Jessica's Blog

 

They're the often-anonymous stars of New York Fashion Week — the models who walk the runways in designer clothes, looking mostly impassive and inevitably beautiful as they pose before cameras. Their lives off the runways, however, remain for the most part a mystery. Here are their stories.

 

Jing Wen, center, of Guangzhou, China, waits to rehearse with other models before the Prabal Gurung Spring 2015 collection show on Sept. 6, 2014, during Fashion Week in New York.

 

Jing Wen, 19, began modeling at age 17. She says that as a little girl, she loved the idea of modeling, but never dreamed that she would end up walking runways internationally. Although her mother and sister are back in China, she doesn’t often suffer from homesickness. For Jing Wen, the struggle to stay emotionally balanced is far more difficult. “You have to keep your heart strong,” she explains. “It’s so hard to get the show, so you have to [stay] peaceful, all the time.” As for her future plans, Jing Wen sees herself as an entrepreneur. She says she plans to go back to school after modeling “and maybe after few years I will have my coffee shop.”

 

Fashion model Yulia Musieichuk of Kiev, Ukraine, reacts as she is photographed from multiple angles while having her toenails painted backstage before the Rebecca Minkoff Spring 2015 collection show on Sept. 5 during Fashion Week, in New York.

(Image: short homecoming dress )

 

Musieichuk, 22, who was scouted in her native Ukraine at age 16, has a mother, father, sister and nephew back home. "I like to be alone and traveling," she replied, when asked if she ever finds herself homesick. She feels the biggest misconception about modeling is that it's easy, saying that dealing with rejection is the biggest hurdle. With regards to casting, "It’s very hard after it’s 'no.' You can do it so many times and it’s no, no, no… it’s very hard emotionally... to stay in this and just to believe in yourself." As for her future in modeling, "I like it for now."

 

Max Esken of Dusseldorf, Germany, has makeup applied backstage before the Tim Coppens Spring 2015 collection show on Sept. 7 during Fashion Week in New York.

 

Esken, 21, is brand new to modeling, having just been scouted in January in his native Germany. Although this is his first time working at Fashion Week in New York, he already knows that the most difficult part of the job for him is the schedule. Between having to attend so many castings, go-sees and fittings, Esken says, “You’re always in a hurry, and you can’t relax.” Once he gets to a show though, he says things slow down considerably. “The jobs are almost, like, half an hour hair and makeup and then you can chill, relax, smoke cigarettes,” he explains.

 

Fashion model Dasha Jold, 18, of Yekaterinburg, Russia, has her nails done backstage before the Monique Lhuillier Spring 2015 collection show on Sept. 5 during Fashion Week in New York.

 

Jold was scouted on the street in her native Russia, at age 17. She struggles sometimes with homesickness, but says that keeping in touch through services like Skype helps ease those feelings. "I’m not missing the place, I’m missing the people there," Jold says, speaking about her hometown. Asked about the hardest aspect of modeling, she mentions the physical demands of the job. She explains that sometimes you just "need to recover, vacation, and then you can be fresh again - your skin, your head” and, she says laughing, “your feet.”

 

Fashion model Mari Agory of South Sudan has glitter applied to her eyelids backstage before the Christian Siriano Spring 2015 collection show on Sept. 6 during Fashion Week in New York.

 

Born in Khartoum, Sudan, Agory’s family lived in what is now known as South Sudan. The youngest of eight children, she and her family fled to Egypt in 1999 during her country’s civil war, where they were granted political asylum by the United States, eventually settling in San Diego, Calif. Agory, 23, was discovered at age 20 by a photographer while attending her junior year of college. “It’s considered late in the industry,” she explains, “because girls start really young.”

 

For Agory, homesickness is her biggest hurdle. “Especially when I go over to Europe,” she explains, “but when I’m in New York, for some reason, I still feel close to my family because I’m in the States.” Despite sometimes going a full year between visits home, Agory admits that life on the road can also be rewarding. “I get to see the beauty of this world, and it’s part of my job,” she explains. When asked about how long she sees herself modeling, Agory jokes, “I’m gonna do it until my skin starts crackin’.” Although she has not been able to return to her native country since her family fled, Agory, who studied public health in college, hopes to utilize her education and opportunities generated by her modeling career to contribute something positive to her home country. “There’s just something that pulls me back.”Stephanie Joy Field, center, of Sydney, Australia, rehearses before the Prabal Gurung Spring 2015 collection show on Sept. 6 during Fashion Week in New York.

