One of my challenges around modeling has been admitting to myself that it’s even something I want to do. Fashion and modeling can seem frivolous, shallow, and vain — and I didn’t want to be thought of as any of those things. That fear held me back.
However to anybody who says that clothing doesn’t matter, I want to ask you how you felt during the pandemic wearing pajamas for days on end and not getting dressed. The right outfit can make you feel like a great white shark ready to take on the open ocean. Whereas those sweatpants made me feel like a sea slug on the underside of a slimy barnacle.
To me this is why fashion is so important as a medium — it is where visual art and practicality intersect. It is a form of creative expression that everybody has access to everyday when they choose the clothes they put on their body.
Models get to work at that intersection bringing styles, designs, and garments to life for a designer or brand. Then they get to act as a medium to present them to the world. This is why modeling energizes and excites me.
—xoxo Maren
(written July 2022)
Why modeling & fashion matter to me.
All my life…
I’ve been a creative person. It started with the days of playing make believe and doing art-and-crafts as a kid. Other kids grew out of that phase. For me it evolved into dance & acting classes as an adolescent. I learned to sew first for my dolls and then later to create projects for myself.
I grew up an hour and a half outside of New York City, and that exposure feeds your ability to dream of becoming a performer, designer or an artist.
Somewhere along the way I slowly absorbed the message: going into an artistic field or the entertainment industry is too risky.
So I did the “responsible” thing and tried to stuff down my artistic side, took advanced placement classes in high school, graduated valedictorian of my high school, and went on to finish a Bachelor of Science in Nutritional Sciences from the University of Connecticut.
I hoped that if I just ignored that part of me, it would just go away overtime.
Wearing a top that I designed & sewed in 2020 with my sewing machine and half finished projects in the background.
I needed some new inspiration.
In July 2021 I decided to hit the road with my job. I moved out of my apartment in Santa Fe, NM in search of new inspiration. I went on to spend the next 16 weeks exploring Colorado, Utah, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, California, and Arizona.
While a lot of things are still up in the air, one thing is clear to me now: It’s time to stop ignoring my childhood dream to act & model in the entertainment industry.
—XOXO Maren
(written November 2021)
Me, age 10, wearing my favorite ballet costume around the house.
Turns out it doesn’t work that way.
Instead I always had artistic side projects going. I took up thrifting and started selling clothes alongside my handmade costumes on Etsy and Poshmark in college. I started a second Instagram account to share my creative endeavors. I learned how to do hair and makeup. I made YouTube videos along the way to combine my love for the performing arts with my love for visual arts & diy projects and beauty.
When I got laid off from my job in 2020, I took advantage of the extra time at home & spare sewing machine to create many of the denim projects you see me modeling in the “Photos” section. I kept wondering when I’d run out of ideas, but instead the more I created, the more alive I felt, and the more ideas came.
Eventually I got a new job in nutrition. The work was all remote and online. While I was grateful for the work during such difficult time in the world, I was drained after a year of spending most of my days staring at the computer.
Visiting Colorado National Monument in August 2021 as part of my road trip.