Model Call: Darius Johnson
With just one year under his belt, fresh face Darius Johnson has already had his share of attention in the fashion industry, from walking in the fall Givenchy show to appearing in the latest Gap ad campaign. Johnson talks about his idols and reveals his dream travel destination.
If you weren’t a model, what would you do?
I would like to think acting. But then again I studied economics in college so I would probably be working at a bank. It would be boring in comparison. I worked at a bank before I started modeling and I hated it; it was a total desk job, looking at charts all day. I was not into it at all. It’s a good thing I’m a model.
What is the craziest experience you’ve had so far while modeling?
Every day something crazy happens, but what did blow me away was the Givenchy after-party. It was so wild — the craziest party I have ever been to.
If you could travel to one place right now, where would it be?
Buenos Aires. A friend of mine went there when he was 18 and was there for a month. He told me it was life-changing. I want to have that same experience. When you’re a model, you travel so often and it’s always so last-minute. My agent will call me and let me know I have to go to Miami or to San Francisco, but that’s all work. I want to go on my own time, not someone else’s.
What are you currently obsessed with?
The SoundCloud app. I’m into these kids and teenagers who are making rap songs in their bedrooms. They are 17 and they are really disrupting the rap game. I find it very cool that there are people out there wanting to break barriers.
Who are your idols?
Raf Simons and Dries Van Noten are my fashion idols. Style icons I would say Steve Jobs, Bill Clinton and his jogging wear from the Nineties. It’s a random image, but I love it.
What did you feel when you saw yourself in the Gap ad?
They don’t tell you when it comes out, so I literally went to a Gap store and I saw it there for the first time and I was in awe. It was overwhelming, to be honest.
This story first appeared in the May 4, 2016 issue of WWD. Subscribe Today.
