American Eagle Project Live Your Life

American Eagle recently launched a contest called Project Live Your Life. It allows people to compete for a chance to become a model for the clothing company.
One of the many contestants for Project Live Your Life is writer, dancer, photographer, and artist Jade P. I got a chance to interview Jade today.

 Why do you want to win American Eagle's Project Live Your Life?
 JADE: "I want to win American Eagle's Project Live Your Life because I love American Eagle clothing, and I love the brand and the lifestyle associated with it, and I love the fact that they are using their customers and their followers to market their clothing. I just think that's really ingenious, and as a marketing enthusiast, I really appreciate that. And I want to win because it would give me tons of exposure and since I want to pursue modeling professionally, this could be a way that I could get noticed and get discovered, not only as a model, but as a singer, or a writer, or any of the other things that I do because it will put me out there for other people to see."

Your profile mentions that you went to a playwrights festival. What was that like?
JADE: "It was AMAZING! It was a week full of work, and bonding, and creativity, and kind of creative brainstorming with other people that I'd never met before, but we all had similar interests. And a lot of them knew more about theater, and more about writing than me, but it was really cool to learn from them, and also just to share my creativity with them, and have our ideas bounce off of each other. And we became so close so quickly  because we're all exposing our hearts through our writing to one another, so pretty much any barriers and walls got broken down the first day."

What do you enjoy most about photography?
JADE: "I don't consider myself a photographer, because I'm not into the whole technical part, I'm really not into a lot of technical things. I don't like to be behind the camera necessarily, I don't like to be the one who has to learn all of the specific technical things that goes along with photography, like lens types, and exposure, and how to handle different settings during different parts of the day, all of that stuff. But, I have always liked photography as like just a fun thing to do with my friends, because my friends in college loved to take pictures, and so I grew in my passion for taking pictures. And we took pictures of EVERYTHING. We took pictures of ourselves doing everything, and so it felt like you know, photography is a way for you to be with your friends and always keep your Facebook status updated with your latest doings, and it's a way to not forget a moment, because you're capturing every moment. And I like photography because I like modeling, so photography is very important to modeling, because it captures the pictures. I love taking pictures of my friends and taking pictures of clothing, especially since I'm a dancer, too. Dancers care a lot about photography and about videography. So, I guess, well as far as photography goes, this contest has really challenged me to become a better photographer because I had to photograph myself as a model. So, I had to learn a little bit more, but I prefer not to be behind the camera."

According to your profile, you categorized yourself as a "Denim Jeanius." In your opinion, what is a "Denim Jeanius?"
JADE: "American Eagle's definition of a Denim Jeanuis is someone who knows how to style their jeans for any occasion. And as Americans, I think a lot of us automatically fall into that category, because we wear jeans everyday. We wear jeans with just about everything, it's like our staple article of clothing that we put with everything. Some people wear jeans to work, you have your dressy jeans, you have your casual jeans, you have your work jeans. So, I would say as far as a Denim Jeanius, I love experimenting with different types of jeans and I love wearing jeans with different types of looks, to show how flexible the clothing is."


What advice do you have for other aspiring models?
JADE: "For other aspiring models, I suggest just taking pictures of yourself. I'm learning how to become a better model, and it's just from all the stuff I've looked at online and advice I've gotten from other models. Model for free, I've modeled for hair shows for Aveda, and in a Southern Weddings Magazine shoot, and those were just opportunities to be around professional models and see how they work, and just, you know, being in front of the  camera, but you really have to practice on your own. And you have to practice your expressions, and practice figuring out how to angle your body towards the camera, and that's where you get your creativity, it's just like dancing, you practice on your own and you refine your skills around others, and then you get out there and you perform in front of the camera, and then you're set."



Here are a few fantastic photos from Jade's profile:

Good luck with the contest, Jade!
To show your support and vote for Jade, click here.
She'd really appreciate it!




Pictures courtesy of Jade Palmer