We are excited to announce Jesse W as January’s Model of the Month! With career highlights such as filming commercials for Amazon and American Express, and now gaining experience as a perfectly proportional Fit Model, Jesse is an upbeat, knowledgable, go-getter.
1.) Where are you from?
I’m from Dayton, Ohio (birthplace of aviation woot woot!), but I’ve lived in NY for over a decade! It’s my home now, and I can’t imagine life any other way.
2. What you are into… studies, hobbies, special skills etc..?
My passions really revolve around my family right now. My partner and I have a daughter, and he has children from before, so when the big kids are home we are a party of 6! Anything that we can do together on the weekends is great, and feels very restorative. It usually involves a significant amount of napping, reading, cooking, and of course some wine by the fire in the evenings.
We primarily live and work in the city, but we also spend a lot of time out on Long Island where we also have a home. During the cold months hiking and walking on the beach are a huge thing for me. There is a bird sanctuary out in Sag Harbor that I love to visit, where you can see a variety of wild birds in their natural element. They will even sometimes swoop right down and land on your head and hands, hoping that you will give them some seed, and you can always see deer and wild turkeys too! Walking on the beach and collecting trash is also a passion of mine. It’s really easy to make a small difference by just picking up garbage, so I try to do that regularly.
My life’s passion has to be creating with my hands, though. I am a maker, so I love cooking, baking, and gardening to name a few of my favorite hobbies. This summer I had my first vegetable garden since I’ve lived in Ohio, and there truly is nothing like fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers from the garden, still warm from the sun. I also love running, biking and swimming; really anything that involves being outside!
3. Favorite clients from the biz?
I have had a wonderful time with the crew at Club Monaco, and I love working with the team at Adrianna Pappell. I am looking forward to working with more brands in the new year! I studied Technical Design at FIT, so I always am happy to see friends working in tech and design when I’m out and about in the garment district. It’s yet another thing that makes NY home to me.
4. Dreams/goals any thing else of interest (any other dream clients?)?
It would be a dream come true to be fit modeling full time. I love the potential of the job, and I think that from a modeling perspective, working in fit is where you can make the most difference for the companies and for the consumers. If something is wrong about the way a garment feels, it’s
not going to be purchased, and even if it is it may not see the light of day. How many times have we all bought something because it was cute, only to get home and realize that it makes us feel like there is something wrong with us since it doesn’t fit quite right? Every body is different, and everyone should be able to feel great in well fitting and flattering garments! I’m glad that I have certain specific measurements that make me a good candidate for the job.
Some dream clients would be J. Crew, James Perse, and Lululemon because I literally live my life in their clothing; they fit me so well. Alice and Olivia achieves and amazing fit too, and I personally know one of the pattern-makers there, so that would be huge for me. If I were in Europe, I would flip out to be able to work with Celine, Jill Stuart, and Rick Owens, (to name a few) because I admire their work and fit so much.
5. Career highlights?
Walking in fashion week and getting cast in an America Express commercial, then later on an Amazon Kindle commercial, were absolutely career highlights for me.
When I first moved to NYC I was focused on becoming a fashion model, but the top agencies kept telling me that I looked more commercial. I didn’t really like that, because I wanted to be in editorials, doing the fantastical and creative stuff! I ended working freelance, and I walked in fashion week in NYC, which felt like a dream come true. The real payoff was when one of my old boyfriends from Ohio called me up and told me that my picture was in Paper Magazine from the show. I was shocked because I had no idea, and also giddy and proud. I bought 5 copies fo that magazine, give or take..
Throughout the years I would occasionally get street casted for commercial projects, and that’s how I got the part in the two commercials for TV! I loved the camaraderie of being on set, and the long hours and intense commitment was really cool. The cushiness of doing projects with such big budgets wasn’t bad either. It turns out, I actually like doing commercial jobs! Through the avenue of commercial work I have been able to work with my daughter on a shoot for the children’s brand Skip Hop, which was great fun.
6. How did you get into modeling or acting?
I have always been interested in modeling, and I had the support of my family to move to NY to pursue my dreams. I had some time away from it for family and school, but never too much time, as I feel like I’ve always had one foot in the modeling world. I’ve cycled back around to fit because I think fit is such an interesting and integral part of the process of making beautiful and well-loved clothing, and I love being a part of the process!
