Introducing a new wave of creativity, where expression lies within screens and not walls, and breadths of work span all sorts of media from hair to CDJs. An extension of V117: The Discovery Issue, we tap into a cast of emerging creatives whose innovative forms of work pave way for a New Creative Class.

Liz Harlan is a face you may recognize, for it’s also one impossible to forget. With a dynamic personality to match her vibrant look, Harlan truly is extraordinary in every sense of the word. Stepping into the spotlight just last year on America’s Next Top Model, she made a lasting impression despite walking off the show. While living in a house of temperamental models may have not been for Harlan, modeling sure was. That said, her career has not come without adversity.  In fact, overcoming hardships arguably accounts for how far she has come.

In an industry operating on labels, Harlan now manages to dispel them after herself being categorized as so many that just never fit. From “straight-size” to “curve,” she finally breaks free of society’s classifying tendencies. “Species: Liz Harlan” reads her Instagram bio, followed by a series of intergalactic-inspired emojis.

Equipped with a resolute optimism and outspoken nature, the otherworldly figure serves as more than just a mannequin, using her voice as aptly as she does her smize. In fact, Harlan attributes her creativity to her voice, “listening to an inner muse and letting her speak.” From there, she uses “whatever manifestation it needs to be” in order to fulfill her artistic pursuits. “I am primarily a model in addition to a creator,” explains Harlan.

Prompted to describe her sources of inspiration, Harlan points to her “meta past life, anxieties about the future” and “celebrating the present.” The latter, she has good reason to be doing, as Harlan was recently signed to Elite Model Management, advancing her career without compromise to her self-expression or soundness.