「我有一个任务要完成，没有人能够阻止我。」纽约非典型模特儿Jillian Mercado

(文末附上英文访谈内容/ English version of this interview is down below.)

2020春夏的纽约时装周上，讲究多元性以及包容性的泳装品牌 Chromat，刚结束了一场让场内观众群情鼓舞的大秀，Chromat 以跨性别、大尺码、孕妇、孩童、身心障碍等各种溢出一般「伸展台模特儿」想像的人来展示他们的最新设计。大秀结束后，我看着 Jillian Mercado 一个人安安静静地自己操纵着轮椅离开。少了嘻笑、拍照、蹭热度等大多数跑秀人士的标配，她的非典型在纽约时尚圈里独树一帜。

▲身体上的障碍并未阻止 Jillian Mercado 勇敢追求自己的梦想。

今年33岁的 Jillian Mercado，是知名模特儿经纪公司IMG旗下的模特儿之一，同时也是演员、意见领袖与时尚多元性的倡议者。她跟一般的模特儿有点不一样——由于肌肉萎缩症，从小就坐着轮椅长大，然而身体上的障碍并未阻止她勇敢追求自己的梦想，她曾被《Vogue》、《Glamour》、《Cosmopolitan》、《CR Fashion Book》等各大时尚杂志报导过，甚至登上《Posture》杂志的封面。身体、种族以及年龄，都不能阻止她追求她想做的事。

Jillian Mercado 是个多明尼哥裔、土生土长的纽约客，爸爸是鞋厂业务，妈妈则是裁缝。Jillian 的妈妈常常会把工作带回家，小 Jillian 不和两个妹妹们一起看卡通，反倒选择坐在妈妈身旁，看着她变魔术般将布料变成立体的衣服，小 Jillian 也会提出许多问题，像是「这是什么布料？」、「为什么会选择这个颜色？」Jillian 对于时尚的热忱仿佛从小小年纪就由那一针一线织就。

2006年她进入了纽约知名时尚学院 FIT（Fashion Institute of Technology）的时尚商品管理（Fashion Merchandising）学系就读，学习商业层面的知识，在学期间，她也尽可能借由不同部门的实习，更进一步了解时尚产业究竟在做些什么，而 Jillian 对于时尚史以及时尚杂志百科全书式的理解与认识，让她的同学鼓励她开始写部落格，除了分享她所知道的时尚故事，也纪录她个人大胆前卫的穿搭风格。

Jillian 人生中的第一个企划，是和一个名为《We The Urban》的线上杂志合作，在一次《We The Urban》的活动中，她遇到了义大利知名牛仔裤品牌 Diesel 的创意总监，而那次的相遇是她在时尚产业里的转捩点，引领了她在2014年通过 Diesel 的选秀，成为品牌当期广告企划的模特儿之一，那是 Jillian Mercado 第一次大型的广告拍摄。这个企划也让旗下有着许多知名超模，如 Gigi Hadid、Bella Hadid、Hailey Bieber、Cara Delevingne 的 IMG 模特儿公司在隔年签下她，并于2016年成为 Beyoncé 官方网站企划中唯三模特儿中的其中一人。2018年，她参与了保养品牌 Olay 的 Face Anything 广告，有着她的人像的大型广告看板而后被刊登在曼哈顿最热闹繁华的时代广场。

▲Jillian Mercado 的故事向世界证明，时尚不分种族、性别、身体、信仰，时尚属于所有人。

通往时尚产业的曲径

「接受专业的时尚教育对于妳进入时尚产业有帮助吗？是否可以分享一下妳在 FIT 的就学经验？」

『每个人的经验不同，我只能分享我自己的经验。只能说，FIT 的学习经验对我往后在时尚产业发展的帮助极大。受时尚学院的教育让你能不用置身其中就可以窥见时尚产业的样貌，也让你知道如果你真的想投身时尚行业，会是什么样子。在 FIT 就读的四年，我学到了各种需要知道的时尚商业面的知识，而 FIT 绝大多数的教授都身经时尚产业枪林弹雨的洗礼，他们的第一手经验分享，也将时尚产业渲染上了一些个人经验，甚至是人情味。简单来说，我觉得专业的时尚教育对我帮助很大。』

