The Insider: Tulane students show 'what's sexy for August'
Alexandra Carmen woke up on a Wednesday morning without a clue that by Saturday she would be one of several Tulane University students posing for the August issue of Cosmopolitan (available on news stands now). The shoot on April 27 took place on and around the uptown campus and the 13-page spread features all Tulane students.
Students selected for the Cosmopolitan shoot were, from left, Alexandra Carmen, Sally Marmet, Lauren Gruenebaum, Shalini Persaud, Alexandria Petrasek, Karachi Achilihu, Alyssa Zeutzius and Jessica Adamson (not pictured). (Photo by Paul Costello)
Carmen was one of eight Tulane women to get the VIP treatment from the Cosmo crew hair, makeup, manicures and styles by some of the season's most popular designers.
In one photo, Carmen sports a $498 J. Crew sweater with cuffed jeans and a pair of $375 DKNY boots. Even her bright yellow Armani sunglasses were above a typical college-student's budget at $160. “Unfortunately,” she says, “we did not get to keep the clothes.”
In on the action was Tulane assistant director of public relations Barri Bronston, who accompanied the students, and New Orleans-based photographer Paul Costello.
Bronston says she watched the casting of models dwindle from a few dozen students to less than 10.
“Steve Brown, Cosmo's senior bookings editor, expressed that the search wasn't all about looks. They wanted personality as well as comfort in front of the camera,” says Bronston. “I'm pretty sure they also needed certain measurements because the size of the clothes they brought in were pretty small.”
Although Carmen says the models were not paid, she would do it again in a heartbeat.
“The exposure from being in Cosmopolitan is priceless,” says Carmen. “It was an incredible experience.”
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