ONE IN A SERIES OF PHOTOS AND CAPTIONS RUNNING THROUGHOUT FASHION WEEK SLUGGED "MODELS OF THE WORLD," EXPLORING THE LIVES OF MODELS
Mona Matsuoka, 16, of Tokyo, waits backstage before the Monique Lhuillier Spring 2015 collection show Friday, Sept. 5, 2014, during Fashion Week in New York. An only child born to a Japanese mother and American father, Matsuoka began modeling in her hometown of Tokyo at age 10, after her mother put her into a modeling agency. Deciding at age 13 that she wanted to pursue modeling internationally, she had to wait until her 16th birthday before she could begin the next phase of her career. "I'm really homesick," she says, when asked about life on the road. Matsuoka says she struggles most with the uncertainty that permeates her essentially freelance lifestyle of modeling. "You don't know what's gonna happen." Nevertheless, Matsuoka views her modeling career in the long-term. "I would like to do it my whole life if I can." (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow)