She’s our first, so we ask her to reveal her firsts. This is not nearly as creepy as it sounds.

Since Mandy Coon is our inaugural designer, we wanted to talk to her about some of her own milestones, in fashion and elsewhere. And, as it turns out, this topic’s pretty fitting: The New Yorker by way of Texas has had an awful lot of lives for a woman of 34—she modeled and DJed pretty seriously before becoming a designer to watch. We’d compare her to a cat, but we wouldn’t want to offend her French bulldog Petunia, who also goes by Stinky.
 

First Look: “When I was ten, I was obsessed with Morrissey, and I was convinced I was going to marry him. My older sister would be like, ‘He’s gay,’ and I’d say, ‘No, he’s not,’ and get really mad. I was really into wearing men’s clothes then. Now when I think back, I realize that was pretty awesome. And my sister would cut my hair—she’d shave the sides. I’d still have kind of long hair, and one day my mom would notice and scream, ‘What the hell, Missy! She’s eleven!’”

First Modeling Job: “It could have been prom dresses—that was one of the first ones. Or a mall fashion show in Houston.”

First Apartment: “In New York, I first lived in models’ apartments, which are like hell. Then I lived at Kenmare and Mott in a tiny, tiny space, and I had two roommates. One was this girl Sarah, and one was Kenzo Minami, the artist. I think we were just drunk most the time.”

First Design: “I did this little sheath dress with this really big exaggerated ruffle that I had at a boutique and sold to friends.” [Pictured here on her pal Justine]

First Pet: “When I was a kid, my sister and I had a pony, Possum Face. He had a white mane and was brown and cream. My dad used to breed racing horses, so every weekend, we would go out to this little ranch. We’d try to catch wild cats and then come home to my mom scratched all over the place.”

First Collection: “It was actually Camilla Stærk, who I was working for, who got up my nerve. One day she said, ‘You’re going to do it. You’re going to have a presentation. You’re going to have a real collection.’ She handed me a sticky note and said, “Here’s the number for the lady who does the fashion week calendar. You’re going to call her. You’re going to get a date.” And I was like, ‘You’re crazy, lady.’ She said, ‘No, this is the right step. You’re ready.’”

First DJ Gig: “It was Halloween, but I don’t remember the year—maybe 2005 or 2006. It was at that place Fat Baby, with Anouck Lepère. I was terrified. I was shaking. But by the end of our set, I was like, ‘Wait, wait! Just let me play a few more songs.’ When I do it now, I have to tell people, ‘No, I don’t have any Lady Gaga.’”

If you’re reading this in your Tumblr dashboard, you should check out our brand-new site at ofakind.com. While you’re there, sign up for our newsletter.