「在过去的访问里，妳曾多次提到，妳对于追求自己的理想和得到自己想要的东西很有策略性。请问妳会怎么形容妳的策略，或是妳认为妳有哪些重要的特质帮助了妳达到自己的梦想？」

『我的策略很个人，从很小的时候，我就知道我想做什么、想达成什么。大概是我真的满了解自己的吧，我知道我能带给这个产业甚至这个世界的价值，无论是透过模特儿、演员还是时尚多元性倡议者的角色，我把我的热情投注在学习以及更深入了解这个产业上，我也透过服装的选择，让我在不同场合都能适得其所。策略会因人而异，重点是你要很了解自己，彻头彻尾、由里到外了解自己的个人品牌能为世界带来什么价值。』

jillian mercado（@jillianmercado）分享的贴文 于 PST 2019 年 12月 月 12 日 下午 2:37 张贴

「妳从很小就对时尚有兴趣，并立定志向要进时尚产业。有点好奇是否有哪些时刻，妳真的觉得妳受够时尚了？如果有的话，妳是怎么消化自己的情绪的？时尚产业常常会消磨人的热情、吞噬人的梦想，妳怎么知道时尚就是妳人生中那件『对』的事情？」

『这种「受够时尚」的感觉从来没消失过，打从一开始踏进这个圈子就不停出现，很多时候我会想就这样放弃时尚算了。不过话说回来，有这样的感受很正常，每个人的人生都会经历那些很想任性地丢下一句「我不做了」就头也不回离开的阶段，但对我来说，我知道我个人的价值，也知道如果我继续坚持下去的话，我能为时尚产业带来一些只有我才能做得到的改变。当然有些时候事情不会如我所料，我就静静地看着它发生、崩落，然后接受。

我对于我所有的情绪都大方接受，我不压抑自己，我让自己去感受那些最原初的情绪，但之后会将我自己一片片重新拾起、再次拼凑起来，也会寻求那些一直鼓舞我的人的意见。我很幸运，有一个很强大的家人朋友支持网。

时尚产业有时候真的让人感受到它会吞噬一个人的热情与梦想，不过我尝试不去看这一面，越往深渊下望，越不可能达到你想去的地方。这个产业给了我很多难得的机会，并提供了一个我能展现创意的舞台。我无法想出有另外哪一个产业能更完美地让我呈现我的创意，真的只有时尚产业，才能让各种有才华、有能力的人，以他们自己的方式展露头角。和你一起工作的人和团队真的很重要，我有一群非常相信、支持我的后盾，他们总是会推促我尽可能地呈现我的创意，并且将我的梦想和热情再往前推得更远一点。』

「可以请妳分享在时尚产业里工作最好和最坏的各一件事吗？」

『我曾经跟一些最有创意、最有才华也最投入的人一起工作过，能遇见那些美好的人们大概是在时尚产业工作最好的一件事。最坏的一件事，大概是大多数人缺乏对于像我这样的身心障碍人士应该要能自在地在时尚产业工作以及被更多人看见的理解。』

jillian mercado（@jillianmercado）分享的贴文 于 PDT 2018 年 9月 月 26 日 上午 4:16 张贴

jillian mercado（@jillianmercado）分享的贴文 于 PDT 2019 年 5月 月 23 日 上午 9:29 张贴

▲Jillian Mercado 曾经跟一些最有创意、最有才华也最投入的人一起工作过，他觉得能遇见那些美好的人们大概是在时尚产业工作最好的一件事。

多元与包容不是假议题，而该是发自内心的接纳，真不真诚时间久了大家都看得出来

「妳是否会觉得，当今许多接纳多元性与包容性的品牌，只是将这些当成行销的噱头以及获得关注的手段？妳会如何解读当今时尚产业对于多元性与包容性的作法？」

『我完全可以理解妳的这个提问，但我也得说，我们都得从某些地方开始。有很大的可能，品牌只是知道包容和多元不仅在时尚产业，在整个社会也逐渐被重视，跟上这波趋势能让品牌与时俱进，因此展开其多元性的参与。但即使如此，我们（身心障碍等非典型的时尚工作者）还是得继续用这个「行销手段」来让更多人关注这个议题。不过时间一久，品牌是否真心希望能创造一个更平等、更友善的环境，大家都看得出来，没有人喜欢不真诚的品牌。』

