We've been avidly following artist/model Casey Legler's career ever since we read about how she was signed by Ford to exclusively model in their men's division
after her friend, PAPER contributor and photographer Cass Bird, asked
her to model menswear for a shoot and later showed the modeling agency
her photos. Legler recently booked a campaign for AllSaints
and, full steam ahead, is embarking on her first fashion week. She'll
be sharing her experiences with PAPER over the coming days and, as
you'll soon notice, modeling is only one of her many interests. Equally
influenced by art, music and her creative friends, Legler tells us that
her experiences as a model cannot be separated from her experiences in
those other creative fields. Take a look at her final diary entry, which includes a Valentine-y breakfast, walking in her first NYFW show and winding down at Westgay. Read on.
![valentine_casey.jpg]()
7 a.m.: I'm eating a crepe with nutella for breakfast this morning. It's from a craft and crepe party we had yesterday hosted by the one and only Ms. Lauren Shields. I'm serious. We made valentines. Take that Fashion Week.
![caseydiary3_2.jpg]()
9 a.m.: Picked up the 4 x 6 foot print I've been working on from Duggal's (these guys are major). It's named after Manet's Olympia (obviously) and for Susan Sontag and Barthes's Camera Lucida. I finished it on the heels of shooting with Inez + Vinoodh [Inez Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin] and working with the exquisite Mr. Galloway. I can't help but think that there's a little bit of them in here as well.
Noon: Band practice with my bandmate Lucas Segall. We are Worker. I'm a classically-trained opera singer and quit when I was younger because they wouldn't let me do recitals in jeans and insisted on dresses....this is a dumb reason to quit anything (at least for me). But, that said, I love singing so much that I went back to it with focus a few months ago. No opera, just some weird, good stuff. It started out as a performance project re-appropriating songs with male vocals: my voice is quite high (I'm technically a mezzo-soprano) so we dug the juxtaposition of the lyrics, the history of the songs and my voice packaged in signifiers you wouldn't expect to indicate a mezzo-soprano. Two hours of awesomeness with Lucas. Kept my mind of off what was up ahead in just a couple of hours...
![caseydiary3_4.jpg]()
6 p.m.: Call time for Michael Bastian. I don't know how else to describe it but through a series of words. The prep is all a bit of a blur: show up, wait, drink some water, try to eat, watch Sebastian [Sauve] eat, sit around, wait, get up to do a walk through, get your hair done (Martial!), sit, wait, get a camera in your face because press is now in the prep room, wait, get your nails done, get up and go do another walk-through, watch the boys read in line, wait, watch everyone look for Sebastian, do the walk-through, sit down, wait, get your make-up done, get five cameras in your face now because more press has shown up, have one of them ask you if you'll take your shirt off (the answer is "no"), smile, sit down, drink more water, get in the line-up, do another walk-through, watch the set get cleared, get dressed, tell another photographer he can't take a picture of you getting undressed, get in the line-up, wait, Michael styles all of us, Martial checks all of us, Michael does another two passes to assure staying is correct, wait.
![Screen shot 2013-02-14 at 12.07.39 PM.png]()
9 p.m.: Then this happens: the line in front of me gets shorter, the guys ahead are walking, the music is blaring, I move forward up the line. Then I'm next. Michael styles me one more time and says, "Give 'em attitude." And so, I serve you: attitude.
![Screen shot 2013-02-14 at 12.07.44 PM.png]()
9:15 p.m.: Then suddenly, clap clap, music ends, hugs hugs all round, room empties out and Paolo, Sebastian and I get in the real line-up: taking our make-up off.
![caseydiary3_6.jpg]()
![casey_diary3_5.jpg]()
Midnight: Then, I go home: Frankie Sharp's Westgay. Darlings and geniuses, DJ Nita and DJ JonJon Battles up on deck, in the exquisite company of my buddy, Jeremy of House of Stank. Everyone is here. Shut the door, let's have a kiki.
Tomorrow 7:30a.m.: Flight to London. Off we go.
7 a.m.: I'm eating a crepe with nutella for breakfast this morning. It's from a craft and crepe party we had yesterday hosted by the one and only Ms. Lauren Shields. I'm serious. We made valentines. Take that Fashion Week.
9 a.m.: Picked up the 4 x 6 foot print I've been working on from Duggal's (these guys are major). It's named after Manet's Olympia (obviously) and for Susan Sontag and Barthes's Camera Lucida. I finished it on the heels of shooting with Inez + Vinoodh [Inez Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin] and working with the exquisite Mr. Galloway. I can't help but think that there's a little bit of them in here as well. Noon: Band practice with my bandmate Lucas Segall. We are Worker. I'm a classically-trained opera singer and quit when I was younger because they wouldn't let me do recitals in jeans and insisted on dresses....this is a dumb reason to quit anything (at least for me). But, that said, I love singing so much that I went back to it with focus a few months ago. No opera, just some weird, good stuff. It started out as a performance project re-appropriating songs with male vocals: my voice is quite high (I'm technically a mezzo-soprano) so we dug the juxtaposition of the lyrics, the history of the songs and my voice packaged in signifiers you wouldn't expect to indicate a mezzo-soprano. Two hours of awesomeness with Lucas. Kept my mind of off what was up ahead in just a couple of hours...
6 p.m.: Call time for Michael Bastian. I don't know how else to describe it but through a series of words. The prep is all a bit of a blur: show up, wait, drink some water, try to eat, watch Sebastian [Sauve] eat, sit around, wait, get up to do a walk through, get your hair done (Martial!), sit, wait, get a camera in your face because press is now in the prep room, wait, get your nails done, get up and go do another walk-through, watch the boys read in line, wait, watch everyone look for Sebastian, do the walk-through, sit down, wait, get your make-up done, get five cameras in your face now because more press has shown up, have one of them ask you if you'll take your shirt off (the answer is "no"), smile, sit down, drink more water, get in the line-up, do another walk-through, watch the set get cleared, get dressed, tell another photographer he can't take a picture of you getting undressed, get in the line-up, wait, Michael styles all of us, Martial checks all of us, Michael does another two passes to assure staying is correct, wait.
9 p.m.: Then this happens: the line in front of me gets shorter, the guys ahead are walking, the music is blaring, I move forward up the line. Then I'm next. Michael styles me one more time and says, "Give 'em attitude." And so, I serve you: attitude. 
9:15 p.m.: Then suddenly, clap clap, music ends, hugs hugs all round, room empties out and Paolo, Sebastian and I get in the real line-up: taking our make-up off. 
Midnight: Then, I go home: Frankie Sharp's Westgay. Darlings and geniuses, DJ Nita and DJ JonJon Battles up on deck, in the exquisite company of my buddy, Jeremy of House of Stank. Everyone is here. Shut the door, let's have a kiki.Tomorrow 7:30a.m.: Flight to London. Off we go.