Walking the talk

MANILA, Philippines - Sarah Meier gives a shot at role modeling for hot newbie Pauline Prieto. There were no catwalk catfights. Models Sarah Meier and Pauline Prieto exceeded our expectations. We did a little social experiment by putting our favorite models in one makeup room — without introducing them. But as soon as we broke the silence and the ladies shared a hug, they were unstoppable. We were in a daze!

YOUNG STAR: So, how does it feel meeting each other for the first time?

SARAH MEIER: Oh, it’s awkward, ‘cause there’s like 25 people watching and you guys are taking pictures. It wasn’t the most organic introduction. (Laughs)

We will make it organic!

PAULINE PRIETO: Dude, it’s awkward. There’s no other way around it. I could tell ‘cause I was just waiting for someone to introduce us.

You’ve surely heard about each other through work.

PRIETO: Yes, of course, at Fashion Week!

MEIER: I think anybody who wants to call herself a model needs to come through Fashion Week. Even if you’re not walking, I think you need be in the audience. It’s the most internationally recognized fashion platform there is. Working on the sidelines, that’s where I see most of the young blood.

There are a number of interesting new talents out there.

Sweet contrast: Sarah and Pauline are like peanut butter and jelly.

MEIER: I mean it’s hit or mess. I can’t generalize, really. I was talking to Robby Carmona about it or I think I tweeted it or something. The new breed — the ones that are really trained properly — can take the country to the next level. Like (Filipina models) Chat (Almarvez) and Charo (Ronquillo) who are working in New York... That’s sort of a testament to what we’re capable of.

PRIETO: I’m planning to go to Bangkok. I’m intending to go abroad.

Was there a void that needed to be filled in the first place?

MEIER: Like I was telling you earlier, (when) you read about models, there’s a lot of times when the journalist (writes about) “the ugly duckling turning into a swan.” And every time they write, there’s so much truth to it. A lot of the times, girls go through that phase and the modeling — conscious or not — becomes a compensation; to compensate (for whatever it is she has to go through) for being awkward.

PRIETO: We’re not even gonna get into to it because it’s kind of traumatizing. I never thought of it as compensation, though. Maybe it’s karma in a sense. I mean, I wanted to model even when I was smaller, but I only got into modeling because Liz Uy found me. She just said, “You should get her for an editorial (in Preview).” It’s kind of accidental — me falling in love with it. In a way, I wouldn’t have said yes if I didn’t want to. As I’ve said, I always thought I was ugly as sh*t.

But look at you now. It’s kind of different with Sarah because she grew up with a mom who’s a model.

MEIER: I really didn’t think anything of it. That was normal to me: having gay guys around, making jewelry and speaking gay lingo. I thought it was part of the language, I thought it was part of Tagalog. It was all very normal. And I think that the desire to become a model would always go deep into the knowledge that it could turn into something else. And when I really started to thinking about being a model, I was already at Cal-Carries. When I seriously sat with Joey Espino, my mentor, he asked me, “What do you really want?” I said, “I want to be an MTV VJ.” He goes like, “Listen to me. I will get you there.” So, I had to do all the high fashion stuff. I didn’t see it, like nothing correlates to me. Lo and behold, seven months later, I got call and I got on the show.

Real models: This convo gets pretty real

PRIETO: So, I could be a VJ?

MEIER: You could be anything you want.

PRIETO: In school, people kind of look at me badly. (Through modeling,) I hang out with people who get me. In a normal Filipino life, people could ostracize you. I mean, it’s my life.

There’s a line between role model and model.

PRIETO: I’m not trying to be a role model. Right now, I just want to walk the catwalk in Paris and Milan. I want to see the world.

Did you go through the same phase?

MEIER: I’m getting flashbacks. And I can see magazines and articles where I feel like I have said something along the same line. It’s bizarre. At that moment, it’s so real. But truth changes. No matter the perspective, after you go through experiences, you reassess and move on to the next one.

What would you have to say to the 18 year olds out there?

MEIER: You got to live it. You have to live it. I mean there’s no other way... My only advice is not necessarily to follow my advice. Just go and read back on it when you need it. You have to make them make your way. I guess all I have to say is to know your truth and breathe and trust (yourself). Throughout my career, I kind of thought that my friends and I were the center of the universe; and that kicked me in the ass later. I think that the earlier I could have known that modeling is a little bubble — it breeds monsters — I think I would have been much better off in the offset.

Mannequin å mannequin: Face-off — Vogue-off

PRIETO: I agree. I know a couple of people. I’ve met people in the industry and on the first time I’ve met them, they were such asses to me. And after I’ve got my entry into society, they say “hi” to me and tell everyone that we’re so close. In a way, to keep their careers going, they have to ride on someone else’s. Not that I’m famous or anything. They’re all like, “We should have dinner!” And I’m like “Since when did we have dinner?” It kind of makes you see a real person ‘cause you saw how they were to you before.

How did you handle that?

MEIER: The scene that’s resonating for me right now: after first hearing that I made it to MTV, running to a photographer’s house and hugging his dog, I just kept saying, “I don’t want to be one of them. I don’t want to be one of them,” He was like, “What do you mean, ‘one of them’?” “You know, people that air-kiss and are mean and don’t have real conversations.” He says, “The fact that you’re saying that right now, you’re going to be okay.” And I wasn’t. I felt that I wasn’t. I became that person. I hung out with people for the wrong reasons — without knowing it. At that time, I was thinking that these are my real friends. So, the pendulum really hit me after I got pregnant, moved to New York, gained all that weight, and then came back. And everything was just black and white. Everything was just clearly divided. And then I realized whom I had cast aside during my rock star days and whom I had forgotten. I was like, “Okay, God, go ahead.” I was getting kicked in the ass.

PRIETO: Who were you then?

Boogie wunderkind: No posey-posey here. Silk blouse from Warehouse, pants from Topshop, platforms from Schu, necklace is stylist’s own (on Sarah Meier); shades, scarf, earrings and dress from Mango on Pauline Prieto.

MEIER: I was the chick in the club with two drinks in the hand — with a champagne bottle. And that was it. It was no sleep, proud of being getting drunk and getting out of the plane, and the next morning, go straight to the shoot. All that stuff. That was life for me. I was in so and so country two hours ago and then they’re flying me back for a cover shoot in Manila, and then we have Fashion Week in Singapore. That was a big deal. I would drop lines like that everywhere I went. And then, I could hear myself saying, “I mean, come on, you can’t fill empty with empty ‘cause it doesn’t lead to anything.” I think at that point, I was grabbing on to whatever I could. And at the end of the day, I was like, “Sh*t! I’ve been to a lot of places. I’ve got a lot of money.” When you’re as concerned as you are, the internal gets so neglected.

PRIETO: So, you realized that when you became a mom?

MEIER: I mean, everybody goes through a different cycle. The analogy is the pendulum and I think that you need to hit both the extremes. You have to embrace the flow of things. If you let it flow, you eventually find your middle ground. If you have guidance, don’t ever take that out.