The lives of a mechanic, maid and lifeguard take on glamorous new guises with a little help from models including Dorothea Barth Jorgensen, Cameron Russell and Hilary Rhoda in this new short from French video artist Marie Vic. Gearing up for the grueling month of fashion shows around the globe, the seven beauties in the film, all represented by Elite New York City, pose and preen in a tongue-in-cheek take on an alternative career path. “I like to play with props and I really take pleasure seeing things out of context,” explains Vic, who received an MFA in photography from Parsons The New School for Design and has exhibited at the Hendershot Gallery and Eyebeam in New York. “I wanted to compose an eclectic collection of ambiances where the models interact with an arrangement of accessories in a given area of New York to create an oxymoronic situation.” The varied locations include The Mark Hotel in Upper East Side Manhattan, a vogueing ball in Harlem and the boardwalk of Brighton Beach. Vic, who handled every aspect of the production apart from the music, filmed one model individually in each of the locales to create the disparate tableaux. As the director says: “The only thing that runs through the whole video is one pair of Pierre Hardy shoes!” We caught up with Maryland-born Rhoda about the pitfalls and necessities of fashion week.

What five things can’t you live without during fashion week?
Hilary Rhoda: Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair serum to keep my skin hydrated between the makeup changes of shows  and long working days in general; my mom to keep me sane; music; rocking out at a spin class to get rid of stress or jitters; and a good pedicure after wearing heels for a month straight.

What are your favorite off-duty hangouts? 
HR: In New York, Acme is a great low-key spot to go with friends for a drink. When I first started doing shows, the bar in the lobby of the Hotel Westminster in Paris was always a great place for a nightcap.

Some of the best beauty tips you’ve picked up along the way?
HR: Contouring with bronzer is one of my favorite makeup tricks. You can really accentuate the cheekbones and eyes and it looks great on everyone. Another trick is to give your face a nice massage for a couple minutes in the morning to get the blood flowing in your face and get rid of any puffiness from lack of sleep during fashion week. 

What’s your daily fashion week uniform? 
HR: Since I’m usually taking my clothes on and off a million times a day, I wear clothes that make it easy to do that. Jeans and a button-down blouse with a leather jacket and booties do the trick. 

In another life what career would you have?
HR: I am having this moment right now of imagining myself doing sick dance moves in a music video. So either a professional dancer or a pop star! I do a lot of choreographed dance cardio as my workouts every day, so that's one way I can pretend I’m Beyoncé.