Stella Maxwell is cool. The 26-year-old has all of the makings of an Angel. She’s stunning, confident and she knows how to work a runway. But she’s also edgy – just take a look at her Instagram account. You’ll quickly become obsessed with her expert smize, her model-off-duty style, and her elite group of friends. 

But there’s more to a model than her Instagram feed. We chatted with Maxwell this week and learned that the model doesn’t consider herself a party girl. In Maxwell’s words, she is basically the “reincarnation” of her mother.

 

 

✖️On set w @victoriassecret ✖️

A post shared by Stella! (@stellamaxwell) on Apr 19, 2017 at 12:17pm PDT

 

You went to the Met Gala recently. What was that like?

Maxwell: This was the second time I’ve been, and it was so much fun. I really like the Met as an event more than a party and a red carpet, because I feel like it’s something that people really put effort into. You can tell everyone’s really put in one hundred percent, and it’s to help support the arts, so it’s really nice to be around that.

Do you love glamorous nights like the Met Gala, or do you prefer more low-key, laid-back nights?

Maxwell: Usually I’m very low-key, and I like to just hang out with my friends, but every once in a while I love to get dressed up. And the Met is the perfect night to do that. It’s fun to really see what you can do. It’s also kind of therapeutic, to get pampered.

 

 

My @HM  #metgala look is being auctioned to support the wonderful @girlupcampaign. You can place your bid at www.charitybuzz.com/hm !!

A post shared by Stella! (@stellamaxwell) on May 5, 2017 at 12:58am PDT

 

Mother’s Day is coming up, how do you plan on celebrating this year?

Maxwell: I will not be with my mom, but I intend to send her some gifts. I got her a few little things, like the Victoria’s Secret Paris Bombshell fragrance. I got it because I did the commercial for that fragrance in Paris, and she brings it up all the time. She would love to have it, to keep as a memory. The bottle is so cute; it captures the light like the city of light, Paris. It’s perfect for her.

Is your mom really proud of you being a Victoria’s Secret Angel?

Maxwell: I think so, yeah (laughs). She always keeps everything. She’ll keep magazines, and my agent sends her little care packages. She’ll send any covers, or ads from VS that she finds, so her office is just full of me.

So what’s the most important lesson your mom has ever taught you?

Maxwell: I have the same kind of temperament as her. I think we’re very similar in our character. My mom’s name is Stella too – I was named after her, and people say I look like her. I’m kind of like a little reincarnation of her. I think she really embedded models of how to be a good person, which is really special.

What’s the best part about being an Angel?

Maxwell: There’s kind of no downside. It’s like working with your family everyday, and obviously the lingerie is amazing. I think the commercials are really beautiful. The fragrance that I shot in Paris captured the scent as best as we could visually – that commercial embodied it. It was just really quiet and sensual, sexy and chic. It showed the versatility of being a bombshell.

How did it feel for you when you reached that Angel status?

Maxwell: It’s an amazing experience, and an amazing thing to achieve. I was really excited about it and everything was more than I could have expected. It’s just an unreal job to have.

 

You walked in Rihanna’s Fenty x Puma show this season. I’m a huge Rihanna fan, so I was so excited about the collection. What was that experience like for you?

Maxwell: It was good, right? She is amazing. She’s very hands on with her collection and she really takes part in the casting and the collection itself, and how it’s styled. I’ve worked with her a few times with that show, and it’s nice to see how it’s developed. You can tell she really cares, and backstage, she’s standing with us before we go out, checking everything, and making sure everything’s right. She’s very nice and very cool. It was a lot of fun.

 

The production of the show looked amazing too.

Maxwell: Yeah it was kind of like a school environment, but we were strutting our stuff, and it was great. It was a really unique show, and I think a lot of fashion shows aren’t that fun. The VS show is the only kind of fashion show that’s fun and happy, and her show is in that vein. You’re having a good time rather than trying to just put one foot in front of the other.

 

Do you get more nervous for fashion week than for the Victoria’s Secret show?

Maxwell: It’s not really nerves; it’s more like excitement. They’re all exciting in different ways. The VS show is once a year, so it’s special. You’ve worked towards it all year, and after working with all the girls for a while, it’s really intense and special to me, because I know the effort we’ve all put in. So it’s kind of like a big end of the year party.

I personally get a lot of my fashion inspiration from Victoria’s Secret models, like you, Josephine Skriver, Elsa Hosk and Taylor Hill. Do your fellow models inspire you as well?

Maxwell: Yes! I’m on Instagram all the time looking at what everyone’s wearing. It’s nice to see how we all have our own tastes; we can see each other’s personalities and know how we all dress. I know Taylor’s taste, even in her lingerie and her fragrance. I love to try and guess what she’ll wear.

So now that you’ve reached VS Angel status, what’s your next big goal?

Maxwell: You know, I’m having such a good time doing everything that I’m doing. I’m really lucky, and I feel like I’ve been able to do so many things that I’ve always wanted to do. I just hope that it keeps going, and I’m going to have fun with it.