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Catwalks and Compassion: Lisa Phillips’ Transition from Model to Advocate

The life of an international fashion model is all about jet-setting and catwalking. It can be all-encompassing and allow someone to explore the world, which was the experience Lisa Phillips had as a model working with the best photographers, designers, and big-name fashion houses. 

From just 16 years old, Phillips lived the life of a top fashion model, walking catwalks from London to New York. She saw a lot — but not all of what she saw was positive or empowering

Today, Phillips is a model scout in Los Angeles, mentoring others and helping them achieve their dreams in the spotlight However, she is taking her work in the industry even further by advocating for those just entering the industry and calling much-needed attention to the abuse many models face, which has been swept under the rug for far too long.

Modeling to Mentoring 

As a modeling scout, Phillips works with many young women who remind her of herself at their age — excited for their future, impressionable, but somewhat naive to what the industry can really be. “I entered the business at a time when models had to fit a standard — tall and lean,” Phillips explains. “Today, models can create their own reality through their own unique brand on social media. There is more acceptance for different body types. Almost anything is possible.” 

This changing landscape within the industry has led Phillips to adjust how she approaches scouting. “I’m no longer on the lookout for the leggy 16-year-old at the mall,” she says. “Instead, I’m interested in a person’s interests and passions.”

Phillips’ mindset marks a shift toward a more human-centered industry that comes after years of what many viewed as manipulative tactics toward young women who dreamed of becoming models. 

The industry’s dark underbelly 

As a young model in the early 2000s, Phillips was on a photoshoot in St. Thomas. Next thing she knew, the model had invited her to an island to meet a friend, and Philips found herself on the private island of Jeffrey Epstein, who is today infamous for having trafficked and abused girls as young as 14. Upon arriving at Epstein’s island at the behest of a friend and fellow model, Phillips found herself in a situation where she was “groomed” and “abused” by Epstein under the guise of giving a massage. 

Phillips saw first-hand how easy it can be to fall victim to the abusive tactics of people in power. Now, 20 years removed from her harrowing experience, with the world aware of the horrors that occurred on “Pedophile Island,” Phillips is bound and determined that abuses like what happened to her will not happen to others entering the industry.

A different approach for a new era of modeling

While many modeling scouts are still embroiled in the cut-throat nature of the industry, Phillips knows she can help create a kinder, gentler modern scouting enterprise, using her past traumas as a way of helping others. After running her own management agency in New York City, Phillips moved to LA and became a scout with Select Models. Today, she is thrilled to send models she finds at local malls to assignments all over the world to the agencies she once worked with herself.

“The industry can be safer and it must be a more positive experience for everyone,” Phillips says. “I want to be a part of creating that more sheltered industry.”

Phillips’ approach is distinctively modern. She looks for more than just a pretty face; she seeks smart, innovative, and passionate prospects. The industry’s increasing focus on diversity, gender fluidity, and body positivity is promising for Phillips, who has faith that her different approach to model scouting will help usher in a new era of creator modeling. 

Phillips has been working hard to establish herself in both the scouting and advocacy world. She has created a comprehensive coaching program for new models seeking to get signed, an e-course entitled #GetSigned Model Mastery, in which Phillips helps to guide their career to the greatest success with a knowing that someone is looking out for you. 

As an advocate, Phillips is getting more comfortable telling her story, knowing how much it can help other young women get their feet wet in the industry. “I suppressed it for over 15 years,” she explains, “but I’m done hiding.”

With a renewed energy to bring about a better industry and support those who have faced abuse, Phillips is redefining scouting and what it means to be a model. “A model’s career is a special one, with unlimited potential,” she says. “People look to them as examples of how they can achieve success beyond just how they look or beyond the superficial.” 

Next up for Phillips is an advocacy-focused podcast, the reveal of her new website, and continued efforts to make dreams come true. “It’s a tough business, but it’s been extremely rewarding,” Phillips shares. With an eye on helping to craft a kinder industry overall, Phillips is hopeful for the future. 

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Fashion

Petel Asaf Wants to Be a Victoria’s Secret Angel, and She’s Not Afraid to Say It

Petel Asaf is not interested in pretending her ambitions are modest. The model has a very specific dream: becoming a Victoria’s Secret Angel. After years of building a portfolio across international markets, she is comfortable saying the quiet part out loud.

The goal is aspirational, not an announced appointment. Asaf has not claimed to have signed with Victoria’s Secret. What she does have, by her account, is a collection of commercial-fashion experiences that helps explain why she considers a bigger runway and fashion platform within reach.

Her credits span projects associated with ASOS, JD Sports and Juicy Couture during a period in London, as well as SHEIN, Forever 21 and Missguided while working in China. They reflect the breadth of her experience, from accessible retail fashion to attention-grabbing billboard imagery, rather than any one signature look.

A Fashion Education Across Borders

Asaf’s story begins far from an established fashion capital. Born in Israel, she spent part of her childhood in Guatemala and Costa Rica. Modeling started at 16, and international assignments later meant moving between markets and learning to navigate unfamiliar places on her own.

