Tonight is my 7th Met Gala! I’m so excited! I’ve had so many amazing Met memories in the past: going with Jean Paul Gaultier at 17 years old, going with my husband, James, wearing Zac Posen’s epic “cloud dress” and last year wearing vintage Givenchy previously owned by Elizabeth Taylor. Can’t wait for tonight!!

Tonight is my 7th Met Gala! I’m so excited! I’ve had so many amazing Met memories in the past: going with Jean Paul Gaultier at 17 years old, going with my husband, James, wearing Zac Posen’s epic “cloud dress” and last year wearing vintage Givenchy previously owned by Elizabeth Taylor. Can’t wait for tonight!!

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WHY I INSTAGRAM - By Coco Rocha for Vogue Around 2006 I began noticing the photographers waiting outside runway shows were beginning to outnumber those actually working inside. They were shooting our “model-off-duty” looks and plastering them all over the Internet, where they garnered as much interest and discussion as the campaigns and editorials in which we star.  These days everyone is his or her own street-style photographer, myself included. As a model in the digital age, the ability to reach an audience outside of the traditional magazine ad and billboard realm is increasingly important to me and my clients who realize we live in a new world of far more social networking- and endorsement-based advertising—from what your friend in school “likes” on Facebook to what your favorite top model wears in her downtime. I use platforms including Instagram, Tumblr, and Pose on a near daily basis to document my own looks for my almost ten million followers worldwide. The responses to my posts are always a gauge of how well I did with my personal styling. A picture that garners 30,000 likes versus one that only gets 5,000 says a lot about where I hit and miss in capturing the fashion zeitgeist. (Surprisingly the pics of just me at home usually get more likes than the ones of me with celebrities or designers.) The only time I get negative feedback is when I post a look containing fur, so now that definitely crosses my mind before I post an image to social media. While I believe everyone must make up his or her own mind, I don’t like to unnecessarily act insensitive to my followers. Often I’ll have my husband, James, take a few dozen pictures with his phone and then we will edit them until we’ve found the most aesthetically pleasing and interesting image. After that, we filter the pictures using a host of iPhone apps like Camera+, Pictwo, and Snapseed before we decide the image is ready for posting. Selections are always about quality versus quantity. There is no formula as to exactly how many photos I Instagram per day; one day I may post a single shot, where other days I may put up a dozen. I try to share sneak peeks of events I attend, behind the scenes moments at photoshoots, or anything I witness that I think my followers would find interesting.  Models are never really “off duty” anymore, and I view social media as an extension of my career as a whole. Sometimes posting can feel like a chore and in those cases I view it as a necessary part of my work, but other times it’s genuinely fun to share and document my life with friends far and wide. It’s the way of the 21st-century girl. See our slideshow above featuring our favorite Coco Rocha Instagrams.

WHY I INSTAGRAM - By Coco Rocha for Vogue

Around 2006 I began noticing the photographers waiting outside runway shows were beginning to outnumber those actually working inside. They were shooting our “model-off-duty” looks and plastering them all over the Internet, where they garnered as much interest and discussion as the campaigns and editorials in which we star. 

These days everyone is his or her own street-style photographer, myself included. As a model in the digital age, the ability to reach an audience outside of the traditional magazine ad and billboard realm is increasingly important to me and my clients who realize we live in a new world of far more social networking- and endorsement-based advertising—from what your friend in school “likes” on Facebook to what your favorite top model wears in her downtime. I use platforms including Instagram, Tumblr, and Pose on a near daily basis to document my own looks for my almost ten million followers worldwide. The responses to my posts are always a gauge of how well I did with my personal styling. A picture that garners 30,000 likes versus one that only gets 5,000 says a lot about where I hit and miss in capturing the fashion zeitgeist. (Surprisingly the pics of just me at home usually get more likes than the ones of me with celebrities or designers.) The only time I get negative feedback is when I post a look containing fur, so now that definitely crosses my mind before I post an image to social media. While I believe everyone must make up his or her own mind, I don’t like to unnecessarily act insensitive to my followers.

