PAUL WHARTON, WDC’S OWN FULL TIME FASHION CELEBRITY
It’s 3pm on a fashionable Tuesday in the District. Armed with Ruby Woo lipstick, metallic 4-inch steel gray boots a la Wild Women Wear Red and a hot pink Olympus digital recorder, we approach the door of Paul Wharton’s Capitol Hill loft. Within minutes we are ushered into an urbane, spacious studio where we are treated to champagne and freshly popped corn.
Enter Paul Wharton: Paul Wharton is the popular modeling and style coach from MTV’s hit model series MADE and VH1s hot new series The Agency. In November 2007, Washington Life magazine named him one of Washington, DC’s most fashionable celebrities. Paul has been training models in DC ever since he was 12 years old!
Mariessa (M): How did you break into the Fashion/Style Arena?
Paul Wharton (PW): My mother was a model. When I was a kid, I started to model for New Model Agency owned by Cynthia Wilson located in Crystal City, Virginia. I went on a lot of castings and I did well. When I was about 12 years old though, I decided that I needed to make more money so I could purchase a jaguar when I got a little older. I decided to offer workshops for other kids who wanted to model. We [my mom and I] put an ad in the Washington Post; added a business line in the house and hosted seminars for kids who wanted to model. I made up a three-fold brochure. My workshop cost $99 dollars for unlimited sessions. I worked all through my teenage years from aged 12 to 18. When I was 18 I moved to New York City.
M: What happened when you arrived in New York City (NYC)?
PW: My intent at first was to move to NYC to attend New York University (NYU). My uncle owned a great brownstone in Harlem. I spent a year in New York just exploring the city and learning about people. Harlem was a great experience. I loved it. A year later, I was accepted into NYU and got signed to Wilhelmina Models. I started meeting a lot of different people. I met the people at Elite [modeling agency] and Ford [modeling agency]. Soon thereafter, I started training their new models. A couple of years passed and I moved over to the television section of Wilhelmina.
I started booking television commercials then. One particular audition stands out in my mind. It was for a MTV show. I remember it because it was a turning point for me. I went on a casting and there was a long line of 300 people wrapped around the block. It was on 26th Street between 7th and 8th Avenues. I saw the line and I told the cab driver to, “Drive!” We got to the corner and the light turns red and I start thinking, “What have I done in this city, really? Why shouldn’t I have to wait?” So, I got in line.
My mom always thought that I would be on television. She thought I would be doing something notable. I thought so too. Then I got to New York and realized that everyone that had that dream is converging in NYC. In NYC, there are so few opportunities for so many people. This sudden realization makes everyone nervous even desperate. I wasn’t desperate yet, because I had been able to land a few jobs soon after I got to NYC. But, it was an epiphany. This dream was not just mine but it was a dream for a lot of people.
NYC was a great. It was the place where I was able to get the experience and the visibility that I needed in order for people to take me seriously. But, I am glad to be back in Washington.
M: Well, WDC is glad to have you back! Tell me about your television projects.
PW: I was the first model coach on MTV’s highest rated original serious at the time, Made. It was aired in 2003. I produced and co-created the entire show. The show was in 38 countries. From that I moved on to become a makeup expert for Ricki Lake. Then I started doing VHI and E! Then I did Style Court for the Style Network. This year I did The Agency on VHI, which was a show about the inner workings of the modeling industry. It was aired in Europe first.
My new shows include, Top Model Make Over that will be shot in December 2007 and Make Over Manor that will be aired in the spring 2008. I just finished shooting a great new show on TV Land called, She’s Got the Look. I am the model coach and for the competition that will identify the best sophisticated models over 35.
M: You also founded a modeling agency called Evolution Look. What distinguishes your agency from others?
PW: We do informals and a new kind of promotional modeling. Historically, promotional modeling has involved passing out food samples. But, my agency takes a different approach. We typically partner with a boutique or designer who will in turn help us to promote our client’s goods and services at special events. We typically promote restaurant launches, clothing lines, store openings, new products, etc.
M: Do you think it is difficult to run a fashion business in Washington, DC?
PW: Actually running a fashion business in DC is difficult. In this town, people are not used to paying others for fashion, beauty or lifestyle advice. They say, “Let’s just pull together and do this thing.” But no one gets paid. In an effort to keep my business running and to keep myself running (which can be a job all its own), I have to be mindful of where the income stream is coming from. I am constantly reminding other people trying to create fashion initiatives in DC that fashion takes money. If you are saying that DC is a place where we can create a great fashion community, we have to keep that cycle going around. Otherwise, the message that we are sending is that fashion in the city is a “hobby.” I think everyone should be paid for what they do. I am hoping that the Fashion Commission will help.
M: Thank you for speaking with us today, Paul!
PW: Thank you!
ARE YOU MODELESQUE? CHECK OUT PAUL WHARTON’S BRAND NEW MODELING WEBSITE LAUNCHED IN DECEMBER 2007. www.evolutionlook.com
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