 IN HER OWN WORDSEdited by Linda Morand Willy van Rooy, one of Helmut Newton's favorite models, has agreed to send us some of her wonderful stories and photographs. Not only is she an international model but she has worked with great design houses as a designer, she has her own line of shoes and other items.  | Willy's Story: Hi everyone, this is where I am now!
Here with grandson in Los Angeles, where we live since a year, and last year in Amsterdam, Holland, with my husband before we left for LA. This picture below, of Veruschka, JP. Gaulthier and me was taken a few years ago, 2003, when we were all there for the funeral of Helmut Newton. Doesn’t Veruschka look great? There were a lot of friends there I had not seen for years especially June who looked marvelous at her 83.After the dinner June made a toast to Helmut. (June Newton, aka Alice Springs) |  | | |  | | On the beach of San Pedro last month wearing my own designs except for the shoes. |  | When we lived in Amsterdam (from 99 till 06) I sometimes worked as a model, besides being a buyer and making window displays for the hottest Fashion store in Amsterdam. I also made things for that store like jewelry and little evening bags, things I could make myself quietly at home. The center photo is a self-portrait with one of my necklaces. I like to take pictures, especially portraits and had built my own little studio so I could give myself (and others) a good lightning to whisk away the wrinkles, I did not have Photo- shop yet which I use now to make special effects.
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This is what I am doing and I sell them to friends and other people who like my things and at a point I will make a website .
Some samples.... I never make more than one of a kind and the golden beads I make myself so they are all original. The beads are pretty big. On the left is a picture I made of Alijah, my nine year old granddaughter with a bunch of the necklaces so you can see better the size of the beads, like I said, pretty big. |  | | HOW IT ALL STARTED FASHION IS MY PASSION and London was the place where everything was happening. at least for me it was. And so in the spring of 1967, on a beautiful day, I arrived there from Holland, where I am from, and where I had finished my studies at the Academy of Fine Arts Fashion Department at 21. Then I traveled for 3 years around the world. Back in Holland, I had done some modeling but it really was not very exiting so I made myself a collection of clothes and went to the ¨Swinging City. I just turned 26. This is how I was dressed. I made the coat of bright red velvet with red satin trimmings and on the pocket, I embroidered my name, funny. The hat was also red and so were my new Yves St. Laurent patent leather platforms. There were not that many agencies back than but I was referred to Peter Lumley by my Dutch agency so I went there and they seemed very enthusiastic. They sent me straight away to Vogue. WOW. I met with the editor in chief (sorry, I forgot her name) and told her that I would like to meet Helmut Newton, as I really liked his pictures. She told me he was coming in a few days but now I should go to the studio to do a sort of test shot. | 
| | When I opened the door of the dressing room, whom do I see? Jean Shrimpton in person, the beautiful Vogue model everybody was talking about. And in comes David Bailey who is going to do a picture of me. I fell right with my nose in the butter. I had to take off some of the make up I had on my eyes, lots of black and blue, and no dark red lips, which took away a bit of my self confidence because that was my trademark, but I managed. It is so funny to think that even for Vogue or other big magazines; you had to do your own make up. On commercial jobs, you even had to bring shoes, hats, gloves, jewelry, wigs and so on. We were models, make up artists, stylists and hairdressers at the same time. Indeed a few days later they called from Vogue and I met Helmut Newton there in the office of the editor, I don't remember how I was dressed but I must have done my best to look as good as possible. I had the feeling all went well and so it was because he booked me straight away for a Vogue editorial. The clothes were disappointing, I thought I looked a hundred times better in my own. The pictures were taken in the park, nothing special but at a point Helmut said: "Oh, I see you are a natural", which made me feel good and I enjoyed every minute of working with him. In the months that followed I worked a lot with Newton ( some of the Vogue pictures of that time are in my album) sometimes in Paris where he lived or sometimes in London where I lived or sometimes on location. He took me to the Montreal World Fair for the French Elle. It was a big spread of 16 pages and the cover and I was the only model he wanted to take, the editor in chief, Madame Lazareff, did not agree but he got his way and when the pictures came out it was a big success. I did a lot of other things too, | 
This beauty picture is by Norman Parkinson for English Vogue 1967. 
Jean Shrimpton | Collection time was very exiting because you got to wear all that beautiful ¨Haute Couture¨ evening dresses and because during the day they needed them at the designers House, the pictures were done at night, in this case they were flown over from Paris and had to get back early the next morning. My first Collection shoot was in London for English Vogue with Traeger, an English Photographer, with whom I worked quite a few times. He was a good photographer but died very soon after he started so we never more heard much about him. The most thrilling for me though was that I was going to work with Donna Mitchell! I had seen and admired the pictures she had done with Bob Richardson for American Bazaar which were a sensation. Indeed she was not only gorgeous but a lovely person. Actually this is one of my favorite pictures because we are having a good time and the dresses by DIOR are marvelous. Editors note:See larger versions of all Willys pictures in her album | | | 
|  Donna Mitchell Editors Note: We went to www.lulu.com and bought My Love in Close Up by Salvador Maron, the handsome and adorable fine artist that married Willy van Rooy. What a wonderful story. He is a few years younger than Willy and shows pictures of himself and her growing up in different countries. It is amusing to see him as an awkward teen-ager, not knowing that he was to grow up and marry the most beautiful model in the world, as he says. We must agree. Having met Willy and worked with her once, we were struck by her great heart and soul as well as her exotic beauty. You guys have just GOT to get the book! We will post some pictures and excerpts soon.
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