Hot Topic hosts Marianne Arana and Kate Caballero, alongside their guests Amaya Mejia and Sara Fidler, had a live conversation with rising model and Gulliver Alumn Landon Biscombe ‘23.
After majoring in air traffic control, the recent graduate never expected to find himself walking the Coach runway at New York Fashion Week. But in February, he did just that, marking a debut many aspiring models only dream of.
“I wanted to do something creative,” Biscombe said. “Modeling was just a dream I had in high school, but I never thought it would actually happen.”
That changed in October when “Lando” came across on a TikTok livestream with a photographer who was looking at digitals. He submitted his own, and shortly after, he was connected to a manager, then signed to DNA Model Management and Wilson Management. Most recently, he signed with Vision Models in Los Angeles and Next in Miami.
“About a month before New York Fashion Week, Coach reached out to my agency, and that was really cool because that meant they were interested in working with me,” Biscombe said.
Despite the excitement, the casting process was difficult, where Lando waited for hours just to have a conversation with the show’s casting director for five minutes.
“At first, I didn’t think they liked me,” Biscombe said.
However, the callback he received for a hair and makeup test proved otherwise. He practiced his runway walk on the treadmill the night he got the call.
The backstage experience, he said, was unforgettable.
“Everyone was so nice. I made so many friends,” Biscombe said. “People were trying to sneak backstage, so they gave us these wristbands. It was crazy.”
His day started early with breakfast, makeup, hair, and nails, taking about 20 minutes before rehearsals. He even spotted well well-known influencer and model, Alex Consani, during his fitting.
Biscombe credits his hair – his signature dreads – for landing him the job with Coach.
“I wasn’t really sure what the modeling agencies saw in me,” Biscombe said.
Living in Miami, Biscombe is continuing his studies through online classes at Miami Dade College while fully immersed in the modeling world.
What makes his story even more unique is the contrast between his passions—air traffic control and modeling – 2 extremely different careers.
Biscombe hopes to walk for Balenciaga one day, but for now, he’s soaking in the moment. This is only the beginning.
