Japanese stunner Chiharu Okunugi at New York Model Management has been a presence on the world’s runways since her Spring/Summer 2012 show debut. Whether she is starring in campaigns for Chanel, Dior or Céline, Chiharu lends a sophistication and elegance to everything she does. However, behind the beautiful exterior lies a strong work ethic and focus. For hopeful models aspiring to break into the industry, Chiharu’s agent Marina Fairfax has some words of advice, “Work hard and give this your one hundred percent focus; it’s not a job that can be done halfheartedly. It’s a competitive market and if you want to be signed then you have to be better than everyone else! When you are a new face and just starting out; never be late, rude or not looking your best – you can never redo a first impression.”
Tell us about how you were discovered.
When I was 16 I was scouted at a train station by a woman who worked at a modeling agency in Tokyo. I signed with them after that.
What were some of the misconceptions you had about the modeling industry when you entered it?
The first time I went to Paris for Fashion Week I thought it would be easier but it was really hard work going on castings and fittings for all of the shows. It was also the first time I went to another country all by myself.
Tell us about the challenges you’ve had to overcome in your career.
The biggest challenge was learning a new language. Before I started modeling I didn’t speak any English.
What are the most memorable moments of your career so far?
I was booked as an exclusive in the Balenciaga 2013 S/S show. I believe that changed my career a lot.
How did you feel when you received your Vogue Japan Women of the Year award?
I was so happy when I heard the news – it was an amazing moment for me.
What do you miss most about home when you are traveling?
I miss Japanese food and my bed. Sometimes it’s really hard to find good food and I can’t really sleep if I’m not in my own bed.
Tell us about your goals for the future.
I want to keep modeling as much as I can. I really love my job and I think that this is my calling.
Russian beauty Tina Veshaguri’s lithe figure and doe-eyes framed by heavy brows have been cropping up in editorials from Harper’s Bazaar to WWD. This newbie walked in all the right shows ranging from Kenzo to Givenchy this past season.
Tell us how you were discovered.
I was discovered at a modeling school for girls in Russia where they taught us how to walk in high heels and to behave like women.
What were the biggest adjustments you made when moving to New York?
Other than being away from my family and moving my clothes from Russia to New York it really wasn’t such a big deal.
What challenges have you faced thus far in your modeling career?
Having to learn to be patient and not so anxious was definitely a big one.
If you weren’t modeling what would you be doing?
I would be playing sports. I love anything that involves physical activity.
What are your goals for the future?
For the moment my main goal is to become a top model.
What would people be surprised to learn about you?
Isn’t my personality enough of a surprise? I’m just kidding. I love to read philosophy.
Model, mother, environmentalist and Kundalini Yoga practitioner, Angela Lindvall has been at the top of her game for nearly two decades. One lazy Sunday morning, Angela and I chatted by phone from her home in Topanga, California as she reflected on her career and the importance of self-care.
I thought we could start with when you moved to New York and what your first impressions were when you arrived.
The first time I visited New York I was barely 16. I went to check out agencies and see what this world was about. I went to see if this was a possibility for me and I was like wow, this world is so big and so much is going on. I hadn’t really considered modeling and it wasn’t really even an option. I was the black sheep from a small town and I always knew there was this big world out there so this was my opportunity to go see what that was about. It wasn’t until I was 17 that I moved there and realized that I really did have the opportunity to create a career. I was like OK let me see if I can make this happen and moved to New York and started travelling.
Things seemed to, at least on the surface, take off for you pretty quickly once you arrived. Is that correct?
It did. I went to Paris and met both Craig McDean and Juergen Teller and that kind of was a big start for me.
Was that around the time that you shot the Miu Miu campaign?
Yes. I shot Italian Vogue with Juergen Teller and it’s so cool because back then it was pre-digital and it was literally him and his wife who was styling and his assistant. We didn’t even have hair and makeup. In those days they didn’t have 20 assistants to the photographer.
I often hear veteran models say the element of surprise and fun is gone from the process; it’s much more corporate. Do you feel the same?
Yeah, it’s unfortunate. I feel that in any endeavor whenever challenges are given to us they really are opportunities to push ourselves creatively. You had this intimacy and time to play and you never knew exactly what you were going to get until the film was developed. You would have Polaroid to look at and have an idea but there was this element of creation that happened and now there is a computer screen and everybody is watching and waiting.
In some ways being able to see what we are doing has definitely given me a lot better perspective of my job and what I am creating. I remember when I first started modeling, Mario Testino showed me these photos he shot of me and said Look at these! Look at these! You look hideous. But in this one you look amazing. All it takes is one good shot and you are gorgeous but you need to pay more attention.
I was like wow! You only see the finished product so seeing what everybody sees makes you a lot more vulnerable but at the same time you know what’s working and what’s not working really quickly.
Have you always been environmentally conscious or is that something you developed later on?
