When Kati flew into the modelling sky in the early 2000s, she quickly became everyone’s favourite. Big eyes and a mischievous smile did their job 🙂 Kati’s doll-like beauty was especially loved in the Asian fashion world. But now as a mature woman, Kat has become a photographer with a sensitive eye. When Tanel received a series of backstage pictures from Kati after the Mirage show in the summer of 2022, they seemed delightfully fresh and powerful.
Photos: Kati's private collection
It all started with modelling for you... did you get into it at the age of 13? Where did you get the courage and confidence to dive into this rather cruel business?
And, exactly. I joined an agency when I was 13 years old, and just a few months later I flew abroad with my first contract. I remember very well the moment when I first saw FTV on TV and the models walking on the stage, it was the mid-90s and all the girls who were on the stage were stars, not like now, but they reflected such freedom and strength that I wanted it, and then this little girl decided to become a model 🙂 And so it happened. Of course, I didn’t get to go behind the doors of the agencies, I was still too young, but they found me walking in the old town. I didn’t see it as a cruel business but as a threshold to live the life of my dreams.
How do you look back on your modelling years? What experiences from that period do you value the most today?
This year marks 20 years since the beginning of my modelling career. I find this unbelievable because I shoot models who are younger than my own modelling career, haha. I’ve been able to live and work with international teams in so many different countries, it’s incredible. Most of all, I value the opportunity to travel, and even at such a young age, it opened my eyes to how rich and wide the world we live in and how special a nation and home we have here in Estonia. I am extremely grateful to my agent Margit Jõgger, who has accompanied me all these years with her advice and strength, even now that I have found my way to the other side of the camera.
Photos of Kati from her modelling years
Please describe your dressing style. How has it changed over the years?
While my mother liked to dress me up as a doll, I liked to wear tracksuits and my favourite shoes, until the holes were in, and even then I didn’t want to let go of my favourites… I dress according to my mood, it’s very rare to see me wearing the same clothes for two days. Since I’ve been dressed so much as a model, I like to wear comfortable clothes as much as possible. Breathable materials, large cuts and then the opposite is very tight and “there is no beauty without pain” outfits. That’s how I choose how I want to feel today – either good or “beautiful”, haha. But there must be some twist somewhere, for example, different socks or an upside-down t-shirt, colour, jewellery or something else that puts the icing on the cake.
What is the role of jewellery? What is your cutest/most meaningful piece of jewellery?
I really love jewellery. I joke to myself that I’m like a magpie – if something sparkles somewhere, the eye will find it right away. But still, I don’t have a lot of such full-bling things, I like to look at them, but I prefer to buy modest things that would last over time. All the jewellery given to me by my parents is dear to me, but the most meaningful is a pair of earrings that was made just for me. A pair of dragonflies were made for me by the wonderful Marita Lumi, they are very, very special.
Kati's photos of the fashion show TRINITY 2023 Pearls: Tanel Veenre Dresses: Aldo Järvsoo, Ketlin Bachmann
Since you are used to being the center of attention with your beauty - what is your relationship with ageing?
Ageing is scary, haha. Or at least that’s what we’re told/taught, I don’t feel that way yet. We have to get old, I don’t want to look like 20 forever when I’m not. The beauty industry pressures women to use many products to look “beautiful”. Why anti-wrinkle creams and fillers for 20-year-olds? I don’t get it. For 20 years, professional make-up, photoshop and staples have been used on me (so that the clothes fit well) so that the image sells (so that the product sells). I don’t feel less beautiful because of that and I don’t rush to the clinic for services. I have Photoshop for that and I don’t need to be a guinea pig for these things. May the ageing come, I don’t need an injection against that 😉
When did you start thinking more seriously that you could be on the other side of the camera?
At this point, I would like to thank the Estonian Unemployment Insurance Fund and my consultant, with whose help and advice I got to the other side of the camera, thank you! 😉 I was going through entrepreneurship training (summer 2021) and I got stuck writing a business plan because I felt that what I was writing about wasn’t really for me. I was trying to figure out what else I could be good at and during one discussion I thought, what if? Margit supported my idea and I bought my Canon. Since then, my life has revolved around pictures, but in a completely different way. Funny that I never thought of it before. For me as a model, the photographer had a much deeper, different meaning. I could always take a lot of pictures, but the photographer is something else. It’s a weird role reversal, but I seem to like it back there a lot more.
MIRAAZ '22 BACKSTAGE through Kati's photo eye
What do you feel when you take pictures? How do you get into the moment?
I really like to take pictures! I find myself enjoying it all more and more each time. It’s so interesting for me…. taking pictures in different places, for example, your shows are mega because I still miss the fun from the model days. Now I can experience it in a completely different way, capturing it, how fun! When I pick up the camera, everything else goes out of focus, there is only something I photograph and despair, to capture the moment exactly as I see it, hoping that the equipment will not fail: “The main thing is not to overlight. I guess I can save everything else in photoshop”.
Who are your role models among the world of photographers?
Annie Leibovitz for example. I like a lot of photographers, I don’t know if I consider any of them as role models, but I’m still looking for my own voice in all this. I have learned so much from the photographers who have photographed me, they are my biggest role models ♡
Kati's photos of Tanel Veenre's fashion show "KIIR" 2023
Where would you like to reach with your images? Let's talk about your biggest dreams, please ;)))
Biggest dreams with pictures, haha 😀 Well, I’d like to be a more successful photographer than a model, so that means I have big shoes to fill to shoot all those billboards, Vogue covers, etc. – That’s a big dream. In fact, I just want my pictures to bring as much joy to people as they do to me. And if I can somehow improve someone’s mood or bring more work with them, I’m already quite satisfied.
You can keep an eye on what Kati is doing on her WEBSITE 🙂
