"I woke up today and said to myself, ‘great, it’s a new week, Monday morning, a fresh start.’ Then all of a sudden, I’m at the grocery store, just trying to get my groceries for the week and my phone starts buzzing, completely out of control. Is it a sixth sense that some people have where they can sense you are trying to complete a task and they specifically choose that moment to contact you?”
Charlee Fraser and I are speaking on a Monday afternoon in April, exactly a month out from the release of her highly anticipated film, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. Similarly to each of the films in the saga’s lineup, the most recent release was – as Fraser put it – “a true labour of love.”
“I was 26 when I auditioned for the role, 27 when we started filming... 28 when we went back into the studio to complete the vocal pickups, and now I’m 29 and it’s finally coming out.”
Left: CHANEL top, culotte skirt and tights; CHANEL COCO CRUSH earrings, ear cuff, necklace and rings. Right: CHANEL COCO CRUSH earring. Beauty notes — CHANEL BEAUTY Ombre Essentielle in Rouge Cosmos.
It’s been six years since the model and actor graced the cover of our Spiritualised issue, and while there’s plenty to catch-up on, we spend far longer than necessary discussing the unplanned chaos of her morning. It’s this characteristic that I have always admired about Fraser – she’s an excellent storyteller. It’s an innate gift that from our conversation, I can tell she was born with. We have the time this afternoon – a surprise to the both of us – so, I asked her to start at the very beginning. “Who was Charlee, the kid?” It’s questions like these that tend to reveal all.
“The one thing that really stands out from my childhood was how imaginative I was. I was very interested in the fantasy genre – I still am, frankly – and my family was very encouraging of this. I spent a lot of time playing and exploring outside, and I think this taught me how powerful my imagination can be. Especially now, as part of the film industry, it’s a necessity.”
We share stories of older cousin’s hand-me-downs that opened portals to ‘undiscovered universes’ and dirt tracks that transformed into paths for adventure. And while we’re only speaking on the phone, I can almost feel that same appetite for curiosity that Fraser describes from her childhood bubbling over. I ask her how this occupies both her personal and professional life, and she tells me that the origin is always the same – her inner world.
CHANEL cape and top; CHANEL COCO CRUSH earrings, ear cuff, necklace and bracelets.
“I am a genuinely, genuinely curious person, and what I find that my career does is present me with the opportunity to develop and explore that curiosity. I’m always asking questions, I’m always exploring different avenues and I think that’s something that is very aligned with one of my core values, which is learning,” she shares.
In this respect, Fraser doesn’t just talk the talk. After spending 11 years in the modelling industry, living in New York City and travelling the world, she moved back home to Australia and pivoted into the world of acting. Much of this evolution happened in private, she shares, but it was a new creative freedom that she was ready and willing to take on.
CHANEL cape and dress; CHANEL COCO CRUSH earrings, ear cuff and necklace. Beauty notes — On eyes, chanel beauty Ombre Essentielle in Brun Fauve and Lilas Poudré. On lips, CHANEL BEAUTY Rouge Allure Velvet in Mystérieuse powdered with chanel beauty Ombre Essentielle in Rouge Cuir.
“I can’t understate the benefit of coming into the film industry with over a decade of modelling experience. There were so many transferrable skills that I was able to carry across, like taking on direction, being able to embody a character, having the ability to look at a moodboard and bring an artistic vision to life... and then of course, I’m pretty comfortable in front of a camera.”
Fraser’s curiosity bug is spreading, and it leads me to wonder if there any physical or ideological modalities that help her get into character. Our conversation instantly shifts to the sensory and the world of fragrance; a personal journey the actor has been experimenting with since she was young. She shares memories of the lavender and rose that filled her home and the homes of her loved ones growing up, and how the placement of different scents have ‘fragranced’ key moments of her life.
Left: CHANEL COCO CRUSH earrings and ear cuff. Beauty notes — CHANEL BEAUTY Ombre Essentielle in Jade Facetté. Right: CHANEL top, culotte skirt and tights; CHANEL COCO CRUSH earrings, necklace and ring. Beauty notes — CHANEL BEAUTY Ombre Essentielle in Rouge Cosmos.
“I have always found fragrance a really magical experience and quite special for me. I don’t ever stick to one for too long, and I have always enjoyed creating my own ‘potions’ of sorts through layering and pairing contrasting fragrances together. I have a very keen sense of smell and I have definitely developed or connected scents in my collection with different characters I’ve played or for different periods or ‘eras’ of my life.”
As someone who shares in this practice, I’m reminded of how fragrance has both acted as a conduit of discovery but also a vehicle for shedding past selves in the quest to become your ‘true self’. In sharing this with Fraser, we agree that as a facilitator, it’s really what you make it. From the outside looking in, her evolution from curious teenager to curious adult, model to actor and beyond has felt seamless, but like anyone going through changes knows, it’s never quite that simple. “So,” I start, “what has been the hardest thing you have had to let go of in this process?”
“Part of growing up for me and understanding more about who I am was removing the idea of expectations,” Fraser reflected. “It was probably my first big adult lesson, and it wasn’t an overnight success, I still have days where I find it really challenging to overcome. But it has allowed me to be more present and with that, has come more authenticity.”
Beauty notes — CHANEL BEAUTY Ombre Essentielle in Jade Facetté.
True to her character, she is earnest as ever in her response, taking a moment to pause before she continues.
“The one reoccurring question that I have been asked multiple times throughout my life is, ‘what do I want’? Sometimes – and I want to emphasise the sometimes – I am very clear about what I want, and then other times I have no idea what I want. But what I do know, with certainty, is what I
don’t want.”
“I don’t know who I am right now, and I don’t know if I’ll 100 per cent, completely ever have that answer. But at the same time, I think of my values, my career, my family, my culture and while they are all things that I identify with, I think the simplest answer to that question is that I am human. I am a human being – as simple and as complex as it gets.”
Right: CHANEL COCO MADEMOISELLE Eau de Parfum.
PHOTOGRAPHY Sam Wilson
FASHION Hannah Cooper
HAIR Joel Phillips
MAKEUP Victoria Baron.
TALENT Charlee Fraser wears CHANEL cape; CHANEL COCO CRUSH earrings, ear cuff, necklace and rings.
Makeup and skin prep Victoria Baron using CHANEL Beauty and CHANEL Sublimage.
Charlee wears COCO MADEMOISELLE Eau de Parfum throughout.
