Senior Oscar Fishman Models for Louis Vuitton Fashion Show

Senior Oscar Fishman had the opportunity to model for Louis Vuitton’s (LV) “Virgil Was Here” fashion show in Miami, Florida, on November 30, which highlighted Virgil Abloh’s Spring-Summer 2022 Collection. Many celebrities, including A$AP Rocky, Rihanna, Kanye West, and Quavo, attended the show as a tribute to Virgil Abloh, the men’s fashion designer who passed away two days prior.

Fishman started modeling when he was scouted by the Marilyn Model Agency in the summer of 2021 through an encounter at a skatepark. “Some [man] half a block away from the skatepark laid on his horn in the car [to get my attention]. I told my dad and [...] he was 100 percent sure it was sex trafficking for two whole days since the [man] was super creepy,” Fishman said. “[But], I made my dad call the agency and they really had me on the book.”

Despite being recruited by the agency, Fishman had never professionally modeled for major fashion shows or industries, though this would soon come to change. “[At the beginning], they signed me and I did a couple of gigs but really nothing,” Fishman said. “One was just building my portfolio with the photographer and another was some editorial that went nowhere.”

Fishman was then offered his first paid role at the “Virgil Was Here” LV show when the photos his agency submitted were accepted. “[The LV partner] asked me to come in, and when I went in, there was no feedback at all. The next day at school, my mom texted me that they wanted me,” Fishman said. “I had never done this stuff before and then I was just flown out to Miami. It was insane.”

In Miami, Fishman had a great experience in both preparing for the event and interacting with other models. “We got spoiled the whole time. [There] was a chauffeur service that would take us wherever we wanted in a van, and it had a Louis V decal on it,” Fishman said. “The day before, I did six hours of preparation and we were trying stuff on.”

At the show, Fishman was taken aback by his outfit, which consisted of a futuristic raincoat extended in a style similar to a Victorian-era dress and was accessorized with sunglasses. “I put on my outfit at first and wasn’t exactly sure how to feel. [It was] certainly high fashion, [but] the more I look[ed] at it, [the more] I grew to like it,” Fishman said.

During the show, Fishman also had the opportunity to meet some of his idols, including professional skaters Kareem Campbell and Stevie Williams. “They were in all the Tony Hawk video games and I was hanging out with them the whole time. I have their numbers in my phone and that part was the best thing in the entire trip––how I could just go up to Stevie and say, ‘Yo bro, what’s up,’” Fishman said.

While Fishman also shared a conversation with rapper Quavo, he did not get a chance to meet rapper Kanye West at the show. “[West] and Kim [Kardashian] were there [with] their daughter. I didn’t even see them and I’m the biggest Kanye West fan—I’m so mad about it,” he said.

Fishman noted that his respect for Abloh grew following the event because the designer’s shows included models who were new to the fashion industry. “It was 80 percent of the [models’] first time, which is a purposeful thing Virgil did,” Fishman said. “I respected it a lot because his goal in the industry was always to bring new people in and make it less elitist.”

To many, this show also served to celebrate Abloh’s legacy as a designer. “In particular, I was awed by the history that the show created. This was [Virgil Abloh’s] last new show ever. They even had balloons dedicated to him and the event headlined fashion and pop culture magazines,” senior Elio Torres said in an e-mail interview.

Torres believes that Fishman walking the LV show opens the door to more people who have an interest in the realm of fashion: “Directly, I think it inspires students to look out for modeling opportunities and engage more with an industry that is otherwise quite selective,” he said.

Despite the significance of this experience, though, Fishman and his parents still consider modeling as a part-time pursuit rather than a long-term commitment. “Modeling isn’t sustainable. This was never a passion of mine [...] it just happened to me. So this is an opportunity I got to pass on,” Fishman said. “My dad’s [also] a little worried about the lifestyle that modeling brings. They definitely want to keep me safe [because] I’m still young.”