For a decade now, Rianne Van Rompaey has been one of the most sought-after stars in the modeling industry. She’s served as a face of Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Valentino, and Versace and starred in countless editorials—many of them in the pages of W. Throughout the course of her career, the 28-year-old has embodied myriad fashion characters. The only issue? They never got to speak—until now. In the new eight-minute short film Faces, written and directed by David Findlay, Van Rompaey explores how we navigate our various identities—and is finally heard. “I wanted to give the many women inside of me a voice,” she says of the project via email, “That is how Faces was born.”
The Dutch model doesn’t only star in the film, she’s also the executive producer and the driving force behind the project. The idea for Faces had been on her mind for a while, inspired by her experiences in the fashion industry and the many personas she’s adopted to navigate it. After a friend of Van Rompaey’s heard about the concept, they introduced her to Findlay and from their first meeting, Van Rompaey knew it was the right fit. “I was struck by how well he understood what I wanted to make,” she says. “His sensitivity to the themes that were important to me and the ideas that he brought up made me realize I had found my director. This creative connection led to a beautiful collaboration.”
Astrid Whettnall and Rianne Van Rompaey.
Photograph by Marcelina Dvorak
In Faces, Van Rompaey plays herself opposite Astrid Whettnall who takes on all supporting roles. In a rather meta storyline, Van Rompaey is preparing for the premiere of her short film, but first, she must face a reporter, her mother, and herself. The story takes place in an alternative reality, where everyone is beautifully dressed in Khaite designs (the brand also produced the short) and no one seems to have mastered the concept of personal space.
“I wanted to show the difference between the public face, the familiar face, and the private face, and how we create and structure our identity around these different facades,” Rompaey says.
This isn’t technically Rompaey’s first foray into performance. A few years ago, she starred in I See You in Everything by photography duo Inez and Vinoodh, in which she recited dialogue from 2001: A Space Odyssey. Last year, when the pair made another short film for Chanel starring Brad Pitt and Penelope Cruz, they tapped Rompaey again, this time to portray a waitress.
“I loved it so much I didn’t want to stop there,” she says of her brushes with acting—and she doesn’t plan to. “Acting is my passion, and it feels like a natural progression for me.” After spending ten years playing “the pretty role,” she’s now ready for more complex and challenging characters, ones that are “darker, deeper, and uglier.” Faces is just the beginning. Having been a muse for some of the world’s most acclaimed designers, photographers, and creatives she’s witnessed firsthand how they craft their art. Now, she’s doing it herself on her own terms. “With Faces, I’m spilling my guts for the first time,” she says. “It feels amazing.”
