With Southern Design Week coming this weekend and New Orleans Fashion Week on its heels, designers put final touches on garments and coordinators secure itineraries.
But there’s another crucial aspect to these events: the models. Many of the models who walk in the fashion weeks are also University students.
Model coordinator for Southern Design Week Erica Sage Johnson said she organizes open model calls for new potential models. She takes the models’ pictures, records measurements and makes cuts for the final try-out or go-see.
Johnson said she offers her guidance to the models on and off the runway about work etiquette. During the offseason, she helps models continue their careers by suggesting job opportunities.
French and film and media arts freshman Jane Ledford and finance sophomore Kelsey Anderson are both Baton Rouge natives and models.
Ledford said she got into modeling on a whim. She said she regularly shops at the vintage boutique Time Warp and noticed the store sought merchandise models. She also found a flier for last spring’s fashion show by Hemline@LSU, now known as Fashion Association at LSU.
After walking in the Fashion Association’s show, Ledford made connections with other University students who now provide her with modeling opportunities. She walked for fellow student Bonnie Campbell for Southern Design Week in November.
Anderson said she was inspired to pursue modeling by a family friend and comments about her freckles.
“In high school … a lot of people were saying, ‘Oh you’re so unique looking, nobody else looks like you,’” Anderson said. She said people still stop her, saying they “never see people with freckles anymore.”
While casting calls are imperative for Ledford and Anderson to stay relevant in the industry, they also need to focus on school.
“It’s kind of hard because I can’t do as much as I want to do. I can’t accept every opportunity,” Anderson said. “For instance, I wanted to go to casting for New Orleans Fashion Week, but I couldn’t because I had obligations to school.”
Ledford agreed the balance is difficult, but she takes advantage of a lighter school schedule for more modeling opportunities.
Johnson said she understands many models also have school, but she said they need to understand their job commitment.
“We call it a ‘hurry up and wait,’ where you need to quickly be there, but then there’s a long period of wait,” Johnson said. “Oftentimes, I encourage the models to bring their materials with them and to study.”
Combining school and modeling is something Ledford and Anderson do often.
Both women said modeling could turn into a lifelong career, and if something were to change, they plan to use their degrees for other jobs in the fashion industry.
Ledford said her dream is to move to France and either work in the modeling industry or behind-the-scenes production. Anderson said she’d use her finance degree with her past modeling experience to assist.
Johnson said this path is a valid option because many models don’t make it to supermodel status.
“More often than not, you’re not going to make it to be a front-page model,” Johnson said. “You’re not going to be a household name as a model, even if you’re the most beautiful girl.”
However, Johnson said working as a model teaches discipline, commitment and the inside workings of the industry. She said this look inside can show models how much effort they’ll need to exert if they decide to work as a designer or in production.

Gallery • 7 Photos

Javier Fern‡ndez

LSU sophomore finance major Kelsey Anderson stands outside the Studio Arts Building on Tuesday, Feb. 03, 2015. She is her own agent and models outside of school.