The reinvention of Monica Lewinsky as a model

The next act in the career of Monica Lewinsky, the White House intern turned anti-bullying activist, writer and producer? Modeling. Ms. Lewinsky is the star of a new campaign introduced this week by the fashion brand Reformation.

The campaign, called “You’ve Got the Power,” is intended to promote not only the brand but also voter registration ahead of the 2024 election. Ms. Lewinsky, 50, told The New York Times that she was flattered, she it’s a bit baffling that she was asked to join the project, which – not coincidentally – is the latest sign on her path to self-acceptance.

She grew up in Los Angeles, a city where she said beauty was achieved “with smoke and mirrors” but “didn’t fit the bill.” She was a “chubby” brunette who, she jokingly said, had real “breasts.”

Although Ms. Lewinsky said she enjoyed the opportunity to “gently remind women to register to vote” by appearing on the campaign, she quickly acknowledged that the project also appealed to her vanity. She saw it as a way to “earn street cred with a new generation,” she said, and hoped that the Reformation’s “cool” factor would somehow rub off on her.

“I take every opportunity to make people think I’m cool,” she said with a laugh during a phone call from her home in Los Angeles. Since the campaign came out, some people have been on social media have said that it is the first time they have heard from Ms. Lewinsky. Others on social media have called her an icon.

In a series of photographs by Zoey Grossman, Ms. Lewinsky projects confidence and a subtle sensuality. Some images show her playing boss, her hair swept back, while wearing items such as a black leather trench coat and a crew-neck midi dress. In another photo, she oozes glamor in a figure-hugging red top and matching flared skirt.

The campaign’s workwear, which costs between $78 and $798 (for the leather trench coat), is designed to appeal to an increasing number of consumers, says Hali Borenstein, CEO of Reformation. About 70 percent of Reformation customers are under the age of 35, she added.

The idea to approach Ms. Lewinsky came from Lauren Caris Cohan, Reformation’s chief creative officer, who said she had admired Ms. Lewinsky since hearing “The Price of Shame,” her 2015 TED Talk in which she campaigned for a world without bullying . . Ms. Cohan said she was struck by the way Ms. Lewinsky “used her voice for good,” laughingly recalling how she had hoped to enlist Ms. Lewinsky in the campaign by inviting her to dinner and giving her a bag full with Reformation cashmere sweaters.

For Ms. Lewinsky, who had never been photographed for a fashion campaign, there were some challenges. “I don’t feel comfortable in front of a camera,” she said. “I find it stressful even to choose what to wear.” To help her pose confidently, the Reformation marketing team provided a coach. “That gesture made all the difference,” Ms. Lewinsky said.

Still, the prospect of vamping for a photo shoot brought back many of the insecurities that had plagued her as a girl and as a young woman mercilessly scrutinized in the late 1990s for her affair with former President Bill Clinton. “People weren’t very friendly,” she said. “And they weren’t very nice about the way I looked. Those experiences still have an impact on me.”

Experience has cost her a lot, but it has also taught her. “I’m learning to weather the storm,” she said. “I have discovered that resilience is a muscle that you build.”

Ms. Lewinsky, an editor at Vanity Fair, said she “embraced the idea that I can have a multi-hyphenate career.” She plans to include more activism for mental health issues, an outgrowth of her almost evangelical stance on bullying. “That has become a priority for me,” she says.

She also plans to develop film projects that support women, she said. This includes a limited television series about Amanda Knox’s ordeal as a college student, who was convicted of murder and later acquitted.

The extent to which Ms. Lewinsky became absorbed in her work is just one indication of her remarkable ability to bounce back. “My therapist, who works in trauma, told me that it takes a long time for things to feel different before they start to feel safe,” she said.