Penelope Tree says being a feminist was “completely not a thing” back when she worked as a supermodel in the Sixties. With her otherworldly look, American-born Tree was discovered as a teenager and swiftly became a key face of London’s Swinging Sixties. She crashed out of the fashion industry in her 20s after developing severe late-onset acne, and has largely kept out of the spotlight since then.
Advertisement Now 74 years old, Tree is feeling reflective, thinking back to her time in the fashion industry. “Feminism was in such early days that it wasn’t even widely integrated,” she says of the 1960s. “Being a feminist was completely not a thing, whereas now, I think girls have a lot more sense of their own worth.
” (David Bailey/PA) Advertisement Tree is revisiting her past through a slightly unusual vehicle – rather than going down the tried and tested route of a memoir, she’s written a work of fiction. Piece Of My Heart follows teenager Ari, whose alien-like looks catch the attention of the fashion industry – she becomes a model, has a turbulent relationship with an older photographer, and her career comes to an abrupt end when she develops painful adult acne. Advertisement If a lot of that sounds remarkably familiar, there are plenty of strains that echo Tree’s own life, but she’s keen to highlight that it’s not strictly autobiographical.
She grew up in New York, for one – not a stately English home like Ari – and many of the characters are co.