 

Field, 19, who has only been modeling since January, was actually scouted in Australia at age 13 but decided to finish high school before beginning her career. Although her family remains back in Sydney, being homesick isn’t a problem for her. “I went to boarding school, so I’m kind of used to not being at home.” One aspect of modeling that does challenge her, however, is the constant scrutiny. “You always have to be...on show, and, like, presenting yourself right,” she explains, “because...everyone’s always watching you.” One thing she appreciates about modeling, though, is the people. “I love meeting...amazing people, and working with, like, some really amazing clients,” she says, adding, “and you get to have lots of fun while doing it.”

 

Field plans to study university level law and psychology by correspondence next year, with an eye towards her life outside of the fashion industry. “I’m just gonna see what happens with the modeling, and I’ll have a fall-back if it doesn’t come through.”

 

Mona Matsuoka, 16, of Tokyo, waits backstage before the Monique Lhuillier Spring 2015 collection show on Sept. 5 during Fashion Week in New York.

 

An only child born to a Japanese mother and American father, Matsuoka began modeling in her hometown of Tokyo at age 10, after her mother put her into a modeling agency. Deciding at age 13 that she wanted to pursue modeling internationally, she had to wait until her 16th birthday before she could begin the next phase of her career. "I’m really homesick," she says, when asked about life on the road. Matsuoka says she struggles most with the uncertainty that permeates her essentially freelance lifestyle of modeling. “You don’t know what’s gonna happen." Nevertheless, Matsuoka views her modeling career in the long-term. “I would like to do it my whole life if I can."

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When fashion designer Kate Sylvester opened her doors for business 21 years ago the fashion landscape looked entirely different, she says, with the outlook focused firmly on the local market.

 

For Sylvester, the turning point came in the late 1990s, when a handful of New Zealand designers were invited to show at Sydney Fashion Week for the first time.

 

"That transformed our industry. Prior to showing at Sydney Fashion Week I'd gone to Sydney once to try to show our clothes to some stores and I couldn't even get anyone to come along and take a look. As far as the Australians were concerned we were just a bunch of farmers and the concept of fashion coming out of New Zealand was ludicrous," she says.

 

"But when we were able to put on shows in Sydney, they realised we were actually very creative and were creating beautiful clothes. That changed Australian attitudes to New Zealand brands and that's enabled us to grow."

 

The Kate Sylvester business is no longer small - now employing around 30 staff - but the entrepreneur is currently putting up her hand to help small businesses grow as a mentor with the 2degrees' Building Smarter Business project. She says building a great team and instituting robust systems are keys to handling growth.

 

Designer Trish Peng, creative director or her eponymous custom-made evening and bridal gown business, launched her label in 2012 while still a fashion student. She's had global ambitions from the start.

 

"My ultimate dream is to be like Vera Wang - to build an empire with a full couture range of evening, bridal, ready-to-wear and other product lines," she says.

 

Peng's first move after graduation was to spend all of last year living in LA and New York and gaining experience through the likes of working in the social media team at New York Fashion Week and in the evening wear department of iconic New York department Store Saks Fifth Avenue.

 

"It was about trying to open some doors," she says, "as that's where I would like to take my brand as there are more opportunities there, especially with red carpet events."

 

Laurinda Sutcliffe, the designer and co-founder of fashion brand Loobie's Story, launched the firm's first collection in early 2010 in both the Australian and New Zealand markets.

(Image: modest homecoming dresses )

 

"We knew we needed both markets to reach the minimums required to manufacture in China and to achieve some economies of scale," she explains.

 

Sutcliffe has a wealth of experience in the industry; she started Loobie's Story after being made redundant from her role as creative director at fashion label High Society, where she'd held a long tenure.

 

The biggest change she's seen in the industry has come in recent years, following the global financial crisis, which she says has created the most challenging business environment she's experienced.

 

But there's still opportunity to be had. In Australia, for example, the company has gone from selling in two states, to all, with Loobie's Story now sold in 130 stores there. She says her biggest challenge - and surely a nice one to have - is keeping up with growth.

 

"We started the company in a spare room in our house, showing the range to retailers out of our living room, but we moved fairly quickly into the office suite where we are now. But after two years we're having to move again to bigger premises and we've taken on extra staff."

 

What were your ambitions when you first started in business 21 years ago?

