HERIETH PAUL
Model stat
Age 17
Hometown Ottawa
Height 5'11"
Four years ago, Herieth Paul was standing in front of an open
refrigerator in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, trying to keep cool in the shimmering summer heat. Today, shes slouched on a lounger on the rooftop of the swank Thompson Toronto hotel during her
ELLE Canada cover shoot. The Ottawa-based model is new to the fashion
game, but she is already on a firstname basis with industry power brokers like Diane von Furstenberg and Steven Meisel.
Despite the hype she is generating, Paul seems endearingly unaffected. Its the same attitude she had when she moved to Ottawa with her diplomat mother in 2007. It was a culture shock, but I was young, so it was a fun adventure, explains Paul. Besides, there was a silver lining. The culture back in Tanzania was very traditional, she says. I used to
buy my own clothes and then hide them from my mom. Now, I can wear my H&M dresses and Topshop platforms any time I want.
That new sartorial freedom gave her modelling aspirations room to grow. Being a model was my destiny, she jokes, explaining that she has always wanted to work in fashion. While her mother was at work, Paul researched local agencies. Angies Models & Talent International didnt hesitate when the lithe stunner walked through the door in 2009. When I signed with them, I didnt know that it was going to be a whole other world out there, she says with a smile.
Paul was signed last June by the famed NYC Women Direct Agency to walk in both the Lacoste and
3.1 Phillip Lim spring/summer 2011 shows. But the magnitude of what was happening still hadnt sunk in. I closed the Lacoste show and I was mad because I thought they put me last, says Paul. My agency was like, No, you closed the showthats different!
It seemed like there was only one roadblock to superstardom: mom. It took a lot of convincing for her to let me make a real go of modelling and a lot of phone calls from my aunts, says Paul. She was afraid that Id fall in with a bad crowd. Pauls mother finally relented, chaperoning her youngest daughter to Milans fall/winter 2011 fashion week to watch her stomp down some of the hottest runways in town: Emilio Pucci and Ermanno Scervino.
Paul also landed an enviable big-budget CK One commercial shot by star maker Steven Meisel. (The second ad airs this month.) In a resumé-making coup, Meisel requested Paul for an editorial in the January edition of
Vogue Italia. He has long been an advocate of diversity in the industry, acting as the creative force behind
Vogue Italias 2008 all-black issue.
As she talks about crushes (she loves Lil Wayne, even though he curses too much) and tomorrows trigonometry test, Paul seems like a typical teen until she gets a text from her NYC booker telling her that she has landed
Alexander Wangs next spring/summer campaign. She knows shes having a moment, but shes looking ahead to the future. Ive heard theres a thing called a buzz, she says. Once thats gone, youre out. But if Naomi can be famous for 30 years, why cant I?
http://www.ellecanada.com/home/fashion/canada-s-10-new-runway-stars/a/46959/2