THIS ARTICLE WAS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE BI-ANNUAL PRINT ISSUE OF A BOOK OF (A BOOK OF: NOW, SEPTEMBER 2019)

WORDS BY IRVIN RIVERA

There’s something innately fiery about model Jillian Mercado that emanates from her core which will definitely draw you into her. It could be her Dominican blood, it can be her relentless activism towards visibility, representation and accessibility to people with disabilities, it could be her optimistic approach to life, but the fire is definitely there.  

If you are one of the IMG Model’s 132k instagram audiences, you probably already witnessed her passions. She channels it through her posts, her photos, her stories, her art, and her being vocal and open about starting conversations about accessibility for people with disabilities.

Jillian broke the walls of the seemingly impenetrable world of the global fashion industry when she started her modeling career. She booked major campaigns, worked with top stylists and photographers, and have become the bold face of people with disability in fashion.  

In this interview, we caught up with the breakthrough model in Los Angeles and talked about her memorable Diesel campaign shoot, Burning Man, her consistent plight to enhance the awareness and visibility of people with disability especially when travelling, Guillermo Del Toro and how she is a thick, comedy novella LaChapelle-esque fashion dreamland book.

How do you like LA so far?

LA has been so beautiful to me as far as weather so that has already won my heart there. Everything is a much calmer feel. Whereas in New York, where I’m from, everyone is always on it; we never stop. So in LA, I have been sleeping which is nice.

What are 3 words that describe you?

I think it would be determined, adventurous and patient.

I’m a very determined person. In terms of being adventurous, say if a friend calls me at 3am and says “Hey Jillian let’s go to Vegas” I will be like “ok, where do I meet you?” Everything is awesome to me as far as adventure goes. And then, I think the last one is patient. I think I’m a very patient person.

What inspires you?

Growing up in New York inspired me a lot. I think the most amazing thing about growing up there is how diverse the city is. I get inspired by literally everything and everyone. Architecture inspires me a lot. Culture inspires me a lot. The night life in New York is the most amazing thing and is it’s where I get most of my inspirations from.

“There are lots of people who have disabilities that follow me, but the majority of the people that follow me don’t have disabilities. So, I do my best not to get angry with the situation but educate and figure out a way we can all get together and talk about it.”

Let’s talk about your Diesel campaign. Can you recall a memorable experience when Nicola Formichetti casted you?

The most memorable part about the Diesel campaign was when I was on stage, when I was taking the photo. I remember legendary photographers Inez and Vinoodh just stopped what they were doing and said “This has to be my most favorite photo.”

I take that moment in, every single day, because they are icons in photography and video and the fact that they had to genuinely stop the shoot to say that this is their favorite shoot of all is amazing. Even today I try to pinch myself. That was a milestone in my life where I knew I was doing something right, something was checking out to be right when that happened.

Tell us about Burning Man. Are you going to do it again?

I would love to do Burning Man again. I could do it tomorrow, I could do it next week. Burning Man was such a great experience where my adventurous side comes in. A friend of mine, a week prior to Burning Man, texted me and she said “Hey, If I somehow found a way to get tickets to go burning man, would you like to come with me?” And in that moment, I said, “Of course, absolutely!” And then two hours later, she said she found tickets. Amazing- I really didn’t think this through and I think for 4 days I planned my whole trip to Burning Man. You can’t plan for it until you’re there. And that whole experience was such an amazing challenge in my life because you’re in a desert and you can’t bring anything and you can’t leave. Everything you bring in the desert stays in the desert. That doesn’t mean you only have to leave material things, emotional things as well. You go through a lot of emotions during that trip but it definitely helped me become a better person and know how far I can take myself or how far I should take myself. So, I would do that trip again in a heartbeat.

Let’s talk about representation. How are we doing as a society and how far do we still have to go?

As far as representation goes for people with disabilities, we still have a long way to go. This is the very start, we are at a couple months into a baby being born. That’s where we are at the moment, but I’m so thankful there are places like social media where people can connect all around the world and say this is what is wrong with the country I’m in or the place that I live in.

We have definitely neglected people like myself for a very very long time and I think we've all collectively come together to say enough is enough. And we’re just sick and tired of not seeing the world represented in media. You have to reflect the world in media and we’ve neglected that very much. But, we’re getting there. The fact that I’m here says a lot.

You travel a lot. How many Direct Messages do you get about accessibility in airports?

I think once I decided to have this as my career path and have a voice for people who might not have the same platform as I have, I decided to talk about the injustice that I see in something so simple as travelling. So, that’s another conversation people have kind of cut the blind side on and not talk about how difficult it is. Even just to get from one end to another, which could be the simplest thing, takes someone who has a disability two hours just to do something that someone who may not have a disability 15 minutes.

So, I do my best to always talk about it on my platform, because I have a great platform and I have a lot of eyes. There are lots of people who have disabilities that follow me, but the majority of the people that follow me don’t have disabilities. So, I do my best not to get angry with the situation but educate and figure out a way we can all get together and talk about it. You can’t do something without us in the conversation, you can’t think for us if we’re not in it, so I make sure my voice is heard at least and hopefully someone out there has the opportunity to make that executive decision to make sure everything is accessible for everyone.

Where do you get your strength and your patience?


In all of the years that I have been, I think I get my patience and all my badassness from my mother who is a very Domincian Latina woman. She has shown me how to be kind, to be patient, to be strong and not to let anyone tell you that you can’t do something because that’s where you lose track of who you are as a person and what you are capable as a human. I owe it all to my mom.

What is your dream project?

I think at this point of what I know- that not only I am capable of but also pushing the buttons in the fashion industry and entertainment industry, dream jobs are endless. There is one specific job- that is not in the fashion industry, that I love love love love with a passion. It is to work with Guillermo Del Toro. He is everything that I encompass as a dream job. I’m putting it out there in the universe to make it happen. He is an amazing Mexican Director who has done all my favorite movies. I know that he would understand not only me, but also how we can work together and make someone who has a physical disability look way beyond the disability.

If you’re a book, what book would be and why?

It has to be part nerdy with time and space travel but she has to be a like a comedy novella like a Mexican soap opera. And she has to be like a David LaChapelle fashion-dreamland book. She has to be thick. She has to be pretty thick.