 

We didn't really have a clear idea where we were going with the business. I was about 24 years old and all Wayne [Sylvester's husband and business partner Wayne Conway] and I knew was we wanted to make clothes, be creative and have our own business.

 

It was such a different industry back then. We started with one little store and I sewed all the clothes, and we just opened the door and said 'lets see what happens'.

 

You now have around 30 staff. What factors have helped your growth?

 

There was a pivotal thing that changed the New Zealand fashion industry as I see it. Around 1996 or 1997 Sydney Fashion Week started up and invited some New Zealand designers to go over and show there, and we were one of the brands that participated.

 

That transformed our industry. Prior to showing at Sydney Fashion Week I'd gone to Sydney once to try to show our clothes to some stores and I couldn't even get anyone to come along and take a look. As far as the Australians were concerned we were just a bunch of farmers and the concept of fashion coming out of New Zealand was ludicrous.

 

But when we were able to put on shows in Sydney, they realised we were actually very creative and were creating beautiful clothes. That changed Australian attitudes to New Zealand brands and that's enabled us to grow - Australia's now our biggest market. Sydney Fashion Week also started to bring down international stores to look at both Australian and New Zealand brands and the whole concept you could be global grew out of that event.

 

So is that the biggest change you've seen in the industry since you started?

 

The key difference is when we started out it was totally just a little local market. There was no global reach at all. And that worked both ways because all the manufacturing was done onshore. Now we operate globally at both ends of the spectrum - manufacturing and sales.

 

What have been your biggest challenges as you've grown your business?

 

When you do begin to grow the key challenge is to build a really good team around you. What's really important is it's not just about the staff you directly employ; its also about building a great support network around your business.

 

Neither Wayne or I have any business training so we learnt through trial and error. It's about learning from your mistakes and when you find people who you can trust and rely on, make sure you make the most of those relationships. We've always had really good relationships with the guys at RCM and Zambesi, who we've relied on as peers to help us. We've also had a couple of lawyers and accountants who have been amazingly supportive and mentored us as business people.

 

Knowing how important it's been to have good people around us, it's a privilege to be in a position now to give that back and help other new businesses starting up.

 

I'd say another challenge has been ensuring you have really good systems in place so you don't jeopardise your quality. You need systems of control as you grow to ensure you do it at a standard you'd expect.

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For His Second Season at Hugo Boss, Jason Wu Goes Into the Woods

Could Jason Wu be the hardest-working young man in fashion? When the designer rang me late yesterday evening, he was still in his studio, working away on his eponymous line. “And I haven’t even gone to my night job yet!” he laughed when I noted the time. His night job is, of course, designing for Hugo Boss, a brand for which he will present his second collection as creative director next week. Ahead of his highly anticipated debut last season, Wu teamed up with his longtime collaborators Inez & Vinoodh to create This Is Boss, a film starring Edie Campbell that helped to convey his focused vision for the house. A fusion of nature and architecture was the inspiration for both the Fall ’14 film and collection, and this concept, Wu asserted, will spill over into Spring. “We’ve established a base. We’ve established a look. And now it’s about being very consistent, being very rigorous about our vision of Boss womenswear,” he said. “I’m very excited to tell the next chapter in the story.”

(Image: white homecoming dress )

To help him tell the next chapter of his Hugo Boss tale, Wu enlisted video artist Marco Brambilla to create a short starring ethereal Finnish model Suvi Koponen. “Marco doesn’t often shoot models this way, and for the second This Is Boss, I wanted to collaborate with someone who works differently but still relates back to our world.” As for his choice to feature Koponen, Wu offered, “The film is very dramatic—there’s an orchestra in the background, but she looks as though she’s birthed from nature.”

Shot in the woods an hour outside Toronto, the short gives nature a high-tech boost via trees banded with LED lights. Koponen appears otherworldly as she waltzes through Boss’ futuristic forest in a paneled white gown that is at once strict, geometric, and featherlight. The film (and a first look at the Spring ’15 collection) premieres exclusively here.

After Wu gave me the rundown on This Is Boss: The Sequel (and according to the designer, there will be many more in seasons to come, each offering a new take on his vision), I couldn’t help but ask for a few hints about the sophomore lineup, which will hit the runway on September 10. “It’s going to be a very different take on architecture vs. nature,” he said. “And you can expect a great front row!” Considering last season’s showgoers included Reese Witherspoon, Gerard Butler, Diane Kruger, and Gwyneth Paltrow, I don’t doubt it.

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