Real Girl to Runway: How a DJ Became a DKNY Model

Here we go!

"Last year, my friends Chelsea Leyland and Brandee Brown walked the DKNY show. They're all about real style and real New Yorkers, so this year, they asked if they could mix me in with the models. I said 'yes' immediately, but now, I'm so nervous. What if I fall? I think my shoes are flats, but still. I would totally be the one girl to fall in flats!"

"I grew up in Queens," says Kwok, a veteran of the NYC nightlife scene. "My style was very tomboy. I wore a lot of baggy jeans, a lot of Tommy Hilfiger and Polo shirts. I did that thing with the overalls where you let one strap hang loose. I wore a lot of DKNY, actually. My high school self would be dying right now."

"I'm not a model, but I work every day during Fashion Week because of my jobs as a DJ and an events producer. Last night, I did the music for Jonathan Simkhai's after-party. The night before, I did Cushnie et Ochs. And today, literally right after I walk this show, I'm walking uptown to set up for a dinner tonight that Cointreau is throwing. They're my client, and it's going to be a huge event—and I'd never skip work just because, for a few hours, people are gonna take my picture. My hashtag is #NeverNotWorking and it's true."

"My family is from Hong Kong, and growing up, there weren't a lot of Asian girls on the runway. Definitely not in ad campaigns! It's cool to finally see the industry changing and getting more into... I don't know, more into us?!" She says, laughing. "When they did my hair, I was sitting next to Xiao Wen Ju and a few other girls that are blowing up. I was like, 'Great. They're putting me in the Asian supermodel row. Now everyone's gonna know I'm not a real model!'"

"When I was a kid, I used to think models got to take the clothes home with them after a show. That's so not true. I love the shoes I'm wearing, but they go back to the DKNY office in two hours."

"I used to think that I should only wear black because it was such a chic, adult thing to do. Then I had an all-white phase where I thought THAT was even chicer and more adult. But now I've realized I really like color. And at work, you can absolutely be taken seriously if you wear color—and you can be discounted even if you look cool. The most important thing is that you're hard working and great at your job—and as long as you look polished, color is great."