New Yorker Dream: Interview with Alessia Merzlova

Alessia, tell us about your modeling career in New York.

I came to New York for the first time in 2014 and immediately fell in love with the city.  It had an indescribable energy that filled me with hope and inspiration.  However, the first year wasn’t as easy as I expected. You have to be fully prepared, both mentally and physically, before taking on New York. Although I was fully determined to make the most of time there, I realized it would serve me best to leave New York and come back when I was ready.  

The second time I returned was in 2018. I was called to the Victoria's Secret casting, so I decided to take on this opportunity. I was confident in myself this time around and trusted my instincts that this was the right time to return. I had grown so much in the years between my first experience there. It turned out to be true as everything I had worked for began to fall into place.  I immediately started working with the best brands such as: Nars cosmetics, Laura Mercier, Michael Kors, Badgley Mischka, Revolve and many other top brands.  To this day, I am still signed up with Ford Models agency. It is one of the best agencies in New York. I have a personal manager, Victoria Lyandres, who also lives in New York.

Right now you are focused on becoming a fashion influencer. How and why did you decide to do this? 

Over the years, I have built a strong platform on Instagram and acquired the necessary contacts in the fashion industry. I’m
quite satisfied with my progress and development on Instagram. It’s my own way to showcase my life, network and make a name for myself. 

In my opinion, it’s imperative for models success to have good social networking skills. When a young model is just starting her career, the agency always tells her the importance of having marketable social network sites to grow your brand and self-image. Future clients will definitely look to your page to check your authenticity and credibility. It’s an excellent showcase of your history in regards to past photo shoots and other work you’ve done. 

For example, my agency from Australia, Paris and New York all found me through Instagram. It wasn’t long after that till contracts were signed with them.  Whenever I come to work, clients use my Instagram photos to show and explain to the makeup artist and hair stylist how to best prepare me for the shoot.   

Over time, I began to receive more and more offers of cooperation through Instagram, and decided to direct my focus and attention there.  

It has been my dream since childhood to become a fashion influencer, to sit on the front row of the best fashion shows and be the star of street style pictures.  With hard work and determination within this industry, I began to turn my dreams into reality. 

You have been to the best shows of Paris Fashion Week, which show do you remember the most?

In September I went to Paris Fashion Week for the first time and of course that experience was amazing for me.  

I will always remember each show I attend, but The one show that really made an impact on me was the Dior show, because it was my first one and I was very nervous.
 
The YSL show will forever remain in my heart, because it is considered to be one of the most important and beautiful shows of fashion week. I don't know how to describe this atmosphere, but it was just incredible and truly breathtaking. 

I really enjoyed the Louis Vuitton show because I met a lot of my friends and models there who were walking for the show. And of course, I can’t leave out the Off-White show. It was very cool and I was quite fortunate to sit next to Naomi Campbell. Such things were always a dream of mine. It was such an amazing experience to be apart of. 

 Since you are the owner of your own NFT, tell us how you made your choice.

It was very unexpected. I met an old friend who is a big NFT collector and he told me in detail all about it. Before talking with him, I had heard a lot about NFT’s, but never studied them enough and just wasn’t that interested in the world of NFT’s. However, the more I leaned about it the more I began to I like this idea and then finally decided to buy my first NFT; Desperate ApeWives. They’re very cool monkeys! Now I’m dreaming to have a big collection of it as well. 

What are your future plans?  Where do you live and what is your favorite city?

I’m currently living in Dubai with my family.  We hadn’t seen each other for a very long time, and now we’re finally living all together again. My favorite cities that are forever in my heart are New York, Dubai and Paris.

My plans for the future are to build connections in the Middle Eastern market. To develop my personal brand, continue to work as a top model and of course, become one of the most successful fashion influencers. Wish me luck! (smile)