Stereotypes can be a dangerous thing. They can put people in a box. We look at the images, we see job titles – we make assumptions. Politician? Liar. Banker? Corrupt. Model? Vacuous. But when it comes to Erin Wasson, the latter couldn’t be further from the truth. This is a woman on a mission to live responsibly, to create something in this life that has real meaning, to leave an imprint behind that isn’t just about how many followers she has.

In fact saying Erin Wasson is a model is like saying a swiss army knife is a can opener. It sells her short. It narrows your focus. It betrays just how multifaceted she truly is. The more time we spent with her in her NYC loft, the more it dawns on us she’s like some sort of goddam creative polymath. Part time actress, stylist, designer, warrior, businesswoman, philanthropist and Full Time SoCal via SoHo Goddess.

Gliding through her home you quickly get the idea she’s a woman who not only has a unique sense of style, but a great sense of herself. Wasson is not a follower and never has been. In many ways, she’s the girl off the grid, not subscribing to what society or this digital era expects of a woman in her so-called profession. Her place is full of little insights into the way she sees the world. From the eclectic mix of artwork and frames, to the meaningful vintage treasures, to the Fleetwood Mac album she adores that we’ve never heard of (“It’s like they went, ‘man, let’s go back in the studio and do what we love, which is just fucking play music and you can feel it”), Wasson truly walks her own walk. And we love it.

In a world where it feels like everyone is trying to be like everyone else, where we replicate our outfits off Instagram and decorate our homes by way of Pinterest, Erin is distinctively, unapologetically herself. Like all of us, she’s not perfect, but she lives her life not trying to be anything to anyoneAnd that, that in itself is powerful.

Sometimes on a site that is all about beauty, it’s easy to get caught up in the products and the make up and style. But meeting a woman like Wasson is a reminder that real beauty is not how you wear your hair or what you put on your face, It’s about knowing what you are and owning it. And fuck, with the daily onslaught of voices telling us otherwise, that can be more challenging than it sounds. But as women, if we can remind each other enough, we just might start to believe it again. Thanks Erin.

Pictures, Soraya Zaman. Words, Carlie Fowler.


Her Style File