Models of New York Fashion Week Spring 2015

German model Alisa Ahmawn, 20, gets made up for her appearance in the Peter Som Spring 2015 fashion show Friday, Sept. 5, 2014, during Fashion Week in New York.

"This is my first show but I hope to do as many as possible," said Ahmawn, who is from Stuttgart, Germany and expects to do at least twelve shows. The shows "can be stressful since you run from one show to another show often. But it's always fun and you meet so many interesting people."

"I don't get homesick much. We have Facebook, Skype, so we're always doing facetime...I love my family but I do my own life now."

AP photographers talked to models from around the world during New York Fashion Week and asked them about working far from home and making it in the business.

Mona Matsuoka

Mona Matsuoka, 16, of Tokyo, Japan waits backstage before the Monique Lhuillier Spring 2015 collection show, Sept. 5, 2014.

An only child born to a Japanese mother and American father, Matsuoka began modeling in her hometown of Tokyo at age 10, after her mother put her into a modeling agency. Deciding at age 13 that she wanted to pursue modeling internationally, she had to wait until her 16th birthday before she could begin the next phase of her career.

"I’m really homesick," she said, when asked about life on the road. Matsuoka says she struggles most with the uncertainty that permeates her essentially freelance lifestyle of modeling. "You don’t know what’s gonna happen." Nevertheless, Matsuoka views her modeling career in the long-term. "I would like to do it my whole life, if I can."

Maira

Brazilian model Maira, 19, of Rio de Janeiro, crosses her eyes for the photographer as her hair is styled backstage before the Tracy Reese Spring 2015 collection show, Sept. 7, 2014.

Maira said she was discovered during a supermodel contest in Brazil at age 14 and is modeling in her first New York Fashion Week this season.

Hedvig Palm

Hedvig Palm of Sweden, center, sits on the floor backstage before she models the DKNY Spring 2015 collection, Sept. 7, 2014.

This is Palm's seventh season modeling.  "Sometimes when I hear a song...I think of my family. I hear a song and I want to be with my friends and family and be comfortable."

Kely Ferr

Kely Ferr of Espírito Santo, Brazil, checks her phone as she waits backstage before the Christian Siriano Spring 2015 collection show, Sept. 6, 2014.

Ferr, 18, began modeling at age 15. "I love everything," she said, when asked about her favorite aspect of the job. As far as her biggest challenge, footwear ranks highest. "When the shoes is small or big," she explains, "for walk is very bad."

Although she misses home, she tries to talk to her father and brothers every day via Skype.

Abiah Hostvedt

Abiah Hostvedt, 23, of Montego Bay, Jamaica, has makeup applied backstage before the Tim Coppens Spring 2015 collection show, Sept. 7, 2014.

Hostvedt, was scouted in Lower Manhattan’s TriBeCa neighborhood at age 17. Having modeled in Paris, London and Milan, Hostvedt says he likes to "use fashion as an excuse to see the world."

"A lot of people like to talk about how the fashion industry is, y’know, everybody is a little bit fake. But I love the people," he said. "It is what you make it. If it’s fake to you then chances are you’re just treating it like it’s some sort of game, and it’s, y’know, la-la land. But it’s not. It’s real people."

Although Hostvedt eventually wants to move into acting, he can’t see himself giving up modeling. "I think I’m always gonna model, until the day I die."

Sora Choi

Korean model Sora Choi, 22, is careful of her freshly polished nails while being styled for her appearance in the Peter Som Spring 2015 runway show, Sept. 5, 2014.

Choi, who is from Seoul, corrected herself when asked her age. "I am 21. Oh, no. Today is my birthday. I am 22!"

Stephanie Joy Field

Stephanie Joy Field, center, of Sydney, Australia, rehearses before the Prabal Gurung Spring 2015 collection show, Sept. 6, 2014.

Field, 19, who has been modeling since January 2014 was actually scouted in Australia at age 13 but decided to finish high school before beginning her career.

"I went to boarding school, so I’m kind of used to not being at home."

