MODELS.com Tales of Model - Claudelle pg.3

pg.3

Photo: Kelly Ryerson | Styling: model's own

Its only taken her a year and a half to deduce what too many models spend a career completely missing. The gap between the time she first stepped out as a model at a benefit fashion show in Canada to this moment, her stellar season that spanned shows from McQueen in London to Versace in Milan and Chanel in Paris is in many ways her leap from childhood to adulthood.
"At first I was quite shy. I was so nervous because it seemed so fast and dramatic and overwhelming. But now I find that no matter what kind of craziness is going around me, its become quite normal. There's been shows where your heels break and you just keep going by walking on the tips of your toes. There was this one show where a fire broke out backstage. It was a small one but it was still a fire . And the show went on without the audience knowing a thing"
But that is fashion : the show going on , the models gliding seamlessly despite broken heels, exhaustion, predawn fittings and small fires. With cities now showing within days of each other, for sanity's sake most models now choose to skip one destination to allow for some downtime.

For Fall 2000 Claudelle walked all four cities (NY, London, Milan and Paris) logging 28 shows and despite the insane schedule of departures on Saturday for shows on Sunday she now sits in Ryerson's studio without reflecting a trace of exhaustion.

"For the shows you have to be very disciplined and punctual because they like for the newer girls to get there early so they can really perfect her hair and make-up and get her dressed so very often for your first show of the day , you'd have five am call time. I've learnt to cope with the constant traveling and the being away from my family and living on my own with the responsibilities that come with that. And handling all of that, all at once can be difficult. Fortunately I'm close with my family so if I feel overwhelmed I can go home, or my mother can come to New York. But in general, its a very fast life . Very demanding. After a while I said to myself. "This is not a problem. Its a challenge than I can meet and become stronger by overcoming."

The girl frequently mistaken for a fragile post-pubescent is clearly not buckling under the strain. But in her honesty and her clear cut sense of reality regarding the price of her success is an important lesson. The work ethic that the new crop of girls have to develop is more severe than what models in the 70's or 80's had to cope with. Markets have grown, but so too have the pool of potential models and so now it requires more strength and more stamina than ever before to reach that elusive peak in the industry.

The late afternoon sun rests on half of Claudelle's face as she looks out onto the frantic streets of Manhattan

"The thing is I was curious about being a model so I tried it. In many ways I didn't know what to expect. But it's funny because when all of this is over I want to go to college and get my degree in education. I want to teach young children, I mean this is what i really want to do and I really look forward to this. But what is interesting is modeling has given me all these experiences that I know will be very valuable for me in the future. It taught me to see beyond the surface and the obvious. And that's tough sometimes but knowing that is incredible."

The girl known to huddle backstage with a newly purchased copy of Jung looks back at the camera and smiles.

"I think this is a business that really teaches to you stay sharp, so more than the clothes or the parties or seeing the pictures I am very grateful for the challenge."

And the ability to find grace in the midst of modeling's intense challenges is what makes this touchingly grounded 18 year old so unique,compelling and inspiring . Her name is Claudelle and she is quite formidable.

Photo Kelly Ryerson | Styling Wayne Sterling