NY Fashion Week Extra: VIOLET ON THE RUNWAY--On the Blog!

Today, the Bradford Blog Bash is thrilled to welcome guest blogger MADISON TAKAHASHI!

Yes, you read that right—Bradford Prep's #1 Fashionista has landed a primo interview, and she's sharing it with YOUYOUYOU!

You lucky darlings!

MADISON SAYS: Ooh ooh ooh, my friendlies!

If you've been following me on my blog, or checked out my student page (which, I mean—OF COURSE you have, duh), then you know what a huge fan I am of the "Violet" book series by the very very veriest author, Melissa Walker. Violet=reluctant fashion model. Melissa's books=awesome.

Me=your hero, for having scored a little one-on-one with Miss Violet herself.

Behold:

Hey, Violet! I'm so excited to be talking to you today! As you probably know, I, like, LIVE for fashion design, and can't wait to have a collection shown in a real, live fashion show. Obvs I've read all of your books, but for those poor misguided souls out there who may be unfamiliar, can you pretty please tell us about your rise to supermodel stardom?

Sure. Um, well, I got scouted at my dorky movie theater job in North Carolina. My agent, Angela Blythe, flew me up to New York, and I made a good impression on some fashion week bookers, so that started it all. Later that year—which was my senior year of high school—I moved to NYC to model full time...

Blogs are a enormo-huge part of the Bradford world. All of my friends and I keep our own blogs and we update constantly. I know you've blogged, too. When and why did you start blogging?

Blogging has been a big release for me. There's a lot of crazy pressure in the fashion world, so sometimes I just wanted to reach out into the universe and talk to my friends—and fans (I feel so douchy saying "fans"—I mean, people I don't know who are interested in me...)—about what I was experiencing. Sometimes I overshare, though. Haha.

CLEARLY the Bradfordverse is teeming with scandals and exposed secrets. What was the biggest scandal at your high school? Did your classmates discover any of your deep, dark secrets?

I was never really a part of high school scandals. To be honest, I wanted to be, but no one really saw me back then. Since I've been modeling, though, I've had more than my share of scandals. I feel like I don't have many of my own secrets, but it was quite a shock to find the guy I was dating in Brazil in bed with another girl—another model even. That pretty much sucked.

Ouch. WTH, Brazil dude? Okay, moving on to happier topics...my friendlies and I are all super-extra careful about setting the privacy locks on different blog posts, depending on content. But even we slip up sometimes, with explosive results. I'm pretty sure, as per "Violet By Design," that you are familiar with Blogger's Regret Syndrome. Would you like to relive that painful experience here with us today?

Okay, but just for you, Madison. I guess the biggest thing was when I blogged about trying to lose weight, and then I talked to the press about how I hate the body standards for models. I still believe it's not healthy, and I won't stop talking about it, even though my agent got sooooo mad when I spoke up, and I didn't book many shows that season.

Ew. But yay for you for speaking out. So, what's the worst thing you ever did to a friend? Are you still friends with her or him?

I think blowing off my best friends Julie and Roger wasn't cool. I did that when I first moved to NYC, and I've always regretted it. It's just that the fashion world took up a lot of my time, and the rules were so different—I didn't think they'd understand what I was going through. But I should have known they'll always be by my side. We're still the best of friends. And Roger and I, well, we're working out our feelings for each other.

Well, that sounds promising—and romantical! Tell us what blogs, if any, do you read regularly?

I subscribe to iheartdaily.com, of course—love it. And also whowhatwear.com. But mostly I just stick to reading my friends' facebook updates and keeping in touch with the people I know in the
real world—that's extra important to me now.

I HEART iheartdaily! And of course, since you're in fashion I have to ask: how would you describe your personal style? Who are some of your favorite designers?

This is so funny because I really do wear t-shirts and jeans or leggings all the time when I'm not working. But my favorite t-shirts are the really soft kinds, so sometimes I do buy designer versions because they seem to get the soft slouchiness just right. My favorite brands for that style are T Alexander Wang (anything from there) and from Elizabeth and James (love their A-line and v-neck styles). And London Sole ballet flats also rule my world.

Thanks for the tips, V! And thanks for partying with us!