GDR Model Kossiwakis: On the Runway in Paris at 57

On the show, Kossiwakis asked Heidi Klum whether she still remembered her from a previous Fashion Week and presented her with a personal photo book. According to media reports, Klum reacted reservedly. Shortly afterward, Kossiwakis was eliminated from the show. Her departure turned out in hindsight to be a career door-opener: videos of her spread rapidly on social networks and reached an audience of millions, according to estimates.

Career Beginnings in the GDR

Kossiwakis herself considers the elimination the best turn in her modeling career. "Also ich meine, Heidi, die schmeißt mich raus und ich bin danach in Paris auf dem Laufsteg und ich habe den Modelvertrag bei einer der größten Modelagenturen der Welt unterschrieben. Also ein größeres Kompliment gibt's ja gar nicht für mich."

Her career had begun in the GDR. After an announcement by the "Verlag für die Frau" – "Der \"Verlag für die Frau\" sucht Fotomodelle" – that was displayed in a shop window, she was added to the model file. A photographer photographed her without makeup and told her: "Anja, du bist die natürliche Schönheit. Du brauchst kein Make up." After being added to the file, Kossiwakis waited two years for her first engagement and subsequently graced several covers of the GDR fashion magazine "Modische Maschen."

New Start After the Fall of the Wall

In parallel, she worked at a savings bank in Dessau in the late phase of the GDR. The day after the fall of the Wall on November 9, 1989, she traveled to the West and arrived in Wiesbaden on November 11, 1989, where she again found employment at a savings bank. Modeling work receded into the background for a long time.

Later, Kossiwakis returned to the industry as a fashion blogger through writing and photography, and attended Paris Fashion Week to build contacts with designers, photographers, and models. These networks paid off when the response to her GNTM appearance was noticed internationally. "Ich fand einfach cool, dass plötzlich Diversität angesagt ist," is how she explains her step into the casting show.

A Plea for More Diversity

At the same time, Kossiwakis points to changing beauty ideals in the fashion industry. "Graue Haare machen alt und lange Haare in Grau, das geht ja gar nicht. Das war ja eigentlich so ein No-Go." With her commitment, she wants to show that older people do not have to become invisible: "Gut meine Haare sind jetzt grau, aber man kann ja auch mit Mitte 50 schick sein und man muss nicht unsichtbar werden."

Kossiwakis emphasizes that she has never undergone cosmetic procedures: "Ich habe nichts machen lassen, ich schminke mich eigentlich fast nie und bin eigentlich immer noch so die Natürliche aus der DDR."

The Dessau native feels a particular connection to Paris, but feels at home in Wiesbaden. "Paris liebe ich. Aber hier ist mein Zuhause."

With the modeling contract in her pocket and the Paris runway premiere on her résumé, Kossiwakis looks back on an unusual career, according to her own account – one that began in the GDR model file, found a professional home at West German savings banks, and is now entering a new chapter in the international fashion world.