Well, I think growing up in nature I didn’t even think anything of it. I had no idea we even had environmental issues to face. I just was a nature girl but I’ve always been a rebel and someone who goes against the grain. I was so appreciative of my career and the opportunities that were coming but at the same time my roots were ripped from the earth and I felt like I was floating. I longed so deeply to put my roots back in the ground. It was during the time that I lived in New York that I started to question things. I started looking at what’s in our food and water on the Internet. When I was 18 people weren’t using computers like they are now. I have always been a researcher. I love to read and once I started discovering this stuff I wondered why it wasn’t on the front page of the newspaper. I was very naïve and started my own nonprofit. I created a magazine and through that we created a big farming initiative that’s still in existence in upstate New York.
Did you feel conflicted operating in a world which is very much about consumerism and excess and all of those things?
Absolutely, I have always felt conflicted. I felt conflicted being a tomboy and a supermodel. I felt conflicted about the environment and consumerism. Now I am taking my journey as an environmentalist deeper and exploring self-care. I got to a point at the height of having my organization and going through a divorce and my sister dying suddenly and having two boys and trying to help create change on the planet and my world is falling apart. So I thought I needed to focus on my world first and foremost and that led me on an inward journey that is continuing.
What does self-care mean to you? I think that people now have a greater understanding that if you don’t take care of yourself then you can’t be there for anybody else.
Exactly, I think that so much of our world is stimulated by external factors like the way that we look or how we appear, what our status is and what are we doing next to what we buy. It’s like people are going crazy. We have more stimulation in the world today than our grandparents probably had in their whole lifetime. I think people are seeking peace and calm, this connection with our infinite self. I think that through the choices that we make to take care of our self, to take care of our bodies, to take care of our thoughts, to take care of others, affects the larger host. If each one of us are taking care of ourselves then we would live in a much happier world.
I feel that as we are more digitally connected we are less connected as people. There is a lack of intimacy. Posting on social media gives a false sense of connection.
That’s interesting what you say because my journey started as an environmental pioneer and now the word intimacy and the idea of connection, first with our self but then connecting with others. I study Kundalini Yoga which works with the light force energy which is the sexual energy. I raised two young boys that will be teenagers and I am just thinking about when I was a teenager and what I was taught and what I wasn’t told. No one told me about my own power, my own life generating power and this ability to rise this energy up and to cultivate and then to share and connect on a deeply intimate level. I feel like we live in a world now that is so debased and disconnected and so stimulating on so many levels that it’s carrying us away from this core of the deepest most intimate connections that we can cultivate. I think that’s the new revolution. I mean even in some way it’s a new sexual revolution. So, I’m a little ahead of the curve but mark my word.
Are you familiar with The Tao of Pooh? One of the main principles is the concept of just being.
I’ve never read that.
I think a lot of people operate from a place of fear and try to control the outcome of situations which causes a lot of anxiety.
It’s so true. I love the saying we are human beings, not human doings. There is so much focus on what we are you doing. I was walking down the red carpet and I don’t know always stop to do interviews but I happened to stop this time and the interviewer asked what projects I was working on. I said I was working on me and they responded, oh so you can’t talk about it. No, that’s what I’m working on and it’s a pretty big job. It’s so beautiful that I have surrendered into this space of not knowing the future. I walked into this year as if I had a white canvas. Instead of being in a state of anxiety it’s so amazing.
I’m deeply in my meditation every day and I have found that in that stillness I become open and connected. Now things are coming to me. Everything that I want to create is coming to me and I’m saying yes. This year I was asked to teach yoga. It’s been so beautiful to just step into that phase without fear and how it’s unfolding a whole other deeper space of my learning through teaching because it keeps forcing me to connect on a whole different level and show up on a different level. I was asked to teach at a big impact summit in Madison Square Gardens. Then, I was asked to speak at a women’s symposium and I’m starting to develop a women’s online course with some friends. It’s going to take a little bit of time but this is what I’m supposed to be doing. I’m just going be in it and not worry.
As the most prolific and influential set designer working today, Mary Howard has collaborated with photographers Steven Meisel, Annie Leibovitz, Patrick Demarchelier, Steven Klein, Mario Testino and Bruce Weber to name but a few. Her work for leading editors and creative directors such as Grace Coddington, Tonne Goodman and Phyllis Posnick at Vogue, along with celebrities such as Madonna, Lady Gaga and the Rolling Stones in addition to Queen Elizabeth, President Obama and The First Lady has resulted in some of the most talked about images of the modern era.
How would you describe what you do?
I am a production designer for photography, primarily fashion and celebrity. What I do is similar to a production designer for a film, creating the world around the subject – model or talent. Whether it be a location that we set dress or a set that we build in studio.
How did you get into set design?
I have a Master of Fine Arts Degree in Painting but since being an artist wasn’t really paying the bills, I began to make things for float builders in New Orleans for Mardi Gras and then for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. This led to freelance work building props and costumes for clients like Ringling Brothers Circus and Saturday Night Live and store windows in New York. There was no such career as what we know now as set designer for print photography. Richard Avedon needed a beach landscape and that is the first set I built in 1993.
You trained as a painter and performance artist. How has your background influenced your approach to design?
I am obviously very visual. Painting as a medium is extremely seductive to me. Performance is interesting because there is usually a meaningful context or place that the live event is happening and props and objects and furniture that are important for whatever the live action is.
You have a frame of reference that a lot of people lack today. How much of your method is instinctual versus technical?
I do work a great deal with instinct. I have learned technical aspects of what I do through trial and error. Though the mistakes, say using the wrong material, then become a surprise and then we work with it. I am constantly saying “try that’ or “let’s just see” and then snap the camera and you can see what works in the set. What you thought should or could never work suddenly and magically does in the camera.
Where do you source your ideas and what inspires you?
So many things inspire me. I do a lot of image research. I love to see what has been done before in art, film, painting and now that everyone on the planet is a photographer with their phones I look at Pinterest and Instagram and Google images to see billions of points of views of the same subject. It’s overwhelming and exciting.
The Fluxus movement is a particular passion of yours. What about that period resonates with you?
The objects in Fluxus performances are not precious but they are important and necessary to the action. It’s theater but it stems from the visual arts.
When you’re commissioned to work on a project how much autonomy are you granted and what is your methodology?
It depends on the job. Sometimes we get the client’s or photographer’s brief and it can range from being very detailed to sometimes just a word to describe; an adjective. Then we do a great deal of image research and sourcing of elements for the set. We take in a huge view of options and possibilities and then hone in and refine. The lead time on the majority of our shoots is only a week, or even less, so the prep happens at a furious pace.
What’s the biggest misconception about what you do?
Probably that it is fun or glamorous – and it is, but those things are only for a few seconds. I would say it is extremely physical, mentally challenging, very fast paced, you need to be able to turn on a dime and switch gears at a second’s notice. My favorite moments on set are when a truck arrives with a last minute table or chair that I am waiting for and know will make the picture.
Where do you hope to be in five years?
I would love to have more long-term projects, designing hotels or stores. My studio is expanding with several younger set designers and I would love to see them grow into bigger jobs. It has been great watching their careers and their creativity. They all started out assisting me but now I am learning so much from them.
California native August Gonet may not be a household name yet but he is slowly gaining traction in the fashion industry. His striking bleach-blond crop and angular features can be seen in edgy editorials and on the runways of New York. The self-proclaimed baby has a realistic view about his role in the industry and hopes to leave his mark. Expect to see a lot more of August in the future.
How were you discovered?
I went to an open call in Sacramento for Stars Model Management, who is my mother agency, and they signed me the next day.
What are your aspirations and goals for the future?
Practically speaking, I want to make a living from modeling. I also have a list in my head of my favorite designers and photographers that I hope to get a chance to work with.
What do you hope to get out of your modeling career?
Money, but I also want to make a name for myself in the fashion and art industry. When my name is brought up I want there to always be a positive reaction. I have heard so many photographers and stylists complain about awful models and I never want to be that. I want people to want to work with me.
How do you handle the pressure and rejection that comes with modeling?
I have a very realistic view of the industry. I understand that I am a piece of art to these people so when I am not chosen, I don’t take it personally. My exterior did not fit their vision. It has nothing to do with me as a person. Also, I understand that my success is based on the choices of other people. This is one of the few work fields where “working hard” won’t guarantee success. With that in your head, it’s easy not to let the pressure get to you because at the end of the day, the choices are not in your control.
What do you think people would be surprised to learn about you?
I love this question. A lot of people don’t know that I was a competitive gymnast for a long time along with my sister. We got the chance to travel around to competitions at a young age and compete at Worlds in Amsterdam and Belgium. Those were some of the best times in my life.
What has been the highlight of your career so far?
It’s a tie. I worked with Harley Weir and Guido for my first shoot ever in New York. I went to the casting before I was technically signed to an agency in New York, so when I confirmed the job, me and my mother agency were so so excited. This past New York Fashion week I walked the Fenty X Puma show with Rihanna. Pat McGrath did my makeup herself while Rihanna styled my look. I was freaking out and trying to stay cool all day.
How do you cope when you are away from your family and friends?
I don’t cope. I’m such a baby. I complain all the time about how much I miss them. Thank God for FaceTime and group chats.
What do you like to do in your spare time to decompress?
Anything to get me outside and in nature. If I’m in California, then it’s going to Lake Tahoe, either skiing or going on my favorite hikes. In New York, it’s going to these secret little places I have saved around the city where it doesn’t feel like New York anymore. I visit those often.
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