Boris
Who:
Boris Avramov (@boris_avramov); 183 cm / 6’0″; Bulgarian from Sofia, Bulgaria; born January 22nd.
Where:
Ivet Fashion (Sofia – mother agency)
— What’s a story your family/friends like to tell about you?
Whenever I get together with my friends, we laugh at my spontaneity. This summer at the last minute I decided that I wanted to go to the sea on a July morning and I went without telling anyone. I hadn’t picked up any luggage because I had planned to go home the next day, but it turned out I had to stay another week. We went to the market and I just bought some clothes and cosmetics and we joked that I dressed like a tourist because all the clothes said [the town name of] ‘Sozopol’.
— One thing people may be surprised to find out about you:
A year ago I was overweight and when I tell someone, they can’t believe me. For this very reason, my mission as a model is to show people that anything is possible.
— What are three interesting facts about you?
1. I’m very interested in astrology (btw, I’m an Aquarius).
2. Communicating and meeting with different people is what makes me fulfilled and alive.
3. The color red and Britney Spears are two of my weaknesses.
Jia
Who:
Jia Huang (@jiah_0923); 176 cm / 5’9″; Chinese from Baise City, Guangxi Province, China; born September 23rd.
Where:
Mostar Models (Shanghai – mother agency), HEROES Model Management (New York)
— Who is your favorite entertainer?
I love a Hong Kong female comedian, Wu Junru. She always makes people happy and she is a great actor too.
— Who is someone you admire and why?
My painting classmate. She has great potential and a very good sense of color. The rest of the class has to spend more time and more practice to catch up to her. Because of her, I realized what’s meant by ‘naturally gifted’.
— What’s a story your family/friends like to tell about you?
When I was 11 years old, during summer vacation, I had to go to work with my mother in the morning because there was no one at home to take care of me. But I didn’t want to get up, so I acted very slowly. My mother was about to be late, so she said she will not wait for me and will leave right now. However, she said that all the time when I was slow, so I thought this time would be the same as before and my mom would wait for me downstairs. But this time she drove away! I didn’t know so I got downstairs with no keys. At the time, I didn’t have a mobile and I was scared to talk to strangers. Therefore, the only thing I could do was to walk the eight kilometers to my mom’s office. However, after my mom had left she called my aunt to come to and take care of me. So when my aunt arrived she found no one there and both she and my mom freaked out. They checked everywhere and called everybody. No one knew where I was. So my mom decide to go to the police station, but as she drove out from her office building, she saw the little me standing in front of the gate waiting for someone to open the door.
Josh
Who:
Josh Wallin (@josh.wallin / @x.emma.the.queen); 178 cm / 5’10”; American from Dana Point, Orange County, California, USA; born July 29th.
Where:
STATE Management (New York – mother agency)
— One thing people may be surprised to find out about you:
I am a drag queen. This fact may not come as a surprise to you when you really get to know me, but being a model and a drag queen juxtaposes in many ways. With drag, it is heavily about a transformation, while modeling is all about being your authentic self. When you are on stage in drag no one cares what you look like under your layers of foundation, glitter, and concrete. When you walk into a model casting, they want to see your bare face, your real body, the real deal. Flesh and freckles. Drag is truly one of my biggest passions. My drag name is X-Emma (like eczema), a bitch you just got to itch. You can see my conceptual and crazy performances all around New York City and Brooklyn. Come see me do my thing sometime! I promise to make it worth your while!
— An issue or cause you are passionate about:
I want to revolt against the restrictions of the gender binary. I am a non-binary punk. An androgynous rebel. The ideal of “boy and girl” is so ingrained into our society and is truly a plague. The fashion world especially still subscribes to the notion of two genders. There is womenswear and menswear. Why can’t clothes just be clothes? Although genderqueer expression is becoming more normalized in the industry, they could all do so much more. I want to help continue this trend, share my story and feel authentic when I model. I want to break all the rules. I want everyone to wear whatever they want.