Often I’ll have my husband, James, take a few dozen pictures with his phone and then we will edit them until we’ve found the most aesthetically pleasing and interesting image. After that, we filter the pictures using a host of iPhone apps like Camera+, Pictwo, and Snapseed before we decide the image is ready for posting. Selections are always about quality versus quantity. There is no formula as to exactly how many photos I Instagram per day; one day I may post a single shot, where other days I may put up a dozen. I try to share sneak peeks of events I attend, behind the scenes moments at photoshoots, or anything I witness that I think my followers would find interesting. 

Models are never really “off duty” anymore, and I view social media as an extension of my career as a whole. Sometimes posting can feel like a chore and in those cases I view it as a necessary part of my work, but other times it’s genuinely fun to share and document my life with friends far and wide. It’s the way of the 21st-century girl.

See our slideshow above featuring our favorite Coco Rocha Instagrams.

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We here at Fashionista are continually impressed by the efforts the Model Alliance is making to improve working conditions within the industry, so we’re teaming up with them to bring you the latest from their movement. We’ll be hearing from them about everything from broadening child labor laws to changing the sample size. Today, Coco Rocha tells us about her personal struggles in the industry and what makes a good model. Plus, we have an exclusive video of Rocha at a recent Model Alliance event giving young models advice on the importance of having the right agent and avoiding creepy photogs.

I came into this business knowing nothing about fashion. I was a young girl from Vancouver, Canada who wore boot cut jeans and an oversized sweatshirt every day to school. Becoming a model was never an aspiration of mine, but at 14 I was scouted at an Irish dance competition and after some initial resistance found myself modeling in Asia and working on my portfolio.

After that I moved to New York where I found the agents I still work with to this day and started down a path that would lead to working with some of the world’s greatest photographers and designers. I was pulled from relative obscurity and given an amazing international life, but it was not without its ups and downs.

There were times when I was very lonely and felt an enormous pressure from adults around me to give up values and beliefs I held dear. Through trial and error I learned my rights and I learned to stand up for myself. I realized the benefit of an ironclad contract. In my contract today I state that due to my religious beliefs I won’t shoot nude or sheer clothing, or with cigarettes, weapons or religious icons. Even after nearly 10 years I still I find occasions when clients will push the issue, making it uncomfortable for everyone. It gets better though.

As I’ve moved from being a girl to a woman, and now a married woman, I feel more and more confident in my own skin every day. It’s something that comes with age and experience, which is why I wish most models would start a little later than the usual 14 or 15-years-old when they are so vulnerable and easily influenced. 



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COCO ROCHA: POWDER PLAY
By Jessica Conatser

In this round of Milk Made Photo Stories, we celebrate Photographer James Houston’s completion of his latest photo series, Natural Beauty – debuting at Milk Gallery April 23rd.

From nailing the first shot all the way to accidentally walking off set with green hair, top model, Coco Rocha and Houston share their personal experiences with us on what it was like to capture the “Powder Play” image for his project in support of Global Green USA.

Coco’s Story: “Working alongside James Houston and Zanna Roberts Rassi is always a pleasure and I’m very proud of this whole project. The pigment used in my shoot literally turned my hair green for a day following, but since it was for a “green project” it was all worth it. It’s a privilege to be part of this “Global Green” project and it pushes me to think about what else I can do. I hope that those who have the chance to see it will leave inspired and want to do what they can to make the world a greener place too.” – Coco Rocha

James’ Story: “Working on a project this large is like shooting a massive magazine issue. I am constantly thinking about new ideas and the overall vision. I was looking at a lot of nature shots for reference and inspiration and happened to come across an exploding pollen tree.. Sounds crazy! I’d never seen one before but loved the image and idea.

When I finally got to shoot with Coco Rocha I wanted to use this concept as I knew she was an incredible mover and bright Indian Festival powders on her body would help illustrate the movement and energy she brings to set. We started with one color and the first jump she did ended up in the book. That is the jumping image you see here. As she continued to jump and move we added more and more colors. By the end she was literally covered head to toe in powder like she had been in an actual Indian festival.” – James Houston

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