Model Erin O’Connor on Her Return to the Marc Jacobs Runway—and the Call That Started It All

If the Marc Jacobs show each season is as much sublime spectacle as runway presentation, it also holds true that the casting has an equally theatrical bent, with a lineup of models carefully chosen to give life to the designer’s famously exacting vision. Backstage today at the cavernous Park Avenue Armory, it was a sea of impossibly lithe necks and intriguing faces, which called to mind—with their wine-color lips, angular wartime brows, and doll-like topknots—a Pina Bausch piece, a Weimar cabaret, or, perhaps, a twisted take on New York high society. “Marc really wanted those elegant swans from the fifties and sixties: Babe Paley, Marella Agnelli, all those fabulous socialites,” explained makeup artist François Nars. “He really tried to get women with character and to bring out that character as much as possible.” To that end, there were fresh, intriguing newcomers—like Cierra Skye, a doll-faced seventeen-year-old who made her runway debut earlier this week—as well as industry favorites like Erin O’Connor, who began working with Marc Jacobs in the nineties. For the London-based model, just off maternity leave, it’s been a homecoming of sorts, both to the world of Marc Jacobs and to the city of New York, which she called home early in her career. Here, the show opener speaks to Vogue.com about the designer’s steel-trap memory, her tough-love workouts post-baby, and the thrill of being back in the thick of it.

It’s great to see you backstage! How long has it been since you’ve been in touch with Marc?

It’s got to have been a decade. Last week I was pushing a pram, and this week, I’m walking the Marc Jacobs runway! I’m absolutely just going to embrace the experience.

Were you expecting a call?

No. Albert [her young son] was going to play school. It was, “Can you be on a plane to New York?” That’s the thing about Marc. He’s very loyal, and he has a photographic memory. He sort of honors the women he loves, so he always remembers the girls. If he thinks you’re an appropriate fit for a collection and he’s inspired by you, it doesn’t matter where you are, he’s going to find you and hunt you down.

What brought you and Marc together two decades ago?

In the era I worked in, [designers] were all about individuality and promoting as much as they could the idea of personality. That’s what Marc is. He really is very bold about his belief, and he doesn’t compromise—because we all know he’s not a follower, he’s an instigator. He loves a bit of attitude in a woman, and he loves the spirit of women from bygone eras, which, of course, is what [today’s show] is all about.

You look great—any beauty secrets?

I live my life, I have a nice time, but I’m all about the repair. So it’s preservation. You know, I love a glass of wine, but do then top off with two to three liters of water every day. Nothing fancy. I like Weleda Skin Food moisturizer. It’s great, organic, clean. I could use it when I was pregnant. I literally came off maternity leave in the New Year. It’s my first runway post-giving birth.

Was it an easy transition back to modeling from giving birth?

Well, I wouldn’t say that. I think I’ve worked really hard, and, of course, Albert comes first; things like nursing, you can’t rush that. I wanted to be fighting fit and strong, and that’s a process, too. I train with a really lovely woman in London. She has a sense of humor, which is great, but then she’s also tough. That’s why we’re together! It’s cardio for health and fitness, strength for physique, and it also just really helps me out mentally. It’s a great way to exhale the stresses of the day.

What do you make of the look today, and how do you see yourself fitting into it?

With Marc, it’s about characters. He’s celebrating the modern, strong women of today. That’s a nice one to stride out to, and I just realized I’m number one! You end up setting the pace [in the show], which is quite something.

It’s a bit of a homecoming for you—to the runway, to the designer, to New York.

It feels surreal in the best possible way. I think 20 years in, you’re very conscious of what you’re doing. You know everybody, and in a sense they know you, so it is a completely different experience. It is a real reunion. That’s what it feels like. It’s a lovely place to be.

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