The work was not easy to secure. Asaf recalls exhausting days in China and repeated casting rejections before a SHEIN campaign changed her momentum. London then provided further campaigns and billboard opportunities. The recurring lesson was that a recognizable brand name on a résumé is usually preceded by a great deal of work that no audience gets to see.

Now she is beginning a new phase in the United States, where her ambitions extend beyond being photographed in other labels’ clothing. She also wants to create a fashion business of her own.

The Designer Instinct Came First

That entrepreneurial idea reaches back to childhood. Raised by a single mother with limited financial resources, Asaf remembers cutting and sewing clothes to create looks her family could not simply buy. What began as improvisation became an early way of expressing her taste.

For her, a future label would close the loop between the girl who altered hand-me-down pieces and the working model who has worn clothes for globally recognized retailers. She has not announced a launch date or a brand name, so the concept remains a long-term aspiration rather than an upcoming product release.

Asaf has also appeared on Israel’s Big Brother, an experience that gives her fashion ambitions an entertainment dimension. At a time when models increasingly build their own audiences, her path does not have to follow just one runway.

Becoming a Victoria’s Secret Angel is an ambitious benchmark. Building a label is another. Whether either milestone comes next is unknown, but Asaf’s direction is clear: she wants to move from appearing in campaigns to shaping the image, and perhaps eventually the fashion, herself.

See more of Petel Asaf’s style and next chapter on Instagram.

Written in partnership with Tom White

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Fashion

Mayeli Alonso Is Redefining What It Means to Be a Latina Powerhouse

For years, Mayeli Alonso was known to millions as a reality television personality — a recognizable face in the Latino entertainment world whose personal life often became part of the public conversation. But today, that identity tells only a fraction of her story.

Behind the cameras, Alonso has been building something much bigger: a business empire rooted in wellness, confidence, fashion, and the growing economic power of Latina women in the United States.

Her evolution is not simply about a new chapter. It is about changing the narrative around who she is.

The transformation is visible. Alonso has undergone a significant physical transformation in recent months, drawing attention across social media and prompting conversations about her evolving lifestyle. But focusing solely on her weight would miss the more important story. Her most significant transformation has been professional — moving from being recognized primarily as a reality television personality to establishing herself as an entrepreneur with a clear vision for the modern Latina consumer.

At the center of that evolution is Evolution Fit, the activewear and lifestyle brand she created from her own experience.

“I got tired of not feeling good about myself, of not recognizing who I was,” Alonso says. “I realized that change had to start from within.”

That realization became the foundation for a business designed to speak directly to women who, like Alonso, are navigating careers, motherhood, personal reinvention, and the pressure to constantly become something more.

From Reality Television to Entrepreneurship

The transition from entertainment personality to entrepreneur is not always an easy one.

Public figures can become defined by the characters audiences associate with them. For Alonso, breaking beyond that perception required building something that could exist independently of television.

Evolution Fit became part of that answer.

Alonso identified what she saw as a gap in the fitness and activewear market: products and messaging that genuinely connected with Latina women and their realities. Rather than creating another fitness label focused exclusively on aesthetics or performance, she wanted Evolution Fit to represent something broader — a lifestyle built around confidence, discipline, wellness, and personal evolution.

“A lot of brands talk about fitness, but they don’t connect with the reality of a woman who works, who is a mother, who has so many responsibilities and still wants to feel good in her own skin,” she explains.

That distinction is important.

Alonso isn’t selling the idea that women need to become someone else. She is building a brand around the idea that women can evolve without abandoning who they are.

The Business of Becoming

The word “evolution” is particularly fitting for Alonso’s current chapter.

Her own journey has become inseparable from the philosophy behind her company. Fitness introduced discipline. Personal change introduced patience. Entrepreneurship demanded consistency.

The lessons overlap.

“Nothing changes overnight, and that applies to everything in life,” Alonso says. “I learned to stay consistent even when I don’t feel like it.”

That mindset has become central to the way she approaches both business and personal growth.

Her recent physical transformation has consequently become part of a much larger conversation about reinvention. Rather than treating transformation as an endpoint, Alonso presents it as an ongoing process — one that begins mentally before it becomes visible externally.

For an audience that has watched her evolution publicly, that message carries particular weight.

She is no longer simply documenting a transformation. She is building a business around the philosophy that transformation is possible.

A Brand Built for Latina Women

Evolution Fit also reflects something happening far beyond Alonso herself.

Latina women are becoming an increasingly visible force in American entrepreneurship, fashion, entertainment, and consumer culture. Yet Alonso believes representation needs to go beyond visibility.

It also means ownership.

Creating a company, developing products, building a community, and controlling the narrative around her own identity have allowed Alonso to participate in the Latino market from a different position: not simply as talent, but as a business owner.

“Being Latina means having character and history,” she says. “I feel a responsibility to represent that in a positive way and to show that we can build, create, and lead. That we are not limited.”

That philosophy extends to the women who follow her.

