Cara Delevingne is a model, actress, professional face-puller and Instagram phenomenon–but how did she become the fashion industry’s most wanted and become an icon for a new generation? Photographer and director Matthew Donaldson muses on the unique allure that has propelled her to supermodeldom, accompanied by a metamorphic short styled by Telegraph fashion editor, Aurelia Donaldson. 

“I remember thinking that Cara’s the girl that all boys want but none will ever be able to hold onto. She has an elusive spirit that is hard to describe. Cara straddles that space of being a sort of rebel but at the same time she’s establishment. She doesn’t seem to give a fuck: the perception is that she doesn’t care and she’s just being herself and having a laugh. Obviously that might not be the reality, but people’s perception is that she’s not taking it too seriously and that she’s having her cake and eating it. She’s still someone who sticks their tongue out, crosses their eyes and all the stupid stuff that she’d do anyway. 

"I had a feeling that she’s a bit like Liam Gallagher in that had he been famous or not he still would have been the same person, and I think Cara is exactly the same–I doubt that she’s changed very much. She’s a rebel but in an entirely palatable way. And that’s where her appeal to the fashion establishment lies–she brings that element to them in bite-sized chunks. She brings that childish rebellious streak but is dependable. She’s never going to bite back, is she? She’s pretty safe but made to look just a little wild."

First film to leave an impression on you? Where were you when you watched it? 
Matthew Donaldson: Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday with my dad in the Chelsea classic cinema on the King’s Road [London].

What film would you make required-watching for everyone you know?   
MD: Manhattan.

The film you wish you made?
MD: The 400 Blows.

Rebecca Guinness is Editor-at-Large at NOWNESS.