Erika Jonsson Six Park by Erika Jonsson

Jess Picton-Warlow is one of Australia’s hottest exports on the international runway circuit. She grew up in South Fremantle and was spotted by a talent scout at The Big Day Out when she was just 15. Since then, she’s modelled for Dior, Valentino, Calvin Klein, Prada and Burberry (to name just a few) and famously walked 52 shows during spring/summer 2017, cementing her reputation as one of the hardest workers in fashion. She’s also been a Six Park client since January, and spoke to Six Park head of communication Erika Jonsson about her plans for the future and her journey with Six Park. Pictures by Christopher Ferguson.

Six Park client story

MODELLING NATURALLY SEEMS LIKE A VERY GLAMOROUS CAREER, BUT IT CAN’T POSSIBLY BE FUN ALL THE TIME… WHAT DO YOU LOVE THE MOST ABOUT YOUR JOB, AND WHAT’S THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE?

I absolutely love being a part of the entire creative experience and working with people who have so much passion for what they do. Seeing a job through, such as a photo shoot or runway show, is a full-on process. There’s so much time, effort and creative thought put in behind the scenes to bring about the designer’s vision. It’s always exciting to see it unfold and be a part of that production from concept to actuality.

The challenging part of modelling can be just how arduous the hours and time spent away from home can be. It can get lonely travelling by yourself or being constantly on the move!

WHAT DO YOU MISS ABOUT LIVING IN AUSTRALIA? WHERE DO YOU SPEND TIME WHEN YOU GET THE CHANCE TO VISIT?

I miss the nature, bacon and egg rolls, and my friends and family. I usually split my time between Perth and Sydney. I always try to take a road trip when I’m home and head bush to totally disconnect.

YOU’VE WALKED FOR PRETTY MUCH EVERY MAJOR FASHION LABEL IN THE WORLD – WHAT HAVE BEEN YOUR MOST MEMORABLE MOMENTS SO FAR?

There’s definitely a fair few memorable moments. It’s always great when shows are held on a location. Dior in the desert just outside Los Angeles or Prada in Shanghai come to mind. It’s also cool to me when elements of inspiration are shown on the runway; like when Burberry did a show inspired by Henry Moore and had his sculptures right there on the catwalk alongside us models.

HOW DID YOU FIRST FIND OUT ABOUT SIX PARK?

When I was in the US I came across a book called Personal Finance In Your 20s For Dummies by Eric Tyson. This book completely changed my life and outlook on money. I had absolutely no idea about anything before this book. It opened up the world of investing, saving, budgeting and personal finance as a whole, even if it was on a basic level.

Once I’d picked up that book, I started to get really interested and delve into it all further. I spent hours going through different books, Reddit posts, articles and courses. I still feel like I’ve only just begun my journey of learning how to care for my own finances but I’m really happy I’ve got my foot in the door and am hopefully not a complete dummy now.

When I found out about the magic of ETFs through my research I looked at some U.S. robo-advisers like Betterment. I plan on living in Australia in the future, so I want to keep my money here and that’s when I started extensively searching for Aussie robo-advisers and found Six Park.

Six Park client story

 

WHAT MOTIVATED YOU TO START INVESTING?

I heard the quote “Make your money work for you” and I saw this as such a perfect way to look at your future. I’ve become so motivated to build myself something that represents and grows from my own hard work.

HOW HAVE YOU FOUND THE EXPERIENCE SO FAR?

It’s been great. The reason I chose Six Park over other Aussie robo-advisers was the sleek design, easy to understand and navigate process and the customer service where they engage on a personal level.

WHAT ARE YOUR PASSIONS AND INTERESTS OUTSIDE WORK?

I love to learn and I feel lucky to be living in an era where self-education is so readily available. There’s an insane amount of material/courses to read and study online covering anything from geopolitics to finance or wellbeing. I also love music, dancing and just generally having a good time if that can be considered a passion!

IF YOU WEREN’T MODELLING, WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’D LOVE TO DO?

I think of it as; if I wasn’t modelling I would probably be wondering what it would be like if I was. I think the opportunity presented itself at the perfect time for me, so I just took it and ran with it. I’ve been doing it since I was 16 and I still can’t imagine myself doing anything else full-time for a while longer.

WHAT’S YOUR IDEA OF A PERFECT DAY OFF?

No alarm, moody weather outside, lying in bed drinking coffee and listening to music all day then cooking a big roast lamb later in the evening.

WHERE DO YOU SEE YOURSELF BEING IN 10 YEARS FROM NOW?

Hopefully out in the countryside with a nice house on some rolling hills and a glass of red wine!

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Published August 19, 2019