Through social media, Alonso has built a direct relationship with an audience that sees more than the polished side of entrepreneurship. She shares routines, personal experiences, challenges, and moments of imperfection — creating a form of connection that feels less like celebrity-to-fan communication and more like one woman speaking to another.

Her message is consistent: there is no universal timeline for transformation.

More Than Activewear

What Alonso is building with Evolution Fit may ultimately extend far beyond clothing.

She envisions the company evolving into a broader wellness ecosystem — one that addresses physical health while also incorporating mental and emotional well-being.

“I would love to continue growing the activewear side, launching new collections, and collaborating with Latino talent,” she says. “I also want to expand into a more holistic wellness concept, not just physical, but mental and emotional.”

That vision positions Evolution Fit as something larger than an apparel company.

It becomes a community.

It becomes a philosophy.

And, potentially, it becomes one of the ways Alonso’s influence continues to expand beyond entertainment.

The New Mayeli Alonso

There is a tendency to categorize women according to the chapter in which audiences first discovered them.

For Mayeli Alonso, that chapter was reality television.

But entrepreneurship has given her the opportunity to write a different one.

Today, the conversation around Alonso increasingly extends into business, wellness, fashion, personal development, and Latina representation. Her physical transformation may have sparked renewed public attention, but her business evolution is what gives the moment staying power.

She is demonstrating that reinvention does not require abandoning your past. It requires building something that reflects where you are going.

For Alonso, that next destination is clear: more brands, more collaborations, more community, and a larger platform for Latina women who want to build lives and businesses on their own terms.

Her advice to the next generation reflects the philosophy behind everything she is creating:

“Use your story as your strength. Everything you’ve been through has value.”

That may be the clearest description of Mayeli Alonso’s evolution.

The reality star is still part of her story.

But she is no longer the whole story.

Written in partnership with Tom White

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Fashion

Where Top LA Stars Are Buying Their Designer Bags Online

In the world of celebrity fashion, the right handbag can become just as iconic as the outfit itself. From red carpets to international concert tours, A-list stylists are constantly searching for standout accessories, and increasingly, many are turning to Vitkac.com, the luxury online store destination operated by Vitkac.

Known among fashion insiders for its vast selection of designer pieces, Vitkac.com has become one of the most exciting places online to find luxury bags from the world’s most coveted fashion houses. With hundreds of brands available and an ever-changing assortment of runway pieces and timeless classics, the platform has quietly built a reputation as a go-to destination for celebrities, stylists, and fashion collectors.

A Superstar Stop in Warsaw

That reputation was reinforced recently when global superstar Jennifer Lopez was spotted visiting the iconic Vitkac Luxury Department Store after performing in Warsaw.

The visit sparked excitement among fashion fans around the world. Lopez has long been recognized as one of the entertainment industry’s most influential style icons, and her appearance at the sleek Warsaw luxury destination highlighted the store’s growing international profile.

Fans celebrated the moment online, noting that when an artist known for unforgettable stage looks and timeless glamour steps into one of Europe’s most sophisticated luxury fashion destinations, it reinforces Vitkac’s status as a global shopping hotspot.

The Story Behind the Luxury Powerhouse

While Vitkac.com may feel like a modern discovery to many fashion shoppers, the brand itself has deep roots in the luxury retail world.

The company’s history dates back to the early 1990s, when a family-run luxury retail group began introducing high-end international designers to Poland. Those relationships with global fashion houses eventually paved the way for the creation of Vitkac as a dedicated luxury department store concept.

In 2011, the striking Vitkac flagship store opened in the heart of Warsaw. Designed by renowned architect Stefan Kuryłowicz, the bold modern building quickly became a landmark and one of the most prestigious luxury retail destinations in Central and Eastern Europe.

The name “Vitkac” itself pays homage to the celebrated Polish artist Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz, reflecting the store’s blend of art, architecture, and high fashion.

Why Celebrities Love Vitkac.com

Today, Vitkac’s online platform extends the experience of the Warsaw flagship store to fashion lovers worldwide. Vitkac.com offers one of the widest selections of luxury bags and designer handbags available online, making it especially appealing to celebrities and stylists looking for standout pieces.

The platform features:

  •     Runway handbags from major fashion houses
  •     Limited-edition designer accessories
  •     Rare pieces from emerging luxury brands
  •     Timeless handbags that remain staples of celebrity style

For stars who are constantly photographed, from airports to after-parties, accessories play a crucial role in defining their look. Having access to a diverse and curated collection of women’s luxury bags gives stylists the freedom to create distinctive fashion moments.

From Warsaw to the World

Luxury fashion is no longer confined to traditional capitals like Paris or Milan. Today the industry is global, and retailers like Vitkac are helping redefine where high fashion lives.

With its striking flagship store in Warsaw and a growing international online presence, Vitkac has become one of Europe’s most exciting luxury shopping destinations.

And if Jennifer Lopez’s recent visit is any indication, the world’s biggest stars are already discovering what fashion insiders have known for years: when it comes to finding the perfect luxury bag, Vitkac.com is quickly becoming a destination worth watching.

Written in partnership with Tom White

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