DRAFTING W/ JEAUNI CASSANOVA

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Some style stars need an entire catwalk; Jeauni Cassanova needs only a portable treadmill. Online, Cassanova’s self-made videos have become favorites within the fashion community, where larger-than-life silhouettes and whimsical young designers anchor GRWM rituals (set to a steady loop of Lil’ Kim).

Beneath the playfulness is a serious collector’s eye: from archival Christian Dior to Vivienne Westwood, Cassanova’s wardrobe reflects deep fashion fluency — one that’s earned admiration, and a following, from legends like John Galliano.

For DRAFTING, Cassanova offers a more vulnerable glimpse under the layers of feathers, masks and fabric. Stripped of spectacle, Cassanova emerges as a genuine romantic — with an uncanny sense of humor.

Someone once asked me, “When do you wake up?” and I answered, “When I wake up.” I don’t believe in alarms. They feel deeply unnatural and unromantic. Instead, I’ve set all my lights to turn on at 7:30 every morning. I still don’t wake up until 9. I tell myself that one day I’ll learn to believe in alarms, because somewhere deep down I suspect they’re the final roadblock between me and stardom.

From one of my favorite shoots I’ve ever done. This entire era for me felt so true to my heart and there is an unapologetic, unafraid energy from this time I long to capture again.

I’m at Louboutin trying on shoes I won’t buy in my favorite jeans from Target.

My ex-wife and I are still best friends with at least one big fight every business quarter, but neither of us can imagine a life without each other. Everything we make, we share with each other. So I was showing her photos I had taken and she reminded me that all things begin and end with showing off your best assets.

I wrote this during one of the most precarious moments of my life. A nine-year relationship was ending just as a new one was beginning. From the outside, my career looked like it was taking off, but privately I was financially drowning. Every shift felt charged with the possibility of pain or disappointment.

I had to remind myself that without risk, there would be nothing. That I am willing to be hurt if it means I can love fully in the end. Love is where I draw my inspiration from – so if I’m not in love, I’m not creating. And because I must create, I am always in love. The willingness for pain must co-exist with the desire of love.

I always jokingly say Yoko Ono was the best thing to come out of The Beatles. Of course, this is probably untrue (I’ve never really deep dived into The Beatles). However, it is a funny, bold statement to make. But I will say this: Yoko Ono could do “I Want to Hold Your Hand.” The Beatles could never do “Walking on Thin Ice (Felix Da Housecat Tribute Mix).”

This song is an endless reminder that anything in life worth chasing demands radical vulnerability. You step onto the thin ice knowing it might crack. You pay the price upfront — emotionally, creatively, spiritually. But in the end, the tears dry either way and it’ll be just a story.

And the mix is a MOTHERQUAKE. FABULOUS!

I loathe doing my makeup and being photographed — which is rich, considering my entire existence seems to depend on being in front of a camera. Lately, though, I’ve been playing with the idea of making tulle masks, each with a different painted face, so they can stand in for mine. Let them perform. Let them be seen. I’ll remain just behind the veil.

Karlie Kloss in “Feast for the Eyes” by Patrick Demarchelier for Vogue US, February 2010.

Zoom calls are the death of me because it’s all of the getting ready with none of the energy exchange of real human connection and life. But they generally mean something exciting is happening in my career and whatever software is built in really makes me look sickening.