TO ME THE MOST REWARDING THING IS TELLING THE TRUTH THROUGH BEAUTY EMBRACING THE MESSINESS OF LIFE AND NOT BEING AFRAID TO SHOW THAT.

JK: Growing up in Nebraska, the sky felt endless. There were no tall buildings, and I think that sense of open space really allowed my imagination to thrive. From an early age, I was deeply drawn to literature and art. I studied hard and was always experimenting with different creative forms.

JK: I remember discovering Nan Goldin’s work when I was around nine. Access to artist books was limited where I lived, so I begged my parents to save up so we could travel to a bigger city just to buy The Ballad of Sexual Dependency. That moment made me realize I had outgrown my small-town surroundings

EC:  Since you began your career as a model before transitioning into acting, did your perspective on fashion shift once you entered Hollywood?

JK: To me, all art is connected. Starting in fashion at such a young age, my main goal was to learn from the masters, something I didn’t have access to growing up. My mother was a seamstress, so I’ve always had this deep curiosity about how things are made, whether it’s a couture gown, fixing a carpet, or solving creative problems in general. I started modeling at 13 and was lucky to work with some of the legends in the industry. By 18, I felt I had learned everything I could from that world, and I was ready to follow my real passion - filmmaking. Fashion and film both deal with movement and life, but fashion is often frozen in a single image. I wanted to push beyond that and explore storytelling in motion, even though, at the time, making that leap was pretty rare. Read more in the printed issue.