OBSESSED: ERIN WASSON

"No, I don't give two shits." I'm sitting with Erin Wasson in a brightly lit office and just wanted to know if, as the spring '13 shows in Milan were underway (that morning was Gucci), she kept tabs on the clothes being sent down the runway. Uncrossing her legs--she's wearing head-to-toe leather, save for a fuzzy leopard print jacket, a pair of Rockport oxfords, and a hand full of ring--she continues. "Why? I don't give a fuck. I don't care at all. I am so not interested in being a voyeur. Right now I'm like, I want to get on a flight and go to L.A. and go to the Animal Collective show." Talking to the supermodel--whose face is featured in Maybelline ads and, starting this fall, feet are featured in Rockport ads--it's easy to want to hop on that plane and go to that Animal Collective show with her. In an industry where models are often either forgettable or off-puttingly professional, Wasson's honesty (to both herself and the world around her) is a breath of fresh air. Born in Texas, she spouts super-sized philosophy on a range of topics. "I really prefer to not at all exist in any circle of suffering, in any capacity," she tells me when I ask her about the toil of wearing high heels after she professes her love of flats. That's not the only thing the model-slash-designer (she's putting the finishing touches on the next collection in her ongoing collaborating with jewelry line LowLuv) is into right now; keep reading for a full run-down of the things Wasson is obsessed with.

Big Sur, California

I want to live in a tent there. [I love] the whole vibe: the people that live up there, the spirit of the town, the Henry Miller Memorial Library.

Finding Happiness

Keeping it real, everyone just needs to make that their obsession. It's implementing the things that you know make you happy, and knowing that that happiness is your responsibility. You work your ass off and then you carve out time for yourself, you work your ass off and the you carve out time for yourself…So you're like, Okay I'm literally going to be a complete heathen, crazy person for five days and then I'm going to give myself five days of peace and tranquility. You just have to completely create a balance for yourself.

Ann Demeulemeester

The older I get the more I'm turning into a Japanese woman with four articles of black things. You look at Ann Demeulemeester: She's been making clothing for 20 years and season by season it's like, "Oh another version of a white button down." It's still something slightly off, so it makes you go, "Oh, okay, it's like last season but not quite." She's a bad-ass.

Being Present

We live in a business where things are constantly moving around, I look at my schedule and it's laughable--why do I even look at a calendar? You try to plan your personal life and the second you make a plan in your personal life is exactly when something changes. It's a funny orchestration, but I've gotten a lot better at this place in my life by saying, "No. No, I'm not going to." I'm a grown-up and I think that it's okay to know your boundaries and your limitations and what you can do, because the worst case scenario is to end up doing something and not being 100-percent present.

Comfortable Shoes

I really prefer to not at all exist in any circle of suffering--in any capacity. If I'm not wearing Rockports, I'm wearing cowboy boots. I'm not a high heel kind of girl, it's not my personality, it's not my lifestyle. I want to be comfortable all the time; when you're comfortable, you're more confident. There's no reason to suffer, it's ridiculous. When you see women and they're like, "Oh my God my feet, my blisters, I need a Band-Aid," you're like, "Really sister? Why?!" The only time I want to suffer is if I'm getting a tattoo.

Tattoos

[I got one] yesterday. Just a little something--I like small, little, funny tattoos.

Leopard Print

Leopard is such a neutral to me. Everybody should own something leopard, always, in their wardrobe.