「从妳的角度出发，什么是一个比较理想的多元、包容性的论述与实践？」

『这非常简单，只要倾听就好，认真、用心地倾听一直以来被忽视的群体怎么说。如果你想达到真正的包容与多元，你需要好好听听别人在说些什么，提供他们被世界看到的舞台，更重要的是，给予他们幕后工作的机会，并且真心相信将这群人纳入团队，是做这件事最好的方式。不只要在广告里呈现，也要反映在员工的雇用上。』

「身为在时尚产业里提倡多元包容性的先锋，这件事对妳而言的意义为何？」

『这表示我拥有很多人没能拥有的独特的观点，我很努力推促时尚产业更接纳像我这样的身心障碍者。身体上的残疾不该是任何一个人追求在时尚产业工作的障碍，从来不是。』

身为一个各方面都非主流的人士，需要两倍、三倍、十倍的努力

「作为一位拉丁裔的身心障碍模特儿，妳会怎么鼓励和妳有类似背景的人，在时尚产业里找到属于自己的位置？」

『要努力，同时不断学习、不停精进，并且再更努力一点，所以当你得到一个梦寐以求的面试甚至工作机会时，那些掌权的人就没有借口不雇用你，继续将你排除在这个产业之外。但我必须说，身为一个少数族裔的身心障碍人士，需要双倍的努力。有色人种的创意以及能力常常被忽略，但我们每天都在向世界证明我们的能力、证明我们值得这个产业好好珍惜我们，而身为一位身体有残疾的女性，真的需要更多倍的努力，才能让这些非主流的标签不再是一个问题。』

「妳如何面对网路言语霸凌？可以请问妳对于实际生活中与网路上霸凌的看法吗？」

『我没有时间处理那些负面言论，也不想置身其中，让那些负面情绪缠身，所以如果是直接找上我的个人页面的，我会直接删除并且封锁，我年纪已经够大了，不想让这些负面的言论扰乱我平静的一天。我有一个任务要完成，没有人可以阻止我。

在现实生活中，我的确遇过很多不同的霸凌，其实那些霸凌者只是将恐惧以及不安施加在我身上，说真的，无论是生活中还是网路上的霸凌都应该要停止。』

「身为一位纽约客，妳如何看待纽约这座城市？妳会怎么向没来过纽约的人介绍它？」

『纽约是我的家，也是一个像避难所甚至圣殿一般的存在，一座乘载了我出生、成长的城市，他在我的心里有着非常独特的位置。我会说，纽约像一个自成一格的世界，世界上没有任何一个地方能像纽约一样，有各式各样不同肤色、族裔、宗教以及能力的人口组成，一个你可以在半夜三点还能找到一家开着的衣索比亚餐厅的地方。』

▲多明尼哥裔、在纽约土生土长的 Jillian Mercado。

「妳会如何定义时尚？时尚对妳来说是什么呢？」

『时尚是个和创意的世界接轨、并联系上世界所有有创意的人们的出口，它是一门自成一格、但每个人都能亲近的语言。对我来说，时尚就跟呼吸、吃饭、睡觉一样，是生活中正常存在而不可或缺的东西。』

后记

疫情当前，加之纽约又是重灾区，很遗憾没能和 Jillian 亲自见面，面对面聊聊她在时尚产业闯荡的历程，然而透过几次的信件往返，Jillian 的自信流露在她的字里行间。她相信自己的独一无二，相信自己与身俱来被赋予了任务——一个让时尚产业更多元、更包容的使命。她希望透过她的努力、她的声音，让像她一般对时尚有憧憬但身体有障碍的人士，也能毫不保留地透过时尚展现个人的想法与创意。

2020年，病毒的肆虐让整个时尚产业瞬间倾颓，Dries van Notan 伙同其他设计师，要求时尚产业重新正视时尚已经发展得过于快速的事实，他提出让时尚的季节与真实的季节接轨，而这样一来也可以推迟各大百货、通路的季末折扣，进而提高品牌的利润。2020年的这场灾难或许会是整个时尚产业重组的好时机，也或许，产业里多元性与包容性的课题，能因此再被落实得更彻底一些。

（English Version）

After the curtain fell and the cheering of Chromat’s Spring Summer 2020 show faded, I saw Jillian Mercado quietly wheeling herself out of Spring Studio. She didn’t gather around with other influencer friends to continuously take selfies and chit chat like most of the show-goers did. She just came to the show to support the brand embracing inclusivity and diversity. Fame and titles were not what she looked for when she decided to devote herself into fashion. She puts herself in the fashion frontline because she loves it, and because she knows she can make a difference in how the industry perceives disability.

