Made a brave move to live in Tokyo at such a young age and became a role model for many millenials, Lauren Tsai was one of the most well rounded up girl that we’ve ever met. Here she invites us on her journey.
This article was originally published in DEW Magazine #27 Sustainable Issue Pre-Spring 2018
Born and raised in Massachusetts, Lauren Tsai made a brave move to leave her home to pursuit her career in modelling to Tokyo at such a young age. Decided not to continue her study, she became a role model for many millenials as she rounded well about her passion in art and performing. Made an art collaboration with brands such as Starbucks and many to come. She told us who she is, her dreams and how coping with her new life and meeting new people have been blooming her right.
With the same seating arrangements, we asked Lauren if we can start the interview, and yes here we go!
Could you tell us a little bit of what you do now?
Lauren Tsai: So I currently lived in Tokyo, Japan, I’m working as Illustrator and Model, and I also do a little bit acting.
How has Tokyo been for you? And do you find yourself enjoying Tokyo more recently?
Lauren Tsai: I love Tokyo. Honestly, it was terrifying to move here by myself in the beginning you know… coming to a new city with no super close friends or family or no family at all. But, yeah I’ve been living here almost a year, in about ten days it’s going to be a year. I love it, and I’m starting to build good relationships, get more comfortable with where I live, and because I’ve been traveling for work… each time that I came back to Tokyo, it feels more and more like home.
Why not art school?
Lauren Tsai: I got into art college, I was going to go, but it did not feel right for me, so I did not go. I’d rather come here and start working right away, because you know if I go to art school I have to give up modeling and living in Japan. It was not the sacrifice that I wanted to make.
Shirt Rani Hatta. Bow tie blouse Akira Naka. © DEW Magazine
How about Terrace House?
Lauren Tsai: Terrace House… I found the audition on Facebook actually. So, initially, I was planning to go to art school so I was doing a gap year beforehand and I thought that I wanted to do something crazy, yea that just completely met the crazy criteria. It was something that felt like it would be a good challenge for myself and I decided to do Terrace House, and after Terrace House, I decided to not go to art school. Come straight to Japan.
How has Terrace House affected you with your career now in Tokyo?
Lauren Tsai: It changed everything for me, I mean modeling in Japan before Terrace House was good and fun, but I was not really getting any job. Terrace House really gave me the opportunity to be known by such a wide range of people, and I think from that I’ve started to get a lot more job offers and opportunities that without Terrace House I never would have been able to. So, I’m very grateful to the show for that.
Knowing that you have grown up in different scenes from one country to the other, how do you think these multi-cultural elements of your life affected your career?
Lauren Tsai: Yeah, I lived in Massachusetts for a while then I moved to Hawaii, and I went back to Massachusetts for a year for boarding school, and working in Japan. I think traveling is definitely important for a self-discovery when you’re immersed in another culture, you not only realize more about the world that you living in, but you understand more about yourself and how you feel about in different environments, how you change, and what you like, or you don’t like. So, I think for me having the ability to have lived in different places has helped me to better understand what I want to do with my life.