Come As You Are

These are the hopefuls.  Some of the hundreds of kids who arrive in New York (or Paris, or Milan) twice a year to try to make it in the fashion world.  In their hometowns, they are discovered by casting directors, passed on to agents, sent to New York, and then out to more casting agents and show producers. Untrained and inexperienced, they are often lost and vulnerable.  Some of them launch like stars to fame and wealth.  Most of them do not.  We see the lucky ones transformed on the catwalk. We seldom see how they begin: raw, in street clothes, attempting a pose to try to stand out, or just standing there in hope.  The fashion world commoditizes them.  I see them all as people.