The 33-year-old model, actress and activist is different from the models we intuitively picture. Due to muscular dystrophy, Jillian Mercado grew up with her wheelchair, but her disability didn’t stop her from pursuing what she always wanted: participate in fashion. She has been featured in Vogue, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, CR Fashion Book and more. She was once the face of Posture Magazine. In 2014, she landed on her first commercial campaign with Italian denim brand Diesel. The next year, she was signed by IMG Models, the international major model agency also managing all the big names: Gigi Hadid, Bella Hadid, Hailey Bieber, Cara Delevingne, the list goes on. In 2016, Mercado was announced one of the three models to be featured in the campaign of Beyoncé’s official website. She was on a gigantic billboard in Times Square in Olay’s Face Anything campaign in 2018. Not to mention she has starred in several campaigns for Nordstrom and other major players in the fashion and beauty industry.

How did she achieve all these?

Jillian Mercado is a born and raised New Yorker with Dominican ancestry. Mercado’s father is a shoe salesman in Lower Manhattan, while her mother is a seamstress. Unlike her two sisters who would go on to watch cartoons, Mercado instead would sit beside her mother to watch her sew, asking questions like “What is the fabric? Why did you pick the color?” Her passion for fashion has been sewn into her blood in her upbringing.

Mercado attended FIT in the Fashion Merchandising program in 2006 learning everything business-related, while interning in various departments and teams in the fashion industry to familiarize herself with the real world of the industry. She also started her blog writing about fashion and documenting her personal style with the encouragement of her friends in FIT. She scored her first project with an online magazine called WE THE URBAN. During an event of the magazine, Mercado met the creative director of the Italian denim brand Diesel, which was the turning point for her in her career. One thing leads to another. And the rest is history.

Mercado’s story proves to the world that fashion indeed belongs to everyone, no matter one’s race, ethnicity, age, body and gender, as long as you work hard enough.

The Path to Fashion

Do you think fashion education helps you get into the fashion industry? What’s your experience at FIT?

“I can only speak for myself, but it absolutely did. Studying in a fashion school enables you to be in the scene and peak into the industry without actually being in it. It also gives you a glimpse of what it would be like if you actually work in the industry. Going to FIT taught me all the tools about the business side of fashion. All the professors were actually people who have worked in the industry before and retired, so that gave me a different perspective when seeing fashion, a more personal one.”

You’ve mentioned multiple times in previous interviews that you’re very strategic in pursuing your dream and achieving what you want. How will you describe your strategy, or say, what’s the most important trait/personality that helps you achieve where you are right now?

“My strategies are very personal. They are curated to make me achieve what I want in life, which I knew at a very young age. But I think that I just truly understand my value and worth in the world as a model, an actress or an advocate. I use that energy to study and become familiar with the industry, and then I dress accordingly to where I need to go. It's all about knowing your personal brand inside and out.”

As we know, you have been falling in love with fashion since very little and have been devoting yourself into it for years. Is there any point in life that you feel like fashion fails you? If so, how do you cope with that feeling? How do you know fashion is “the thing” for you while the reality of the industry somehow devours people of their passion and dreams?

“Absolutely all the time. There are times when I just want to quit, but that's just normal. Everybody goes through stages where they just want to throw in the towel. But as I said in my previous answer, I know my personal value and know what I can bring to the industry, which is unique and one-of-a-kind. So when things fail, which they will, I cope with a feeling by letting it happen. Whatever I am feeling, I allow myself to feel. It's only human to do so. But I pick myself up, and I talk to the people who inspire me the most to give me advice. I am lucky enough to have an amazing support system of family and friends.

Sometimes the fashion industry can absolutely feel like it devours people's hopes and dreams. But I do my best not to look at it in a negative light so much or I’ll never succeed. The industry has given me so many amazing opportunities and platforms where I can express my creativity. I'm a creative person and there's nothing more creative that I can think of than the industry of fashion. It's all about the team that you surround yourself with. I personally have a team of people who believe in my craft and push me forward to allow me to be as creative as possible, to push my dreams and passions forward.”

