Leona Walton or “Binx” Walton (as nicknamed by her brothers after the Star Wars character Jar Jar Binks) made her way to the modelling world when she appeared in the Celine spring-summer 2014 ad campaign with Daria Werbowy. Since then, she casted on different campaigns with Balmain, Coach and Chanel and other fashion week shows for different seasons. Her bestfriend and roommate, Lexi Boling, is also the one who helped her adapt the cool devil-may-care style she has now. Read below on Vogue’s interview with Walton over email where she talked about how she entered the industry and how she relaxes herself away from it.
Interview courtesy of: Vogue.com
What was your initial reaction when you were first discovered? “Nahhhhhh. Go talk to my sister.”
What did you want to be when you were growing up? “I wanted to work with animals when I was smaller and then I got really into soccer and was trying to play in college if not go pro.”
What was your relationship with fashion like before you started modelling? “Non-existent really. My sister was into it so we watched the Victoria’s Secret show and my mom named one of our cats Iman after the model… Oh, and The Tyra [Banks] Show haha.”
Did you have any misconceptions about modelling that have been demystified since becoming a model yourself? “That it’s easy…”
Who inspires you in the fashion industry? “There are too many to say but I’m a big fan of Glen Luchford, Phoebe Philo, and Jane How. I just really think what they are doing with the industry really stands for something interesting and new. Every time I see their work I’m impressed, not just because it looks amazing but it’s something that hasn’t really been done before.”
Are there any models who have mentored you or given you career advice? “No. Most older models are too caught up with themselves to care if you aren’t already big. But Cat McNeil I’ve known since my first season and she was always there to help.”
What made you say yes to designing shoes for Superga? “I wanted to explore different aspects of the industry, I was really getting into the idea of directing and Superga was willing to let me work on the video for my collab campaign so I was stoked. Also it’s a challenge and I wanted to see if I sucked or not.”
What did you learn and what did you find challenging through the creative process? “Everything, honestly. Working with any company there’s a lot of give and take and coming to a mutual understanding is sometimes difficult. [The] design process and campaign process were equally challenging.”
How many pairs of sneakers do you own? How many shoes in total do you own? “Uhhhhhhh… I just packed cause I’m moving but not sure exactly. I’m sure 30 or 40 but I think some are really old and some are soccer shoes.”
Your roommate is Lexi Boling and together you have been called fashion’s resident cool kids. What’s it like living together? What do you do together outside of modelling? “Haha it’s chill. Luckily Lexi is mad chill and we get along through long periods of time which makes it easy to live together. We also enjoy doing most of the same things and share the same love and hate relationship with modelling. We usually just chill, go to Cats, go swim. Random things.”
You are photographed a lot during fashion week. How do you decide what to wear in the morning? “Ha. Usually it’s mad rushed and limited as a one-month-old suitcase after four cities isn’t the cleanest so … Honestly [it] doesn’t take that long.”
How do you recover after fashion month? “Usually go somewhere for a couple days, Amsterdam or somewhere with a beach but I just chill and sleep.”
What do you do for exercise? “Uhhhhhh. Sometimes I go to the gym. Lol I honestly need to go more often, not cause [of] my body but I just feel better after.”
What is your philosophy towards food and wellness? “Healthy mind leads to a healthy body.”
Where do you see yourself in 10 years? “I don’t want to jinx it!”
