Model.Live Episode 4: The Sweet and Sour Smell of Success
As the final biopic on the models featured in Vogue.TV’s Model Live come to an end, there’s no doubt in our minds that these three aspiring models have the emotional backing needed to remain on the straight and narrow in an industry stricken with occasional acts of hedonism.
At the tender age of sixteen, the Dominican sweetheart, Austria, happens to be the last model that is profiled intently as she celebrates her quinceañera with her family and close friends. Yet amid all the festivities, a melancholic mood remains as Austria prepares to head to New York for Fashion Week.
You can’t help but feel for Austria as her agent, Socrates McKinny, detracts from the high spirits of her quinceañera and contract with IMG as he speaks of the two-headed beast of hedonism and racism in the fashion industry. McKinny poignantly reflects on the much-debated issue, offering that Austria’s ethnicity is difficult to place which in turns lends variety to the somewhat stolid Eastern European models that grace catwalks dearth of color.
As delicate as Austria’s age may seem and as lonesome those few months jet-setting halfway around the world can feel, Austria need just meditate on success stories like Arlenis Sosa, a fellow Dominican model, and rest assured that she will go far. It’s telling enough that Austria professes her “love for modeling so I hope karma prevails where the fashion industry is concerned and treats her with nothing but love in return.
Author: Ikechukwu Onyewuenyi
a son of Nigeria who spent much of his early years living in Sydney, Australia before making the hop across the pond to the U.S. to finish his studies. He shuttles between two alter egos: one as an ardent scientist and the other as an aficionado of the arts. He flirts on a regular basis with artistic pursuits such as photography, fashion, and freelance journalism with hopes of eventually settling into a cushy career of photojournalism when his midlife crisis rolls around!