What’s the best and worst thing you’ve ever encountered working in fashion?

“The best thing is definitely the people who work in fashion. The people I have had the privilege to work with are the most dedicated and creative people I know. They see way outside of the box where many have trouble accessing. The worst thing probably has to be the lack of understanding of how people like myself who have disabilities should be able to comfortably work and be seen in the industry where we also take a part as consumers.”

Diversity and Inclusivity Within the Fashion Industry

Do you feel like nowadays inclusivity and diversity has become a trendy and even a marketing tool for brands to win people’s attention? How will you interpret the current climate of diversity and inclusion in fashion?

“I can absolutely see how anybody can see that. But I also have to acknowledge that we have to start somewhere. So even though it may seem like this, it might be the one thing we can work on right now. Brands and companies actually understand that inclusivity and diversity is important not only for the industry, but for everyone. We'll have to continue to use this ‘marketing tool’ to get more people’s attention. But in the long run, if this is just a trend for brands to do so, then people (the public) will see it. Nobody likes an unauthentic brand.”

From your perspective, what’s a better narrative and execution to address inclusivity and diversity in fashion?

“It's extremely simple. Just to listen, listen to the communities that need to be highlighted which have been invisible for the longest time. If you actually want to be diverse and include everyone, you have to listen to others, give them the platform in front of the scenes, but most importantly the positions behind the scenes, and truly understand that it is the way to go. If you are a company for the public, it should reflect in your advertising. Listen to the communities being affected the most and hire them. Everything starts just by listening.”

What does it mean to you as a pioneer in bringing diversity into fashion?

“It means that I have a unique perspective that many if not all people have. Understanding that I use it to push forward the idea that people like myself who have disabilities should be able to work in the industry, that disability should never stand in the way of that.”

Some Personal Touches

As a disabled Latina model, what will you tell people of color and people with disabilities to do to score their spot in the ever-evolving yet hierarchical fashion industry?

“Work, study, and work some more, so that when you get the opportunity of that interview or job of your dream, there will be no excuse for them not to hire you and involve you in the industry. With that said, I do have to warn that we will always have to work twice as hard as any other individual. And once you understand that, you can beat their lack of acknowledgment for the disability community. People of color already get undermined by their excellence, but yet we prove everyone every single day how intelligent and worth we are to the industry. Adding disability to the Miss is just another layer of working hard until this question is no longer one to ask.”

How do you deal with hate comments and messages? What’s your take on physical bullying and online bullying? Do you have any experience you could share with us?

“I don't have time for that, so I don't involve or engage in any hate comments. Also if it's directly on my profile, I just delete and block. I'm too old to fall for negative comments to ruin my day. I'm on a mission and no one can stop that. There are many experiences, unfortunately. I've been in this situation, but it all came down to people projecting their fears and insecurities towards me. They saw that I was absolutely okay to be someone who has a visible physical disability and their fears and insecurities took over. Bullying altogether should stop.”

As a New Yorker, how do you feel about New York City? How would you describe the city to people who’ve never been here before?

“New York is my home, my Sanctuar where I was born and raised. He holds such a special heart to me. I would describe the city as being a world of its own. There is no place in the world like New York where you can find every single type of race, ethnicity, religion, ability living on one island, a place where you can find an Ethiopian restaurant at 3 in the morning.”

How do you define fashion? What does fashion mean to you?

“Fashion is an outlet to a world of creativity where it connects to people around the world. It's a language of its own that we all have access to. fashion is what I breathe, eat and sleep every single day.”Jillian Mercado is indeed one of a kind - she’s confident, characteristic and she believes she has a mission to accomplish, a mission to push the fashion industry to be more inclusive and diverse. With the COVID-19 pandemic raging the whole world and crippling the fashion industry, it is perhaps a great time to rethink fashion and realign the whole system. Inclusivity and diversity might be core to the redefinition of the fashion industry.

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被疫情推上风口的线上课程，是该抓住机会？还是警惕泡沫化？

手机或世界，你选哪一边

Editor / Elise Ay（@eliseai）◎Photo Via：INSTAGRAM, Jillian Mercado

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