World Premiere Interview: Caleb Lane

(Interview by Christopher Uvenio)

"The first designer I worked for was Calvin Klein. It was always a bit of a dream to be able to call myself a part of the CK family..." "The latest company I have been working for is Lancome. They booked me for the new fragrance 'Tresor in Love' shot by Mario Testino..."
"I am very blessed to have the life I have and the free time it allows me to pursue other things such as education and exploration of my own creativity..."

We are really proud to present our exclusive and in-depth interview with Caleb Lane in which the top model describes the fashion industry and the most famous people he has been working with during nine years of success from Calvin Klein, the first designer he has worked for, to Lancome, the latest company he has been working for. Lancome booked Lane for the new fragrance, "Tresor in Love" that gave him the opportunity to work with Mario Testino. Beside being a really successful model, Caleb is an actor and a photographer and despite his great success he is a kind and humble guy.

- Hello Caleb, I am really proud to interview you, just to start it off, though you're really famous, please give me some background information.My pleasure sir. As for my background, I grew up in a small town about half an hour north of Dallas, TX. Most of my family is still in the area there. Just after high school I attended a junior college in the area with the intentions of studying psychology and sociology. However, when modeling opened up for me I thought it best to get out a bit and see the world. I am currently calling Los Angeles "home". Just moved here from an 8 year stint in New York City.

-On starting to model: how and when did you begin thinking of modeling as a career? Was your family supportive of your choice?
I was young, 16 or 17, when I started to consider modeling as something that might be interesting at least to explore. I always saw it as a way to see the world and meet interesting people. It was an abstract notion though as I was living in Texas. New York and the fashion world seemed to be on another planet somewhere completely inaccessible to me. My mother was definitely the most supportive early on. She believed in my ability to succeed more than I did. If it had not been for her, I probably would have never experienced any of this.

You have modeled for almost all the major designers and have appeared in their campaign ads for a number of times, who was the first designer you modeled for and your very latest?The first designer I worked for was Calvin Klein. It was always a bit of a dream to be able to call myself a part of the CK family and when the call came through that I had booked the job I was in shock. We flew down to Mexico and shot for a week right on the beach. I will never forget that week. The latest company I have been working for is Lancome. They booked me for the new fragrance "Tresor in Love" shot by Mario Testino. It really is a dream job this one. Mario has always been on my list of photographers I wanted to work with and being able to do a commercial in Paris and a photo shoot in New York with him was really great. He keeps the attitude on set light and fun but, everyone is definitely there to work. I am really grateful to Lancome for giving me the chance to do that job.

-In your opinion, which campaign marked the beginning of "a new level" in your career and made you one of the most successful male models?
It's hard to answer that question because it is so subjective really. I suppose it was doing the 212 Sexy fragrance for Carolina Herrera with Glen Luchford. Fragrances are definitely the best jobs you can book in the modeling world. They tend to separate you from the rest of the pack because the campaigns are highly publicized and usually involve bigger production budgets therefore they tend to book models that have a reputation of professionalism and a good track record for turning out nice, marketable pictures.

On the fashion industry: who are the people that you really loved to work with? Dean and Dan from Dsquared are always really cool when you do their runway shows. Matthew and Patrick over at Armani Exchange are also really nice to work with. Honestly, I have had really good experiences throughout my career. As far as models go, I most like working with the guys and girls who kind of started around the same time I did. We all started around 18-21 and have watched each other grow up over the years and have had the opportunity to see each others careers blossom and take different paths. Some of those people include Noah Mills, Channing Tatum, Adam Senn, Isa Rahman, Jon Kortajarena. We all get along because no one really takes themselves that seriously. At the end of the day we are all just a bunch of normal people who were in the right place at the right time and took the necessary steps to capitalize on that moment. The photographer I most like working with and with whom I have worked the most is David LaChapelle. I love David. My first shoot was with David for Vogue. Actually Adam Senn was there as well. I was like 19 years old at that time. I think Adam was 17 or something. Over the years David and I have worked together on a number of different projects and I have always learned something from him on every shoot. I admire him as an artist and as a human being and feel lucky to have been a small part of what he has done in the fine art/fashion photography world.

Tell me about your professional plans: apart from modeling, what else would you like to pursue or are you already pursuing?Well, for most of my life I have been a martial artist. I have a black belt in Brazilian jiu jitsu and was inducted into the Universal Martial Arts Hall of Fame recently. Also, I have been acting now for the past seven years or so. Living in New York, you have access to so many legendary teachers and talented actors to work with. By no means am I done learning but, things are definitely headed in the right direction. Other than that, I have been a photographer now for quite some time. Most of my work can be found at www.caleblanephoto.com if anyone out there is interested in checking it out.


-Some tips for new and aspiring models: what would you say is the key to success? And what do you consider the most important "rules of conduct" to get successful in the fashion industry?
There is no real key to success in modeling honestly. It is such a fickle industry regarding what is desired by the clients on the day to day. One season it is the wafey, heroine chic model that gets all the jobs, the next it's the buff all American. You never know really. The only thing you can do is be a humble, genuine person and realize that when you are on set, you have been hired to do a very specific job. You are probably getting paid a lot of money. You are part of a team. Put the ego aside and be as helpful as possible to everyone from the client to kraft services.

Listen to the photographer's direction. Let the stylist try as many outfits as they need to. A lot of models make the mistake of thinking the shoot is all about them when in reality it isn't. It's all about the client getting the images they need to sell whatever it is they are trying to sell be it clothes, watches, cars, fragrances, whatever. You are there as a model to help create that product. Nothing else. People recognize these traits and will remember them when it comes time to shoot again. In modeling it is always your goal to work consistently with a number of repeat clients. It's the only way to survive long term in the industry.

-How would you describe yourself as a person and how is your relationship with your fans and the people that support your career?Honestly I am just a normal person with a cool job. I am very blessed to have the life I have and the free time it allows me to pursue other things such as education and exploration of my own creativity. If you would have asked me nine years ago if any of this would have taken place I would have said you were crazy but, for some reason, here I am. Everyone around me has been so supportive and the people out there who appreciate the work I do have always been so kind and I am genuinely thankful for that. It's sometimes a weird thing to put yourself out there in the public eye to be judged and so far, everyone has made it absolutely positive.
-I know you've traveled around the world, where you would like to live other than where you do now?Well, I always thought having a ranch somewhere north of Santa Barbara would be nice or maybe somewhere along the northern coast of Spain. Get some horses and dogs and all that. Learn to speak Spanish. Cities are nice while you are young but, in my heart I am always in Nature. I feel more myself by the ocean or in a forest.

-Thanks again Caleb for taking the time to reply to my questions, my last one: how and where are you going to spend your summer holidays?
Going to be heading home to see the family soon for a week or so. Other than that, probably try to stick around California with the occasional trip back East for work.