Picture provided by Vikki Lenola
made by Monika Tiedtke Photography
https://www.instagram.com/vikkilenola
Well, let me tell you a secret. 🤫
Today, we’re going to find out as we dive into a special interview with an amazing Fashion Model. 🎇😊
Picture this: you’re sashaying down the world’s most glamorous catwalk, dressed in the latest fashion, and strike a pose that could make even a peacock jealous. 😎
Sounds like a dream, right? Well, that’s the life of a fashion model! Now that you know, we can end the blog post. 😏
No, of course not. What if I told you there’s one fashion model who’s not just about looking fabulous but also about doing fabulous things for our furry, feathery, and scaly friends? 💪😃
That’s right! We’re talking about the one and only Vikki Lenola, an authentic hero in the world of fashion and animal rights! 🦁👗🐾
Now, you might be wondering, “What’s so interesting about fashion and animal rights?” Well, my dear readers, you’re in for a treat today. 🍬😁
Hey there, get your hands off the screen this instance. There is no way you can have a sugary treat! It’s not in my blog plan, and I don’t want to be the “cavity culprit.” 😨💉
Imagine if you got hooked on those treats and kept coming back for more. 😬
Hmm, maybe it's not the worst idea, ‘cause that means more peeps reading my blog! Hey you there. Yes, you there, on the other side of the screen. Don’t you dare tell anyone I said that. 😈
Oops, I got distracted again. Let’s pretend this minor detour didn’t happen and get back to talking about those fabulous fashion models. 💃 😄
Vikki Lenola isn’t your average runway superstar. She’s like the superhero of the fashion world, and she’s on a mission to make the world a better place for our animal buddies. 🐾 😍
So, get ready to enjoy, learn, and leap into the world of fashion, animal rights, and all-around awesomeness as we dive into our interview. It’s going to be a runway of fun and animal love, and you’re all invited to join the party! 🎉✨
Picture provided by Vikki Lenola
Vikki Lenola
I’m on Instagram (193,000 followers), Facebook (583,000 followers), Threads (5,000 followers) and LinkedIn (I use this for business).
In reality, there aren't many people working full time as a model in the fashion industry, and when they are the pay is either not good or not consistent or both. Plus, it is short-lived, even when you’re 5’10” like me.
While I have a lot of modelling experience under my belt and I’m sure I could continue on as a model only, I’m happy to use my network that has snowballed over the years to work on other things.
These days I’m focusing more on my public relations agency Lenola PR, my charity fashion event, and activism. I still model but it is not my main focus.
When I was a kid, I would watch a local show in the Toronto area about fashion. There was a woman on there who attended all the major fashion events and reported on them for the show. I found this fascinating and enjoyed seeing the different looks on the runway.
I probably could have done well as a teenager since I was tall from a young age, but life didn’t become stable for me until I was much older. In my early twenties I did some car show modelling.
Then I got into sewing and started a bridal accessories business. Mostly all sorts of veils, but also other headpieces and bridal belts. My brand was the exclusive supplier for a bridal boutique in Cambridge, ON. I helped out with bridal gown alterations too. Plus, I was able to do custom dress pattern drafting based on just being provided with the bride’s measurements. This was back in 2014 when I finally got Facebook.
Soon after, a woman who runs a fashion week basically made friends with me (probably in hopes to recruit me as a designer, lol) and I checked out their fashion week. When I was backstage, I kept getting mistaken for a model and I ended up walking for one of the designers.
I got caught up with the glitz and glam once again and it went on from there! I’m still very good friends with that woman and her husband and they actually help out at my own fashion event now.
It depends on what you consider time towards modelling. If you count time on Instagram, too much! Lol. This time is needed though to build/ maintain/ grow your personal brand. I used to spend hours a day building my social media and searching for jobs.
Other times I am travelling a lot between different cities. If you’re willing to do that you can have more work. Photo shoots can take 2-4 hours, runway shows are typically all-day events. Though these are not every day. It can also vary from month to month.
