New Faces Looking for Work
Keywords: Casting, cfda, Cris Urena, esl, Fashion, fashion week, Flaviana Matata, labor, Magda Laguinge, marco roso, marco rosso, Marihenny Passible, migrant workers, models, Preston Chaunsumlit, Vanusa Savaris, Wang Xiao
“您好！很高兴认识你。我有工作签证.”
Wang Xiao @ Wilhelmina
CHINA
Preston: How old are you?
Wang: I come from China. Are you a Japanese?
Preston: No, my father is Chinese. [points to the hair and makeup team] They are Japanese.
Wang: [smiles enthusiastically and begins speaking Mandarin that no one understands]
Preston: … [silence]
Wang: Beijing!
Preston: Sure.
“Hola, encatada de conocerte. Tengo una visa de trabajo.”
Magda Laguinge @ Next
ARGENTINA
Preston: Do you speak English?
Magda: … [silence]
Preston: No? Hola! ¿Hablas inglés?
Magda: [smiles enthusiastically and begins speaking Spanish that no one understands except the photographer]
Preston: … [silence]
“Hola, encatada de conocerte. Tengo una visa de trabajo.”
Marihenny Passible @ NYM
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Preston: So do you feel like home here in New York with all the Dominicans that live in the area?
Marihenny: No. I see many Dominicans. They do not know I am Dominican. I can understand them in the street when they talk.
Preston: Really?
Marihenny: I was walking and in Spanish they say about me, “Look at her. Look what she is wearing. She looks stupid!”
Preston: Oh, no.
Marihenny: It is ok.
Preston: Why are there so many Dominican women with very red or orange hair in the Lower East Side?
Marihenny: No, not Dominicans. Puerto Ricans like the orange hair.
“Olá. Prazer em conhecê lo. Eu tenho um visto de trabalho.”
Vanusa Savaris @ NYM
BRAZIL
Preston: How were you discovered?
Vanusa: I was never discovered.
Preston: Oh.
Vanusa: [smiles]
Preston: [smiles back]
“…”
Cris Urena @ NYM
USA
Preston: Your agency tells me you are from the Dominican Republic, too. Do you speak English?
Cris: I am from Boston.
Preston: So you understand everything we are saying about you.
Cris: Yes.
Preston: Oh.
“Hujambo! Nafurahi kukuona. Mimi kibali cha kufanya kazi.”
Flaviana Matata @ Next
TANZANIA
Preston: So you were a Miss Tanzania. Did you meet Donald Trump from being in the Miss Universe pageant?
Flaviana: Yes! That is how I started modeling. I came to New York as Miss Tanzania and met an agent.
Preston: Which do you prefer: modeling or pageants?
Flaviana: Modeling. In pageants you win, then what? Modeling is work. You can work everyday; something different.
Preston: How old are you?
Flaviana: My model age or my real age?
Preston: Hmmm. Want some coffee?
