Some days she can be found sporting an Associated Students polo, other days she can be seen adorned in vibrantly-colored dresses owning a runway. Regardless of where she is, child and family development senior Kiana Caton brings life and energy into the space.
Caton displays her edgy-chic style on campus, mainly wearing summer colors including orange, yellow and red. Her modeling career began when she was scouted by a Wilhelmina agent at 12 years old. After attending Barbizon modeling school, she started booking shows and photo shoots in the Sacramento area.
A short modeling hiatus followed her arrival at San Diego State in 2011, until she became familiar with the area.
“One of my proudest accomplishments as a model has been participating in San Diego Fashion Week in October 2014,” Caton said. “ I walked for so many great designers, it was amazing.”
Caton draws inspiration from many people and places. Her favorite designer at the moment is Andre Soriano. Soriano recently had his pieces worn by celebrities at the Grammy Awards. She also loves to shop; Nasty Gal is one of her favorite places to find new items to add to her wardrobe.
“I like to go for the edgier styles,” Caton said. “I also love wearing patterns, specifically tribal patterns.”
She never knows exactly when her next show or shoot will occur. Opportunities often arise last minute, meaning Caton has to be ready to show up on short notice.
“I recently saw a post on Instagram saying ‘models needed’ and walked in the show the next morning,” Caton said.
Her next appearance will be walking in an Oseas Villatoro showcase at the end of the month.
Model turned role model
Setting a healthy example for girls and women is very important to Caton. She advocates for all body types on the runway and believes that beauty comes in all shapes and sizes.
“One of my goals is to help girls feel confident and to own their unique features that they may sometimes not feel confident about,” Caton said.
Off the runway
When she is not strutting her stuff on the stage, Caton can be found serving SDSU as the AS chief justice for the judicial affairs council.
“People have been great about coming to me with issues; I have an open door policy,” Caton said.
She is also a student worker for the San Diego Superior Court of California where she has further developed a passion for social and juvenile justice.
A bright future
Caton has many dreams and goals for the future. She hopes to continue with modeling, ideally working as a supermodel one day. Her other aspirations include combining her child and family development degree and judicial affairs knowledge to work in the area of juvenile justice and becoming a judge.
“If I could make it all work at once, that would be great,” Caton said.
