Citing Jane Birkin, Audrey Hepburn, and Grace Kelly as her personal style icons, Alba now enjoys the admiration of top designers and is a frequent fixture on the best-dressed lists.
“Now that I’m older, I’ve learned how to own it, but I’m still not very overt," the mother of two says of her style evolution. "There are some women who dress for men. I dress for myself. It took me some time to get here. Being a mom and feeling grown-up have helped. Now if I’m going to wear something short, it has to have a high neck or a little sci-fi toughness to it, an edge.”
Mixing it up is also important.
"I'm all about the fantasy aspect of fashion," she adds. "Some days I feel more tomboy, some days I feel more feminine, some days like a warrior."
We assume that on the day of her shoot she felt like an old-school glamazon with a closet to die for. Sure beats donning a bikini for Maxim!
For more Jessica Alba, visit MarieClaire.com and pick up the June issue, on sale May 22.
