Baton Rougeans last saw her rocking a belly-baring alligator-skin suit designed by hairstylist and artist Rigsby Frederick.
A three-time veteran of 225‘s Avenue Rouge Runway show, Molly Simpson provided a striking climax to last fall’s event when she was the last model to command the catwalk after an evening of stunning styles.
The then-22-year-old flew in for the show, because she had just made the move to New York City to pursue her dream.
A year later, Simpson is an emerging fresh face in Manhattan fashion.
“It’s exhilarating at first,” she says. “Being thrown into all the castings and fittings, you quickly learn the pace of the industry. You also see that who you know can really matter.”
Thankfully, this extreme level of networking and self-promotion taps into Simpson’s strengths. She’s never been shy, but now she is putting her communications degree to good use as she navigates the modeling world.
“I feel like I am expressing myself in more ways than just through fashion and photography,” she says.
Though she missed her chance to model lingerie for Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week last year—she was snowboarding in Montana when she got that call—Simpson has appeared in an Evian ad, sporting workout clothes in frigid temps along the East River, no less. She’s also immersed herself thoroughly in New York culture, working at a local farmers market and modeling for a string of talented and international photographers at the School of Visual Arts.
Her biggest lesson so far? Don’t take rejection to heart.
“Everyone has their own look, so it’s not personal if they don’t choose you,” Simpson says. “It’s just that you don’t have the look they envision.”
Though she’s indulging in her wanderlust for the next year by meeting with agencies in Europe and planning a trek to Hawaii, Simpson is not ruling out a permanent return to Louisiana. “It’s always more fun to come home after you’ve been away.”
