Diane Kruger Hates Thrift Stores and Loves Kayla Itsines

Diane Kruger is a model turned movie star with a personal style even Chiara Ferragni is probably envious of. Yet, despite her celebrity and fashion icon status, the German-born beauty recently joined Instagram. “I was hesitant at first,” she says. “Once you invite that in, I was scared that it was going to take over something.” Now she has two accounts — one private and another public — and she’s basically addicted. “I think it’s been a really fun exchange with people that’s more direct and more honest.”

Thanks to the social media platform, she’s also discovered the cult of Kayla Itsines, the Australian fitness guru with 5.5 million followers. And being able to do the #BBG program certainly helped while in France, where fitness isn’t as fanatical as in the United States and where Kruger shot her latest film, Disorder. In it, she plays Jessie, the glamorous wife of a wealthy businessman, who seeks refuge in her PTSD-ridden security guard (Matthias Schoenaerts).

During the movie’s promo tour, Yahoo Style caught up with Kruger and discussed her disdain for thrift stores, how she didn’t start working out until she was 32, and why she strives to look different from everybody else in Hollywood.

Yahoo Style: This film was sort of a darker, French version of The Bodyguard. What attracted you to this role?

Diane Kruger: There are many elements to this that I thought were interesting. Alice Winocour is a really interesting young filmmaker, and I think the way that she films is very innovative and she is able to convey a certain emotion and feeling without using many words. I just think she’s a really skilled filmmaker. I really wanted to work with Matthias [Schoenaerts]. I’m a really big fan. And I felt the character was really interesting. At first, she’s this sort of trophy wife that you only look at from a distance, and I feel like through Alice’s way of filming, you start to see that there is more to this person than there appears to be. And I loved the arc of the character and how two lost people in very different social settings help each other to change their lives.

Is it fun to work with a female filmmaker for a change?

It’s weird. I feel like I have done so many movies with women. I am always excited to work with female directors because they are so demanding and so different to work with. I always find that they have a very, very interesting way of looking at things. It’s just different. I find myself feeling very safe with them.

You are fluent in three different languages but do the majority of your work in English. Was it fun for you to film entirely in French?

Yeah. I always try to make at least one French movie per year. This one was special because I had been away from France for like two years because I was on The Bridge. So this was like the first movie back home I guess. So I was just really excited to be in a French film again. I started out in France. I went to drama school in France, and French is beautiful to me. I struggled at first a little bit to get the rhythm back and the nuance that a language requires, but it’s lovely to make a film in France. We were in the south of France. It’s so fun. I love it.

You weren’t much of a social media user but you recently joined Instagram. Is it true that Matthias was the one who inspired you to join while you were working together on Disorder?

Yeah he did! He was very Instagram-y. So he kind of explained to me how it all works. I opened two — one private and one public — and I really got addicted, I have to say [laughs].

You seem like a person who prefers to stay out of the limelight. Were you initially hesitant to share certain details of your life with the public?

I was hesitant at first. Once you invite that in, I was scared that it was going to take over something. Then I felt like because of the films I’ve made maybe and because of the roles that I’ve played that people don’t really know who I am. Even when you do an interview, obviously it’s a take by a journalist on how to describe you. Whether that’s positive or negative, it’s never really accurate. I felt like Instagram was an opportunity to share not just me and my life but also the things that I like, whether it’s a painting or a phrase or just something that piques my interest. I think it’s been a really fun exchange with people that’s more direct and more honest.

You’ve always been such a fashion icon. What’s your personal style mantra these days?

I love fashion. I think it’s a really fun way to be a woman. I like to change it up. I like to try different things. These days, I guess you could say I’m a kid of the ’90s. That’s when I was a teenager. I’m loving the whole slip dress-sneaker phase. I feel like that’s how I went to school forever. I am unafraid of whatever is coming next. I’m not scared by it. I like to have fun with it.

You’ve said in the past that you don’t work with a stylist. Are you still styling yourself these days?

I still style myself. For the red carpet, I often borrow dresses from designers though because that’s easier in a way. You give it back and you don’t have to go shopping for it. To be truthful, in my daily life, I don’t really shop that much. I love online shopping. Every once in a while I’ll go to Barneys and just have an indulgence day. But I love the convenience of ordering from home, I have to say.

I think people need stylists when they don’t have time or they don’t find it fun to do it themselves. At this point, I think if I had to do a big tour, I would use a stylist to pull clothes, but I just don’t think I need a stylist.

Who are your top three designers on your speed dial when you’re in a red carpet crunch?

Prada, Jason Wu, and Chanel.

