#Venice According to Supermodel Elisa Sednaoui

Model, actress, director and author Elisa Sednaoui has been a regular on the Lido red carpet for years, even hosting the Venice Festival’s opening and closing ceremonies in 2015.

As a model, she’s been a muse for Karl Lagerfeld and Christian Louboutin and the face of numerous campaigns for Chanel, Giorgio Armani, Ralph Lauren, Roberto Cavalli, Ermanno Scervino, Bucellati, and Lacôme, among others. Oscar winner Paolo Sorrentino directed her in a commercial for Missoni perfume and she’s one of only a handful of models to appear in two editions of the Pirelli calendar (in 2011 and 2013).

Off the runway, she’s appeared in such features as Sharunas Bartas’s drug smuggling drama Eastward Drift (2010), alongside Vincent Gallo, in Davide Manuli’s sci-fi western The Legend of Kaspar Hauser (2012) and in the 2014 Italian comedy Soap Opera from director Alessandro Genovesi. Behind the camera, she co-directed, with Martina Gill, the 2012 documentary Kullu Tamam (Everything is Good) about rural Egyptians’ reaction to the Arab Spring uprisings (Sednaoui is of Syrian, Italian, Egyptian, and French descent) and has re-teamed with Gill for the upcoming docu Bukra Insh’Allah (Tomorrow, God Willing). Oh, and her first book, published last year: Nobody Can Hurt You Without Your Permission written with Italian Linguistic Intelligence Expert Paolo Borzacchiello, about how to build self-esteem and confidence in children, was an instant bestseller in Italy.

Sednaoui took time off from her busy schedule to share her Venice Film Festival tips with The Hollywood Reporter.

Give us your redcarpet tips for Venice first-timers.

The weather is usually quite hot in Venice at this time of year, so keep that in mind when thinking of the looks. You don’t want to be sweating on the red carpet. Bring rice paper to dry the sweat on your face. In terms of dress code, Venice accepts a wide range. Wear something elegant or elevated. It can be either minimalist or maximalist.

The one thing you should always do when you’re in Venice is…

Take the opportunity to visit some of the Art Biennale pavilions too and have an aperitivo by the water. Let yourself be transported by the magic: Of the town, the architecture, and all the incredible people that come for the Venice Film Festival.

My favorite Venice moment was…

All the time spent with my mother who was my manager and stylist, working on the looks and laughing together. Experiencing all the unexpected things that would happen. Going by boat everywhere. And when my eldest son, who at the time was two, watched me open the 2015 festival as host over the big screen broadcast.

Best place in Venice to avoid the crowds …

Go to the residential streets of the town, across the little squares, past the historic monuments. Take the chance to observe the people who actually live there. When I was host of the festival we rented a house in town which was very quiet and off the “mainstream” area. I cherish that memory.