One aspect of modeling that does challenge her, however, is the constant scrutiny. "You always have to be...on show, and, like, presenting yourself right," she explained, "because...everyone’s always watching you."

One thing she appreciates about modeling, though, is the people. "I love meeting...amazing people, and working with, like, some really amazing clients," she says, adding, "and you get to have lots of fun while doing it."

Field plans to study university level law and psychology by correspondence next year, with an eye towards her life outside of the fashion industry. "I’m just gonna see what happens with the modeling, and I'll have a fall-back if it doesn't come through."

Max Esken

Max Esken of Dusseldorf, Germany, has makeup applied backstage before the Tim Coppens Spring 2015 collection show, Sept. 7, 2014. Esken, 21, is brand new to modeling, having just been scouted in January in his native Germany. Although this is his first time working at Fashion Week in New York, he already knows that the most difficult part of the job for him is the schedule. Between having to attend so many castings, go-sees and fittings, Esken says, “You’re always in a hurry, and you can’t relax.” Once he gets to a show though, he says things slow down considerably.

"The jobs are almost, like, half an hour hair and makeup and then you can chill, relax, smoke cigarettes," he says.

Sophie Touchet

Canadian model Sophie Touchet has makeup applied before the DKNY Spring 2015 collection show, Sept. 7, 2014, during Fashion Week in New York.

Touchet, 20, from a small town in Quebec, Canada, says she was working at a Best Buy electronics store when she was scouted by a photographer in January of this year. A month later she modeled in her first New York Fashion Week and ended up doing 43 shows in four big cities.

"My parents were freaking out. They were like 'What? You’re going to Milan?' and I was like 'Yeah, I don’t really know how it happened but I’m in Milan!' "

She said she packed a bag for one week and ended up leaving home for more than two months, so when she got back home it was like having two lives, "I had my normal life and had my life when I was a model."

Adesuwa Pariyapasat

Adesuwa Pariyapasat, 22, of Benin City, Nigeria, listens to music while her fingernails are painted backstage before the Rebecca Minkoff Spring 2015 collection show, Sept. 5, 2014.

Pariyapasat began modeling only recently, but was scouted while in school in her native Nigeria at age 17. "I get homesick every now and then, but I’ve moved so much in my life...it doesn’t matter where I am, really." She feels the biggest misconception about modeling is that it's easy, saying that there is "a lot of psychological damage, a lot of psychological turmoil" involved. With regards to her future in modeling, "I don’t even plan that far, I just want to live every day. Life is about finding things that come at you, so, who knows?"

Zhao Qinghe

Zhao Qinghe of Beijing rehearses before the Tim Coppens runway show, Sept. 7, 2014.

Zhao, 21, has only been modeling for a year since being discovered by an agency while attending college in his native China. Since then, he has traveled across the world, walking runways in Paris and Milan, in addition to New York. "I like New York," Zhao says, "it’s a fashion city, I just enjoy."

Zhao Qinghe

Zhao Qinghe of Beijing waits backstage to rehearse before the Tim Coppens runway show, Sept. 7, 2014.

Zhao, 21, has only been modeling for a year since being discovered by an agency while attending college in his native China.  The hardest part for Zhao can be managing his schedule between castings, fittings and shows.

Zhao sees himself modeling for another three or four years. He says being photographed and walking in shows are his favorite parts of the job, explaining that, "You can show off to many people."

Mari Agory

Mari Agory of South Sudan has glitter applied to her eyelids backstage before the Christian Siriano Spring 2015 collection show, Sept. 6, 2014.

Born in Khartoum, Sudan, Agory’s family lived in what is now known as South Sudan. The youngest of eight children, she and her family fled to Egypt in 1999 during her country’s civil war, then were granted political asylum by the United States, eventually settling in San Diego, Calif.

