HANA JIRICKOVA

A native of Brno, Czech Republic and lover of the arts, Hana Jirickova has carved out her very own niche in the dazzling world of high fashion modeling since being discovered at the age of 16 years old. Although growing up quite poor and only having the hand-me-downs of her brothers to wear, the inner artiste of Hana took full advantage of her predicament which an unlikely obsession for fashion would blossom:

I remember flashbacks lighting up Magic Whip
Eight o’clock, Kowloon emptiness, handle it
The white horse image I had of you eleven seconds ago
I didn’t send you, so you will never know
I got away for a little while
But then it came back much harder

“I’VE ALWAYS BEEN CREATIVE… We had no money when I was growing up, so I had to be. My mum had a sewing machine and we learned how to redo clothes and add our own touches to them.”

Admittedly, Hana never had any desire to be a model and ever since she got her very first set of paint brushes and paints at the age of four years old for Christmas, Hana knew right away what she was destined for: “I had no desire at all to be a model,” says Hana. “I was only into art and wanted to go to art school.

Swinging on a cable up to Po Lin
Climbing panda, ghostly wine, and a battery
That light in your eyes I search for religiously
When it’s not there, oh Lord, it’s hurting me
I got away for a little while
But then it came back much harder

Still very much impassioned with her calling and dream of being an artist, the unlikely prospect of modeling would weave its way into Hana’s creative plans when she was scouted at the age of 16. Comically, Hana took the agents modeling proposal as a pick-up line, giving him her dad’s phone number to contact.

‘Til I ever hold you out there again, will you be mine?
‘Cause I’m on a ghost ship drowning my heart in Hong Kong
It’s the last ride boarding here tonight
Out in the bay (Out in the bay)
I’ll need a lantern in you to shine out bright rays

A month later, Jirickova was in Prague with her father to meet the owners of Prague Elite in hopes of convincing her to take part in their Elite supermodel competition where Hana not only competed, but ultimately won! With a means to fund her art education in Prague from the funds she received from modeling, Hana was able to graduate and set her creative sights on the city of lovers, Paris!

Hana Jirickova would launch her career during the Autumn/Winter 2008 season, walking for everyone from Agnes B, Alberto Tous, Barbara Bui, Belstaff, Elsa Esturgie, Isabel Marant, and Martin Lamothe. For the next few years, Hana kept fashion modeling at a steady pace while realizing her dream of attending art school, still finding time to do runway work and editorials.

Hana’s patient start would finally yield results when she broke out majorly in 2013, scoring her first major covers Vogue Mexico, twice for Vogue Portugal, Russh, Bal Harbour, and Elle Czech Republic, while in the same year walking for Oscar de la Renta and Ralph Lauren.

Yet her 2013 year would fail in comparison to the year of 2014, and would prove to be one of her biggest yet on the scene as she walked for some of the biggest names such as Max Mara, Etro, Trussardi, Ralph Lauren, Alexander Wang, Marc Jacobs, Tommy Hilfiger, Isabel Marant, Tom Ford, and Versace! Hana even had advertising work for H&M, Armani Exchange, Tommy Hilfiger, and Max Mara, while securing two more Vogue covers in the same year.

“I was going to be a painter before I started to be a model.”

Feeling out of body here, what can I do?
It’s up to the top every day to join with you
I had to get away for a little while
But then it came back much harder

While 2013 and 2014 would serve to be some of her most fruitful years on the catwalk, 2015 and 2016 would be some of her most successful years commercially as she was featured in back to back years for Paco Rabanne’s Lady Million Fragrance, starring alongside Sean O’Pry. She electrified in ads like Tiffany & Co., Beymen, Wolford, Malene Birgir, and Net-A-Porter.

‘Til I ever hold you out there again, will you be mine?
‘Cause I’m on a ghost ship drowning my heart in Hong Kong
It’s the last ride boarding here tonight
Out in the bay (Out in the bay)
I’ll need a lantern in you to shine out bright rays

Although Hana doesn’t have as much fanfare as some of her modeling contemporaries, she’s still very much in demand after being in the fashion industry for over a decade. According Models.com, she’s ranked among the very best, snagging Top 50 and the Hot List achievements, even ranking amongst the big money earners. 2019 and especially 2020 have been nothing short of stellar for Hana with four Vogue covers and numerous editorial and advertisement work.

When Hana isn’t modeling she loves to be hyperactive, although not much of a gym-goer, she loves to play ping pong and is addicted to playing tennis: “THE GYM ISN’T FOR ME… I like tennis, running, swimming, whatever gets me outside. I love nature; it makes me happy. I like the city for the energy, but after a while I need a bit of green.”

I really do think Hana Jirickova is one of the coolest models around with a great personality to match her charming, extroverted quirkiness. She’s insanely dynamic when she’s modeling from being plain silly to adorable, avant-garde to classical, sophisticated to daring sultry sex appeal, she can model about anything with a number of sundry looks.

Hana being a creative and a painter no doubt coincides with her being as amazing as a model as she is. She plays on her artistic know-how and creates characters that invoke feelings like a painter applies color and shapes to a canvas: “ART IS MY REAL PASSION… It’s good for my soul. When I see something that inspires me, I really get into doing collages and playing with color. Ten hours can go by and I don’t even realize it.”

‘Til I ever hold you out there again, will you be mine?
‘Cause I’m on a ghost ship drowning my heart in Hong Kong
It’s the last ride boarding here tonight
Out in the bay (Out in the bay)
I’ll need a lantern in you to shine out bright rays
Bright rays, bright rays

Like a rockin’ Pixies or Blur song, Hana Jirickova is just otherworldly dynamic! She’s one of the most exciting and captivating fashion models around today. She’s extroverted, quirky, crafty, imaginative, high energy and just plain out lovingly silly. A Superlove that will have you humming Beetlebum like there’s no other way with her art in one hand and love in the other, Hana Jirickova.

Laetitia Casta goes full on 90s like only she can for Jacquemus’s Fall/Winter 2020 Collection “L’ANNÉE 97” with Walkmans, Yo-yos, and N64 consoles, all the while sporting nifty threads from the collection like La veste Esterel, La jupe Valerie, La veste d’homme, and the sporty Le Chiquito long’s bag! I thought this was such an awesome collection when it debuted back in January. I thought the threads were comfortable yet chic, on-the-go casual yet formal enough to wear at the most important functions, plus, my favorite models like Luna and Birgit were featured in the show. This was such a fun showcase of a memorable collection with 90s flare with one of the coolest models from the 90s in Laetitia Casta. Thanks Jacquemus for taking this 90s kid down memory lane. I’m a little bummed I didn’t get to see Laetita with a Tamagotchi or Game Boy Color, though lol. Photography by Valentin Herfray