Picture provided by Vikki Lenola
multi way dress by Diane Kroe
plastic-fee vegan luxury handbag by Lost Woods
Fashion is a tool for communication and is a big part of culture. It’s also important to take notice of fashion because of the hugely negative impact it has on the environment.
I am especially concerned about the unnecessary exploitation of animals in the fashion industry in this day and age. Billions of sentient animals are suffering immensely and killed every year because of it.
It is hidden from society, which is deceiving to consumers who would never support it if they knew what was really happening.
There is no magic button, that’s for sure! The key to all of my success has been consistency and dedication. As a model I have walked for dozens of designers, including A-list celebrity designers like Rocky Gathercole (who has sadly passed since).
There are countless features of me in many of the world’s biggest real magazines, news sites, and tabloids, from Forbes, to Playboy, to Elle magazine. I’ve also been a model on several fashion brand websites.
The things I am most proud of are related to my animal rights activism. I have done countless acts of activism as it’s what I want to dedicate my life to (saving the animals from suffering on a mass scale).
I can mention a couple related to the fashion industry. One would be how I was the organizer for the PETA campaign against Canada Goose using fur in the Toronto area a few years back.
Besides organizing, I also was in the new for being body painted like a coyote, wearing only underwear in the Canadian winter. Sometimes I did this after skipping sleep because I was also in school, and I don’t actually live in Toronto so it took me a while to get there, especially in the winter. I would be naked in freezing temperatures, sometimes while answering media questions on busy noisy streets, or while leading chants on the megaphone.
My efforts were just a small part of worldwide collective actions from caring people and organizations. I was so excited the day that Canada Goose finally announced they would ban fur. The last few years has been a domino effect of major fashion companies and brands banning fur. Even some cities and countries ban either the sale of fur or fur farming.
Another part of my activism related to fashion is being the Producer/ Director of The Vegan Fashion Show. It’s a charitable and educational nonprofit. All proceeds go to Animal Justice, the organization leading the legal fight for animal protection in Canada.
We have educational elements all throughout, including the model casting which is an event on its own. In only a few days of the model casting being out, we’ve had hundreds of applicants. The first 10-15 minutes is an educational presentation. The models get a chance to appear on top tier fashion magazines.
The event also has lots of fun elements like a game, prizes, a holiday marketplace, and live entertainment. I work on The Vegan Fashion Show year-round on a voluntary basis and also sponsor the public relations with my PR agency, Lenola PR.
I am also fortunate enough to be an assistant producer of the fashion documentary SLAY. It is a film by Rebecca Capelli about animals used in the fashion industry.
She visited countries around the world to get a holistic picture of what’s going on. It’s not graphic. I highly recommend anyone interested in the fashion industry to watch it so you can be informed. It’s available to watch for free on Waterbear Network.
I have just started thinking about changing the name of The Vegan Fashion Show to Next Gen Fashion Week. This is because I am a textile geek, and I really want to point out the innovative materials that can become solutions to the problems we see in fashion today.
I also may be co-founding another nonprofit soon. A major nonprofit in the vegan movement recently recruited me to go to Germany multiple times this year to help with nonprofit strategies for early startups.
I will definitely stay involved in the fashion scene. Even with my PR agency, I am excited to get the word out about vegan fashion brands. Or other types of vegan brands. Or models, creatives, and entrepreneur types. My clients are already remarkable and it’s an honor to serve them and share their stories with the world.
Is the name of the Brand important to you when you model clothing?
Sort of. I don’t want to be associated with brands that don’t align with my ethos.
Sometimes I can be bold, sometimes I just want to blend in. It depends on the occasion. I wear many hats… and therefore wear various types of clothing.
Picture provided by Vikki Lenola
I don’t think I have a strong personal style per se, as I change it up as mentioned above. I do think my long amber colored hair is very me though. My bf once told me that the color of the autumn leaves reminded him of my hair. I thought that was so sweet, lol.