What about thrift stores. Do you ever shop in them?

No. I know that is going to disappoint people, but I cannot shop in thrift stores. I hate the smell of them, and I can’t ever get over it. I love used jeans, but they have to be in a regular store, or I order them online. I have ordered vintage jean jackets from online. But there is too much stuff in thrift stores. It takes me too long to go through stuff.

We’ve seen you in everything from couture to Forever 21. Do you like mixing that high-low element of fashion?

Yeah. Couture to me still remains a very special occasion. I have such high respect for that. It’s truly an art form. I have so much respect for that that I wouldn’t wear the dress unless it was a very special occasion. But I love mixing. During the day I don’t really — other than maybe a bag — wear very expensive stuff.

Do you do your own makeup as well?

It depends. For photo shoots, I always have a makeup person. But often for red carpets, I do it myself.

Does it take you longer to get ready for these events since you don’t sit down with a whole crew?

Yeah, and I think that’s sometimes why I don’t do it. I like to take my time to get ready and have my own time. When there are too many people around, I feel like the day gets away from me. This morning I have been doing a big press day and then the premiere, so I got up early and had breakfast and did my own makeup. By the time I was done, the hairstylist arrived and an hour of hair and then we are out the door.

So hair is the one thing for which you will spring for a stylist?

Oh my gosh, yeah. I can’t do my own hair if I tried. I don’t have good hair either. I definitely need a hairstylist.

What is your off-camera style like? You seem to enjoy being more laid-back. Is that the case?

Yeah, for sure. Slip on shoes, jeans. If I go out on night, I put on a new skirt. I do like to get dressed up for a date, but during the day it’s just comfort.

If you could raid one of your characters’ closets, whose would it be?

Probably Bridget von Hammersmark [from Inglourious Basterds]. Those fabulous ’40s suits. I loved those really tailored fringed jackets with the shoulder pads and really tight, sexy skirt.

Speaking of tailoring, do you have a go-to person?

Not really. Often if I borrow a dress and it has to be altered, they will have their tailor, so not really.

Does your fashion change a lot depending on where you are living? In L.A. you can go to breakfast in sweats, but in Paris it seems like you would need to be more fashion-forward all the time.

It does change just because weather alone – it’s so hot in L.A. and people wear jeans and little T-shirts all the time. New York, I think, is the most fun because you can be anyone you want to be. You want to wear a fishnet stocking bodysuit, you can totally get away with that. I love that. Paris is chic.

You grew up in Germany and you’ve said in the past that it wasn’t really a place where talking about your looks was encouraged. How did you transition out of that into the Hollywood limelight, which is all about fashion and beauty?

It took me a minute. My mom always looked nice. She would definitely say, “Those colors don’t go together,” and she would always wear makeup to go to work. But I wasn’t allowed to wear makeup really until I left Germany to become a model. I think I was just fascinated with it once I started modeling and the stylists put it together and I learned about proportions. I think that’s what I love most about fashion is proportions – different materials, different volumes, and how they can change your appearance. That, to me, is the art of styling. That’s the real styling. The red carpet is a very specific thing, but stylists that work for magazines like Vogue who really put looks together that are different, that I find super interesting. I guess once I started acting, I had the whole thing. Your agent tells you, you have to have a stylist, you have to have hair and makeup. I look back at some of those pictures from when I was first starting out and it’s like, “Oh my God. That doesn’t look like me.” I started looking like everybody else. I think that’s one of the reasons that I just scaled back.

And you have more control over it if you style yourself.

Yes. Hollywood can be very fake.

You bounce between L.A., Paris, and Vancouver a lot. What’s the secret to eating healthy and staying fit on all those different sets and with so much travel?

Over the years, I’ve learned that you have to be very vigilant. I try to eat good. I’m not obsessive about food, but I try to eat healthy. I really got into working out. I didn’t used to work out for years and years and years because I used to be a ballet dancer, and then that didn’t work out and then I totally gave up on working out. Also in France, nobody used to work out. There were no gyms. I think maybe two years ago, I looked at the state of my butt and was like, “I need to do something.” And so I got into working out. I got this trainer in L.A. who lives down the street from where I live and I got really into it. Now I’m into it. I work out all the time. I really love it.

What kind of stuff do you do?

Just hit the gym, weights. I don’t want to lose weight anymore, so all I do is lift weights and squats. I found this girl on Instagram called Kayla_Itsines. I follow her. She’s from Australia, and she has like 5.5 million followers. But she’s this trainer that has the most insane body and is really feminine still, and I started following her and I do her stuff.

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