Valentino’s Couture Opener Is Also an Ivy League*–Educated Artist
It’s one thing to walk in a show; it’s another to find yourself at the center of a landmark event. Valentino’s Fall 2016 couture collection served as both the final showcase for designers Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli’s nearly three decades of collaboration and a momentous tribute to the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death—making the presentation newsworthy in and beyond fashion circles. With all eyes on Valentino, it was hard to miss Amanda Googe, the lithe artist turned model who opened and closed the collection. Though she first appeared on the scene during ready-to-wear, Googe was a newcomer to couture, but her first experience proved fruitful—and surprisingly laid-back. “Couture week was actually pretty relaxing!” Googe wrote in an email, postshow. “Since there are fewer shows, I wasn’t running from casting to casting all day, and I was able to really enjoy my time in Paris and soak in this wonderful experience.”
Scouted several times while in high school, Googe initially steered clear of fashion, preferring to focus on her fine arts studies. Drawing and painting since childhood, she was serious about getting her degree, but after wrapping up a dual concentration in visual arts and environmental studies at Brown University, she decided to give modeling a try. It wasn’t long before she was making her runway debut at Prada and appearing in a series of high-profile shows. Though the industry typically diverts girls away from academia, according to Googe, the lessons she picked up in and out of the classroom help keep her grounded in her current career. “I pushed myself in school and grew up during those four years—I learned a lot about myself and others that I use every day in modeling,” says Googe. “More so than academics, I think college prepared me personally and socially for my job now.” Her art background even has an additional bonus—an appreciation for the behind-the-scenes creative process. “I love being a part of someone’s vision, and doing what I can to help create what they are imagining and also bringing a little bit of myself into the collaboration!” she says.
At Valentino, half the fun was watching Chiuri and Piccioli put the finishing touches on the Elizabethan-inspired collection. “It was amazing to be a fly on the wall as they worked their magic,” says Googe. “They are so incredibly talented and busy, yet they also find room to be fun and sweet to the models.” As a fashion fan who grew up looking at the couture collections online, Googe had to do a double take before stepping out onto the catwalk in that ruffled red cape: “Just being a part of it was a dream come true, and being able to open and close it? I couldn’t believe how lucky I was—it was a true honor.”
With couture wrapped, Googe now has time for hanging out with friends and family and her cat, Bun, but she’s most excited about having a moment to make some new art. “I think the creative process is extremely therapeutic—I just go into my own world when working on a piece, no matter how repetitive or tedious the process is,” says Googe. Her newfound fashion experience might even provide a little added inspiration. “Just being in the presence of creative geniuses like Karl Lagerfeld and Miuccia Prada so early in my career is something I will never take for granted—I pinch myself every day!”
