Everybody Wants Josie Dupont's Life

Hi Josie! It’s been a minute. What have you been up to?

I just got back from Spain and Paris. My girlfriend took me for my birthday. I'd never been to Paris before. And then I’ve been in beast mode getting ready for fashion week. I have a bunch of planned shoots happening already. I've been partying like a nut job. I hosted afters for an entire bar the other night — Time Again. It's this cute ass bar where literally everyone is. It's so fucking cute and so chic. All the hot girls are there. It's a little straight, but it's also Dimes Square so like, how straight could it be?

Who even is straight these days?

Everyone has fruit in the tank somewhere.

Fruit is part of a healthy diet.

If you live in New York and you're straight, you're not that girl.

Me and my sister have also been busy. We took a hiatus for a while, but we've been working together again a lot recently. It's just been really nice to reconnect with her. I love seeing my sister, and I love modeling: my two favorite things.

Are you still pretty involved in nightlife, too? I feel like fashion and modeling and nightlife all go hand-in-hand.

That is the one place it feels a little bit more real, when the fantasy comes to life. That's why I work in fashion and love modeling, because we're creating a fantasy. When the girls dress up and go out, it's just like the fantasy is real. You're out having your moment in the club or wherever you are.

Let's shift to New York Fashion Week. How do you do the back-to-back modeling and partying and socializing?

I really don't know. I don't know how anybody else does it. I think there's such a high around fashion week. “Don't be ridiculous, Andrea. Everybody wants this.” It’s like, I'm here and able to go without a problem. I just walk up, and Markus [Kelle] or Connie [Fleming] is there. If I can get in, why am I not going? But again, there's just such a high of so many people. There's so many celebrities. I look incredible. People are lending me clothes. I look the best I've ever looked. I have to go. It's kind of like this traveling band camp of fashion people. We all do that here, then we copy and paste that shit to Milan and then Paris. By the time everyone's in Paris, it's giving raggedy. The way we all do it is kind of a monstrosity, and it's a lot on the body and mind. But I grew up wanting this. I've wanted this forever. If I am not doing it, then why am I here? Why do I live in New York? It's my whole job. This is my whole life. I love doing it.

Do you ever tap out, though?

There are definitely things that I say I'm not going to go to and don't like. There are times during fashion week where I do feel bad. I have my sister most of the time, so she's always there to check on me. I'm not positive all the time. Again, it's really easy to get exhausted. You just have to really keep in mind why you're here. If everyone's not having fun or at least pretending, then there's no real point in it. If people see me in a bad mood at this fashion week party, why am I there if I’m not part of the environment and contributing to the fun? Everyone's working their ass off. Nobody wants to be around a bunch of miserable fashion bitches. We live in this fantasy. This is why we do it.

And when you're one of the girls actually chosen to be there — a model, stylist, hair and makeup, anyone who's working the show — it really is such a special feeling. And you do have to reflect on that and how you’re allowed to be here in this space that the entire world wants to be in. It's in New York City. We're doing these fashion things for these insane brands. They’re once-in-a-lifetime opportunities. I'm not going to have this forever, you know?

Photography and creative direction: Ricardo Lara
Styling: Kristtian Chévere
Makeup: Joshua Hilario
Hair: Takayuki Umeda
Photography assistant: Rhyarna McBride