The Double Life of a Model

Rest assured, longevity is front and center in Lodwick's mind. It's no coincidence that the model planned on majoring in entrepreneurship. At a time in his life when many of his peers' biggest concerns are finishing finals, partying, and getting laid, Lodwick appears to be consciously plotting a personal path to success. "I'm thinking strategically: I know which designers I like and which shows I want to do," he says. "The industry is changing so much, so [it's a question of] how you can change it, how you can take advantage of it, how you can be an entrepreneur." That said, Lodwick is quick to credit one figure in particular as responsible for his success so far: Alister Mackie. The renowned stylist is a go-to for designers like Marc Jacobs and Martine Sitbon, as well as Alber Elbaz at Lanvin, and for whom Lodwick played "muse in January and again for Lanvin this season." The relationship is one that Lodwick earnestly champions: "I know he appreciates me more than just me standing there," Lodwick says of Mackie. "I know he appreciates how the clothes look on me and how I feel about them. That means a lot to me, because I really feel like I'm sort of involved with the whole production."

“I’ve heard horror stories of girls putting needles in a girl’s shoes so when she’s on the runway she’ll fall over.”

The experience has also been pivotal given Lodwick's aspirations to design. "I don't want to just do modeling. I want to do styling and hopefully designing and really get involved in different aspects of [fashion] other than just standing there," says Lodwick, who has been customizing his own clothing for the past six months. "I'm going from not really knowing anything to working with some of the best designers in the world in person," Lodwick says.

"I really like the whole Burning Man thing," Lodwick goes on, about the annual August desert gathering where festival-goers pride themselves on making outlandish original costumes for the affair. This year will be Lodwick's first time at the festival; he's camping out with a friend's family who works with Cirque du Soleil and is already hard at work on his costume. "Their theme is going to be all white so I'm excited for that, because I normally go for things that are shiny or have a whole lot of color.”

In the meantime, Lodwick is also working to finish his first solo music endeavor, an EP for an as-yet-unnamed project. "I feel like this is just the beginning stage for me," Lodwick says of his modeling career. "The way that I like to think this is all going to work out is that modeling is the first step." As for what's next, any number of scenarios are possible... even his own festival. "I want to have a compound where I can have festivals and stuff and keep a place in the city. Maybe [like Woodstock]. Some glorified version of that."

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Alisa Gould-Simon is a Brooklyn-based freelance writer. She also covers fashion and culture for BlackBook, New York magazine, and PAPER among other publications.