Models Of The World Photo Gallery

Abiah Hostvedt, 23, of Montego Bay, Jamaica, has makeup applied backstage before the Tim Coppens Spring 2015 collection show Sunday, Sept. 7, 2014, during Fashion Week in New York. A transplant from Jamaica to New York, Hostvedt, was scouted in Lower Manhattan’s TriBeCa neighborhood at age 17. Having modeled in Paris, London and Milan, Hostvedt

Abiah Hostvedt, 23, of Montego Bay, Jamaica, has makeup applied backstage before the Tim Coppens Spring 2015 collection show Sunday, Sept. 7, 2014, during Fashion Week in New York. A transplant from Jamaica to New York, Hostvedt, was scouted in Lower Manhattan’s TriBeCa neighborhood at age 17. Having modeled in Paris, London and Milan, Hostvedt says he likes to “use fashion as an excuse to see the world.” Estimating that he is on the road four to five months a year, Hostvedt says that he gets homesick “all the time,” but that using video chat to stay in touch with family, including his daughter, really helps. Hostvedt says people are the greatest part of his job. “A lot of people like to talk about how the fashion industry is, y’know, everybody is a little bit fake. But I love the people,” he says. “It is what you make it. If it’s fake to you then chances are you’re just treating it like it’s some sort of game, and it’s, y’know, la-la land. But it’s not, it’s real people.” Although Hostvedt eventually wants to move into acting, he can’t see himself giving up modeling. “I think I’m always gonna model, until the day I die.” (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow)