Iman Shares Her Refreshing Outlook on Aging: 'I Come from Africa, We Celebrate Getting Older'

Taylor Hill/WireImage

Style icon and activist Iman is setting a model example on the mentality behind aging.

In an interview with British Vogue, the supermodel, 67, opened up about her positive thoughts on getting older and where that confidence comes from.

"That's a very Western mentality," Iman expressed at her home in New York's Catskill Mountains for the January 2023 cover story when asked about the obsession around aging. "I come from Africa, we celebrate getting older."

"A friend was telling me there's been a rise in cosmetic surgery, all because [people] have been looking at themselves in Zoom meetings," she said.

"I'm like, 'If you are worried about that, just put the camera up [so it's tilted down on your face], for God's sake!" Iman instructed, while laughing to Vogue writer Funmi Fetto.

"This really is a mentality rooted in the West. For me, it has never been a problem," she added.

For her shoot with photographer Nadine Ijewere, Iman's bold looks included shots in a flowing red dress by Maison Valentino and an oversize royal blue coat by Richard Quinn, along with various other stunning images of the supermodel draped in high-fashion attire.

The Somolia-born star, who recently posted the phrase "don't let you mind bully your body" on her Instagram page, explained that her feminism came from her mother.

At 12 or 13, Iman said that she once questioned why her brothers were kept at home while she was sent away. Her mother explained that she had sold her jewelry to give Iman an opportunity to thrive. "What I am now started from that. From being believed in, from being nurtured, from being fought for, from being celebrated," she said. "What my mother did never left me. It formed the basis of my feminism."

RELATED: Supermodel Iman: 'I See in Every Refugee What My Life Story Could Have Been'

The Supreme Models executive producer also opened up about the loss of her love and the world's musical legend, David Bowie, who always addressed the entrepreneur's name first during introductions.

"I don't mind at all being referred to as 'David Bowie's wife.' But I always remind people that I existed before I met him," Iman said of the "Modern Love" singer, with whom she would have celebrated 30 years of marriage this past January.

"And he was also very particular. He never introduced me by saying, 'Meet my wife.' He'd always say, 'Meet Iman, my wife.'"

RELATED: David Bowie and Iman's Timeless Love Story in Pictures

Kevin Mazur/WireImage

When Bowie died of liver cancer in 2016, what Iman experienced in the public eye understandably intensified.

"It was too much. Too much. We lived a very private life and suddenly it felt like there was a target on mine and my daughter's head. It got to the point where we had to leave our home [in New York City] because the public were always at the front door. Which I admire. I get it. But there was a point where it was like: 'OK, go home now.'"

"You had people who would take your picture, sell it and then come to you and say, 'I feel your pain.'" She continued, "And, I'm like, 'No, bitch, you don't feel my pain, get away from me.'"

As far as how she's kept that fierce strength throughout her long career, while also protecting her private life and high-profile marriage, again it all comes back to her mother.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

"My mother always says: 'Know your worth, otherwise someone else will tell you what it is. And I don't just mean jobs but also relationships.' If it's not serving you well, walk away," Iman added in the interview. "So I always knew my worth."