Illustration: Samantha Hahn
For this special Fashion Week edition of “How I Do It,” we asked successful women how to manage their careers and lives during this hectic time of year.
When Jin Soon Choi moved from Olympia, Washington, to New York City in 1990 with just $400 lent her by her sister, she immediately went to work at the now-closed Sunny Nails nail salon owned by Koreans in the Upper East Side. There, he built a clientele for whom she would offer in-home manicures and pedicures, bike to and from his apartments, and earn the nickname “Bicycle Jin.” One of these clients, Andrea Pomerantz Lustig, who was beauty director at Cosmopolitan at the time, introduced Choi to the Mark Edward Inc. agency, launching her into the publishing world.
In 1999, Choi opened a boutique nail spa in the East Village, the first of four in the entire city, and in the years that followed, she established herself as a mainstay in the nail art world. Since then, he has worked with brands such as Revlon, CoverGirl, L’Oréal, Maybelline, Sally Hansen, Mac, Sephora, Louis Vuitton, and Michael Kors; his work appeared in The New York Times Magazine, Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue; and he worked with the likes of Irving Penn, Marc Jacobs and Amy Smilovic. In 2012, Choi launched her eponymous line of nail polish, which now sponsors shows during New York Fashion Week.
Choi, who lives in Soho with her husband, John (who happens to be the architect behind each of her spas), and their three cats, Choco, Bonbon,
and Consuelo, is one of the most sought after nail artists in the fashion industry. So it’s no surprise that her Fashion Week schedule is jam-packed and hellish. She told us how she does it herself.
On a typical day during Fashion Week:
I don’t mind working late, but I hate getting up early. I’m a night owl, so I stay up until two or three in the morning. If I have a photo shoot in the morning or a program at 10 am, I sleep four or five hours. My last show will be at 8 pm In between, I also have photo shoots, yesterday I had a Lanvin photo shoot. If I don’t have any shows, I get up around nine because I usually go to bed around 2 or 3 in the morning. I have a very good assistant that I trust and send her to test sessions if there are overlapping bookings. so we share. If there is no overlap, I go to everything.
I’m not used to going to bed early; I can’t go to sleep early. I try, but I can’t get used to it. From time to time, I can take a nap if I am too tired in a session. I have been working with this team for a long time. We know each other very well, so they will put a sofa in the beauty salon, and sometimes I can nap on the sofa for 30 minutes.
On the most stressful parts of the process:
My schedule is taken care of by my agency, but it’s worse during Fashion Week. I have a lot to do, and it is very difficult to juggle. Sometimes things change last minute, but generally we try to schedule at least two days in advance. My agent enters everything into Google Calendar and reminds me.
It’s also stressful putting together my team. I have about 15 people on my team. I need to know, this person is good with this person and good with this style. I try to put the right people on each show.
On maintaining your stamina:
By now, I know which shows won’t have food and which will. At home, I’ll eat before I go. I will eat a lot of fruit and oatmeal. I try to carry an energy bar or fruit in my bag or nuts. I’ll bring some kind of quick snack and my coconut water and orange juice. It gives me quick energy.
When moving:
I can’t take the subway because I have big bags, so I’ll take a Lyft or Uber.
In his backstage uniform:
I am not elegant. I am more casual and comfortable. I wear t-shirts and jeans. My favorite shoes are Nike sneakers because I have to walk and move around a lot. Comfort is the first thing I think about. People think backstage is very glamorous, and it’s not. Sometimes we have to sit on the floor doing toes, and I have to make sure I’m wearing something comfortable. I will wear fun tops that are tie-dye.
On the parts of her routine she gives up during Fashion Week:
I do not have time for anything. For skin care, I will follow the steps of K-beauty but without a mask, without additional personal care. not exercise Without meditation. I have to focus on getting ready for my fashion shows, so I can’t focus on other things. I know that when this is over, I can go get a massage; I can go on the rowing machine, treadmill, and bike. I know they will be there after Fashion Week. If it wasn’t Fashion Week, I’d treadmill and jump rope.
When unrolling:
I love K variety shows, like comedy shows. Another thing that really helps me is when I watch cat and dog videos on Instagram Reels. That really relaxes me and makes me feel happy and free from stress. Many cats are so smart. They are better than human beings.
On having help at home:
My husband takes care of the cats. I work from home when I don’t have shots for my Jin Soon hairspray line, so I have a home office and one of my cats will always be with me, but I can’t do that when I’m gone. Fashion Week. I think they miss me; They walk around when I have to leave early like, Where are you going, mommy? I just saw Inside the Mind of a Cat, so I tried to train Consuelo. He’s not smart in general, but when it comes to food, he can be.
On skipping commitments:
I’m actually a pretty responsible person, so I can never do that to any designer. I can’t do that to anyone. Even if I don’t like the look or the color, I can’t leave them in harm’s way. We can talk about it next season, but I can never stop showing up. Even if I’m sick and dying, I have to go.
On what makes a successful Fashion Week:
No. 1 is not a drama with my team. Also that the work goes smoothly. If something goes wrong, it’s not fun. If an hour before the show, we still have models to do, that’s not good. My heart starts to pound. The nail polish has to dry, and I don’t want to paint while they’re in a row. I want to finish the job before they line up for the show. I want everything to go smoothly and well, without any delays or drama, just as I planned.
Source: news.google.com