— What’s a story your family/friends like to tell about you?
Currently, my friends won’t let me live down the story of how I lost my front tooth. I was walking home from a club one late night, and I wanted to look at the stars. Or star. There aren’t many in the light-polluted sky of New York City. I went to lean back on a recycling bin to adjust my gaze upward when the bin slid out from under me and I went face-first into a metal railing. My friends now tell me they aren’t letting me walk home alone ever again. I have accepted my glorious gap, for the time being, and even took some digitals with my “busted grin.” I am looking forward to the near future when I will be receiving a temporary replacement tooth. Thank god for Oral… surgeons.
Matylda
Who:
Matylda Drohojowska (@ma.tylda); 173 cm / 5’8″; Polish from Poznan, Poland; born September 15th.
Where:
Specto Models (Warsaw), Metropolitan / M Management / Makers (Paris)
— Your most embarrassing moment:
When I was fourteen I had to wear a retainer, but the one that you can take off. The thing is, I had to wear it all the time, including at school. Practically no one could understand me. The most horrible were moments when teachers asked me about something in class, I just wanted to disappear.
— What are you super interested in that most people have never heard of?
Ice swimming. My dad got me and my sister into it, actually. In autumn, winter and early spring we drive to the nearest lake every week. I really love the feeling when your body gets comfortable in the water. We usually spend 5 minutes or so in the lake, then we get out, run around to get the blood flowing and go home in time for coffee :)
— What are three interesting facts about you?
1. I started knitting a year ago. But I actually got interested in it a lot sooner, in 2015, I think. Sadly it wasn’t going too well, plus I was scared that people would make fun of me if they found out, so I stopped. But can you imagine how good would I be by now?!
2. I’ve had all my piercings done in my senior year in high school. It was such a fun time, every couple of months me and my friends were just going and doing the next one and the next one and the next one. The feeling you get just after walking out of the piercer is the best in the world.
3. Since I started making my own clothes I don’t buy almost anything in fast fashion shops, because I always think “I can buy this thing for this amount of money or… I can buy that much funky new yarn”. The choice is easy!
Reid
Who:
Reid Morgan (@reidmrgn); 188 cm / 6’2″; British from London, UK; born January 22nd.
Where:
Forte Model Management (London – mother agency)
— An issue or cause you are passionate about:
Battling Racism and homophobia. An ongoing issue in society. The bottom line is hate achieves nothing and love conquers all.
— The most interesting thing about your family:
My family comes from a military background and lives in Cyprus.
— What are three interesting facts about you?
I’m a musician, working as a singer/songwriter and producer. I have an honours degree in Music. I’ve had the opportunity to study in Cape Town.
Yessica
Who:
Yessica Moreno (@yessicamoreno0); 176 cm / 5’9″; Colombian from Chocó, Colombia; born December 31st.
Where:
Gucaya Model Management (mother agency), DNA Models (New York), Why Not Model Management (Milan), Uno Models (Barcelona), Munich Models
— The most interesting thing about your family:
Due to the conflicts in Colombia, we had to move many times during my childhood. It was hard, but we always managed. I had already lived in 8 different places before I got to Bogota. And during this time my mom started working as a community leader, helping especially women from the armed conflict in Colombia.
— What are three interesting facts about you?
1. I love to cook, learn about different dishes from different countries, and try to cook them. One day I hope to be able to save up and open a restaurant with all my favorite dishes.
2. I have a mixed-race and cultural background. My dad is from the Colombian pacific with their warm tropical weather and culture. And my mom is from Santander, a much colder and mountainous region of Colombia with very different customs, foods and cultures. That makes me appreciate and respect the variety of different cultures.
3. I love to read poetry; I can get completely lost in a good poet. Now I’m very into Pablo Neruda.
— Who is someone you admire and why?
I admire my mom. She is a leader in her community, helping women who are victims of the armed conflict in Colombia. She has helped many women get education, work and food during the years.