Last night, as I was scrolling through my social media feeds through blue wave celebration memes after blue wave celebration memes, a user reposted a video of Iowa Governor-elect Rob Sand with a caption like “I can’t believe he was a model in the early 2000s.”
A quick Google search confirmed that this random information was indeed true. While a student at Brown University, high fashion became a successful side hustle. Sand was not just a “recruited at your local mall, pose for trade catalogs and maybe catch a national Gap commercial” type of model, but in the “fly to Milan and walk for the hottest designers” type of model.
There isn’t much information about this period of his life, and according to a 2019 New York Times profile; it’s not a period he often looks back on publicly. In 2022, he told Newsweek that he actually missed a 2004 caucus opportunity in his hometown of Decorah, Iowa, because he was in Milan. During his career, he has walked for Prada, cult Japanese brand Number (N)ine and Giuliano Fujiwara. He has also appeared in magazine editorials, including AnOther Magazine’s fall 2002 young punk feature “Adolescents.”
These days, Sand’s zip-up and button-down shirts are a little more governor than what you see on the runways of Paris and Milan—his Midwestern style is certainly miles away from that of Haider Ackermann’s Tom Ford. However, if he ever chooses to return to high fashion, no one wears a uniform like Prada.
Gn entert
