model call || h.s

04.

"Did your parents encourage a career in the arts?"
"When I was super little, I wanted to be a dancer. It was a funny story, actually...I went to this very chi-chi dance school on the Upper East Side. It's the kind of school where you're trained to become a professional dancer — that's just what happens. I took it pretty seriously, but they were very strict with what you could wear: black leotard, white tights. One day, you got to wear whatever you wanted. For an entire week, I wore the craziest outfits. The head of the academy called my mom and said, 'Nora is being really reckless, wearing bedazzled tutus. She can't do this.' My mom freaked out and was like, 'That's self-expression!'. So yeah, my parents have always been very supportive and encouraging."

"So when did you decide to finally take a stab at modeling?"

"I went to my dad's office one day and his friend said, 'You should try modeling.' I was 17, so this was only a few years ago. I kind of always turned down modeling; I would be like, 'No, I want to focus on my academics.' Finally, I said, pardon, 'Fuck it.' I thought I could make money. So I went to this guy's place with my father....He had this young photographer randomly staying with him, Jacob Sadrak, who had just shot Latin American Vogue. Jacob just started taking photos of me and secretly sent them out to agencies. At 1 a.m., Jacob said, "Your day tomorrow. You're meeting with Lions and New York Models.' I met Gigi a few months later, and then I was signed on with IMG, so it kinda all just took off from there."

"So, what did you do after high school?"

"My last year I went to PCS, the Professional Children's School. It caters to kids with jobs. There were a ton of dancers there. I graduated, what...like four and a half, five years ago now? Anyway, I'm on this indefinite gap between now and when I go to college. I'm going to continue modeling for now, and I don't really know yet, when I'll go to college. I'm passionate about a lot of things. I really like writing. I just picked up photography...I like dipping my foot into a lot of different pools."

"What's been your favorite gig so far?" Nora's eyes lit up.

"It was for Grazia or Glamour U.K. — I still haven't gotten the photos from it. But it was me in Times Square in the dead of winter. I could not have been more cold. I was in head-to-toe sheer, mesh clothing, like Dior and Chanel. Hundreds of people were around us and I'm wearing this red wig. I had a giant Acne coat on, and whenever the lights would shine on me, I would have to rip it off and pose. It was so much fun, I really enjoyed it."

"So you're pretty active on social media, especially Instagram. Why is that?"

"I think Instagram is such an amazing tool to give models a voice. It's like, this is what I'm doing when I'm not standing and taking a photo. This is what I like to do. This is what I'm inspired by. I think it's phenomenal for that kind of thing. I was never a Twitter fan, but recently I started tweeting and I think it's hilarious. I follow the news, I follow the pope. At one point I was only following the pope."

"Any dream jobs in modeling?"

"I really like Saint Laurent's aesthetic. That's my dream, to do something with Saint Laurent. Publication-wise, I like i-D and V magazines...edgy, cool stuff like that. I also want to go somewhere really cool and remote to shoot on location. One time I went to Chile and we drove up this beautiful mountainous area. There were these albino peacocks everywhere, and I'm thinking, 'Oh my God, I'm gonna shoot with them!' And then we keep driving further to the location and it's just a white wall. I was like, ugh." Evelyn almost made it a point to not acknowledge any of her answers. She simply typed away and Nora was finding it quite rude.

"Are there any models that you look up to?"

"I think Lara Stone is an absolute babe. I think Kate Moss opened so many doors for so many people. She is just...It. I like models who are intelligent and have a voice. Even Cara Delevingne — she just doesn't care what anyone thinks. I think a lot of young new girls on the scene are really killing it in that sense."

"Favorite food?"

"Oh, god...um...oh! Yeah, so there's this place in SoHo, it was the very first pizzeria in New York...actually, it was the very first pizzeria in the United States. This guy, Gennario Lombardi, opened up his shop in 1905, and it is hands down the best pizza in the world. I've been to Italy many times and yeah their shit is good too, but this is classic, genuine New York pizza. I'm telling you, it's the greatest, I eat an entire pie at least twice a month, but I usually try to walk there so I burn the calories beforehand."

"Vino or ale?"

"Usually wine, I mean, I like the occasional lighter ale but...actually, no. I love Heineken. If you put a Heineken in front of me, I'll guzzle it down in less than five minutes. But besides that, I mainly opt out for wine."

"Chinese or Thai?"

"Thai, all the way." She smiled and answered without hesitating.

"If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?"

"New York City."

"Really?"

"Mhm...I mean...I'd love to spend like a year or two abroad, but New York is my home. I fucking love the city, and I really couldn't imagine living anywhere else." Evelyn typed up her final touches and then closed her laptop.

"Alright, Nora...time to meet with the board." Both women stood up. "You ready?"

"Of course." Nora smiled brightly, she was confident and excited. She wasn't nervous. Select Model Management had come to her. They had approached her. She knew that they wanted to sign her on, so all she had to do was smile and sign their contract.