I like to do strong poses and looks for pictures. I think sometimes when people only know me on social media the meet me in real life, they’re expecting me to have this larger-than-life, charismatic personality. I’m actually rather down to Earth.
Side note story…. Last year I was at a vegan handbag launch party and I was having pictures taken with an animal lawyer who I really admire. I mean, people like this are heroes to me (and the animals).
She was much shorter than I thought she was going to be. I randomly stared at her and blurted this out to her (I have no filter - I wear my heart on my sleeves).
When I realized that came across as rude, for some reason thought I could patch things up by adding it’s because she’s such a strong speaker in the media, that’s why I was surprised she was so short… Yikes.
Well anyway, I have the opposite problem when people meet me! I am not shy but I am certainly not hugely outgoing like people expect from me.
Yes, and everybody active on social media does! I think people underestimate the impact they have on societal norms. I would really like to encourage everyone to be a responsible influencer.
Please use your platform to pass on ethical, sustainable, and compassionate messages about fashion and lifestyle interests. Be the change you wish to see.
I am more into long-term trend forecasting regarding what’s meaningful in culture. For example, as Forbes magazine pointed out, about my fashion event:
“ The Future Innovations 2024 report by consumer trend forecaster - WGSN - identified 12 key areas of innovation.
The Vegan Fashion Show has aimed to be prevalent in several, including: “Living With Intent: as people reorient their lives to focus on the areas and connections that count, they will seek more intentional products and experiences,” and “Multi-Species Thinking: a more-than-human design approach that considers the needs and rights of all of nature – including humans, animals and plants – will gain traction.”
I think that baggy, over-sized clothing is in right now and I am not a fan. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes I like to wear casual clothing. Especially if I’m just at home or need to go to do errands quickly. But the over-sized blazers that make me look boxy… no thanks.
At the model casting for The Vegan Fashion Show this year, one thing we are going to talk about is transparency. Models will be shown what transparency looks like, based on ethical vegan brands who clearly show videos and image of them with the people who make their clothes, and reveal the entire process including how the textiles are made.
These brands also show evidence of the statements they make about sustainability. In contrast, they’ll be shown what green-washing looks like when fur and other animal material specialty designers say that their products are sustainable and ethical, and that the animals are treated well – without any evidence to back up their claims. The brands’ names will be blocked for privacy.
This is how the idea for this topic came about. A few weeks ago I received a DM from a designer who specializes in animal products; all sorts of furs and skins from fox fur to lamb to alpaca and more. She asked me to walk for her at another large fashion event in the area.
Unsurprisingly, she didn’t do her research and didn’t notice that my Instagram bio clearly states that I am an animal rights activist and Producer/ Director of The Vegan Fashion Show.
I sent her a video of animals being skinned alive for fur. Later I received the email that she sends to all models she selected, and it was littered with false claims about being sustainable and ethical.
The name of her collection even reflects this. She also says it’s a reflection of femininity. I was appalled to discover her website making these false claims and more on her website. It even says that her customers can feel good wearing the animals knowing that it’s ethical, that she works with the suppliers closely and makes sure the animals are treated humanely.
Of course, there’s no evidence of that. She also says that she takes measures to reduce her GHG emissions in the production process – but if that was the case, she wouldn’t be selling leather since that’s one of the worst textiles by far for GHG emissions, among many other problems like being toxic. Later she emailed me to ask me to confirm if I am joining her.
Green-washing like this designer is doing is very relevant right now; the EU recently banned green-washing.
The point here is to watch and pay close attention to what brands do, not just what they say. Truly ethical, sustainable, and compassionate brands don’t just talk the talk - they walk the walk.
Picture provided by Vikki Lenola
Big thanks to Vicky for being awesome and answering my questions so detailed in this interview. You rock for being a superhero for animals' rights! 😍
Hey, when you've got a little free time, hop on over and check out the fancy fashion models I chatted with in their cool clothes on this here page!
https://seadbeady.blogspot.com/p/fashion-model-interview.html
Hope you like my blog.....Until next time.....Have a nice day
Renata (Seadbeady)
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