Agory, 23, was discovered at age 20 by a photographer while attending her junior year of college. “It’s considered late in the industry,” she explains, “because girls start really young.” For Agory, homesickness is her biggest hurdle. “Especially when I go over to Europe,” she explains, "When I’m in New York, for some reason, I still feel close to my family, because I’m in the States.” Despite sometimes going a full year between visits home, Agory admits that life on the road can also be rewarding. "I get to see the beauty of this world, and it’s part of my job,” she explains. When asked about how long she sees herself modeling, Agory jokes, “I’m gonna do it until my skin starts crackin’.” Although she has not been able to return to her native country since her family fled, Agory, who studied public health in college, hopes to utilize her education and opportunities generated by her modeling career to contribute something positive to her home country. “There’s just something that pulls me back.”

Dasha Jold

Fashion model Dasha Jold, 18, of Yekaterinburg, Russia, has her nails done backstage before the Monique Lhuillier Spring 2015 collection show, Sept. 5, 2014.

Jold was scouted on the street in her native Russia, at age 17. She struggles sometimes with homesickness, but says that keeping in touch through services like Skype helps ease those feelings. "I’m not missing the place, I’m missing the people there," Jold says, speaking about her hometown. Asked about the hardest aspect of modeling, she mentions the physical demands of the job. She explains that sometimes you just "need to recover, vacation, and then you can be fresh again - your skin, your head” and, she says laughing, “your feet.” Jold is guarded when speaking about her future in modeling, with evolving milestones. “This is my secret which I keep inside, and I’m trying to reach these things. I’m not trying to say, ‘Oh, I wanna do that, and when I will do that I will just stop modeling,’ ” she explains.

Julia Nobis

Julia Nobis, 22, of Sydney, Australia, has her make-up applied backstage before modeling at the Jason Wu Spring 2015 collection show, Sept. 5, 2014.

Nobis has walked runways in both the spring and fall Fashion Weeks in New York since she started modeling at age 17. She says she was discovered in a Sydney train station when she was 15.

Jing Wen

Jing Wen, center, of Guangzhou, China, waits to rehearse with other models before the Prabal Gurung Spring 2015 collection show, Sept. 6, 2014.

Jing Wen, 19, began modeling at age 17. She says that as a little girl, she loved the idea of modeling, but never dreamed that she would end up walking runways internationally. Although her mother and sister are back in China, she doesn’t often suffer from homesickness. For Jing Wen, the struggle to stay emotionally balanced is far more difficult. “You have to keep your heart strong,” she explains. “It’s so hard to get the show, so you have to [stay] peaceful, all the time.”

Jing Wen

Jing Wen, center, of Guangzhou, China, gets made up for her appearance in the Prabal Gurung Spring 2015 collection show, Sept. 6, 2014.

As for her future plans, Jing Wen sees herself as an entrepreneur. She says she plans to go back to school after modeling “and maybe after few years I will have my coffee shop.”

Yulia Musieichuk

Fashion model Yulia Musieichuk of Kiev, Ukraine, reacts as she is photographed from multiple angles while having her toenails painted backstage before the Rebecca Minkoff Spring 2015 collection show, Sept. 5, 2014.

Musieichuk, 22,  was scouted in her native Ukraine at age 16. "I like to be alone and traveling," she replied, when asked if she ever finds herself homesick. She feels the biggest misconception about modeling is that it's easy, saying that dealing with rejection is the biggest hurdle. With regards to casting, "It’s very hard after it’s 'no.' You can do it so many times and it’s no, no, no… it’s very hard emotionally... to stay in this and just to believe in yourself." As for her future in modeling, "I like it for now."

Herieth Paul

Herieth Paul, 18, center, chats with other models before a rehearsal for the Tadashi Shoji runway show, Sept. 4, 2014.

Paul, who has been modeling since age 14, was born in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and raised in Ottawa, Canada. "I am expecting a lot of craziness, a lot of beautiful makeup, a lot of drama," said Paul, talking about Fashion Week. On being a model: "We...are actually very intelligent. I am taking business in university right now, my bachelors and then masters, while working full time--and I am only 18-years-old. So, we got brains and money."

Amanda Murphy

Amanda Murphy, 27, of Chicago, has her hair styled and gets a manicure backstage before modeling at the Jason Wu Spring 2015 collection show, Sept. 5, 2014.

When she's not modeling, Murphy, who has four Italian Vogue covers to her name, works as a radiology technician in a Chicago clinic.