Purdue high jumper spends free time on runways in London

By Nicole Arias
Staff Writer

She never imagined that a trip to the market would lead to a modeling job for Vidal Sassoon. But that is exactly what happened.

Carrie Long, a Purdue student interning in London over the summer, was walking through Camden market in London eating pastries with a friend when a man approached her and said, "I like your look."

The man explained that he was looking for models for a Vidal Sassoon show.

"Oh baby, you got to do this," he said, handing her his card. "Call this number if you’re interested."

Two days earlier, Long was running late and in a hurry to get to the tube, the London subway, when a woman behind her started yelling, "Excuse me."

Thinking that this woman only wanted money, Long, a junior in the School of Liberal Arts, began walking at a faster pace.

The same voice and words, "excuse me" followed her around the corner and down the next street until a hand grabbed Long’s arm, stopping her as she entered the tube station.

Acting as if she didn’t notice that someone was calling after her, Long said, "Oh, yeah?"

Long was surprised when the woman explained that she was a student at St. Martin’s College of Art and Design (a top designer college in London) and was looking for people to model her clothes in a fashion show.

At first, Long was suspicious of these offers. But when she found out both were legitimate, she decided to model for the two fashion shows.

Long, who wants to be an actress, thought modeling would be a good experience for her future career goals.

"How hard can it be?" Long said she thought. "You just walk around and look cute."

Later, she found that modeling isn’t always simple or glamorous.

Long said her head hurt after stylists ratted her hair at the college fashion show on June 8. In addition, the 4-inch high-heel shoes she wore were two sizes too small and one sleeve of her dress was so tight that her arm became numb.

Long said walking on runways is one of the scariest things she has ever done. "Everything seemed to be in slow motion and my legs couldn’t stop shaking," she said.

Long, who is a high jumper on the Purdue women’s track team, said she got herself "hyped up" to walk down the runway the same way she does before a track meet — she jumps up and down and talks to people.

Besides helping Long prepare for her runway walks, track has had an impact on Long in other ways.

"I am stronger because of track, both physically and mentally," Long said. "Now, when I’m faced with a challenge, I don’t back down from it. You can’t be afraid. Otherwise, you’ll never know what you can do."

After the college fashion show, Long’s next challenge was the Vidal Sassoon show.

She said the Vidal Sassoon stylist spent about six hours cutting her hair, and an additional six hours highlighting and styling her hair over a span of three days.

Long said the stylist stared at her head for minutes at a time and would then just snip a little piece.

"It looked like a lop-sided mullet," she said, describing her completed hairstyle. "I felt stupid and miserable. I almost cried."

Some of Long’s friends didn’t help.

"She wore scarves around her head a lot," said Marie Nagel, one of Long's friends and a senior in the School of Liberal Arts.

Sarah McKinney, another friend, often teased Long by telling her a piece of hair was sticking out from under her scarf.

"She hated it, but we loved making fun of it," said McKinney, a senior in the School of Liberal Arts.

After a few days, Long stopped trying to hide her hair. She thought, "Oh well, anything goes in London."

After a week with her new hairstyle, Long modeled in the Vidal Sassoon show July 9 in front of an audience of about 400 people.

Long has done work similar to modeling before, such as working in television commercials and doing promotional work for Formula One (an international car race) in Indianapolis.

Although she received little payment for her modeling this summer, Long gained experience, two more items to put on her resume and more modeling pictures to add to her portfolio. In addition, she kept some souvenirs, the fishnet stockings and black bow tie she wore and a lock of hair cut from when Long evened out her haircut after the Vidal Sassoon show.

Long said modeling in England has opened many doors for her.

"Before they were open a crack," she said. "Now they’re gaping."

One opportunity Long has is an interview for a modeling job in Japan for the summer, but despite this, she says she still doesn’t consider herself a model.

"I know it sounds corny," she said. "But I just consider myself blessed and lucky."

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