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After a chance gym meeting, John VanBeber, Lane Hitt, and Zac Mirabelli became fast friends and business partners. The trio of Ford male models have just launched their new jewelry brand Aethera, and are already planning more collections and future initiatives. We sat down with the group of guys to discuss jewelry design, Aethera’s brand goals, and the state of fashion today—plus their top model inspirations, summer plans, and romances!
Zac Mirabelli, Lane Hitt, John VanBeber
How did you come up with the idea for Aethera? Lane: Aethera came about when we were all three in the sauna. I really wanted to start a brand for a very long time, but the thought behind it is scary. When I met the two of them, we just immediately clicked and had this great friendship. I spitballed the idea of building a brand together while we were the sauna. We went back and forth between underwear and T-shirts, and ultimately we landed on jewelry because we all really love jewelry. We came up with some wild designs, and just fell on that.
Where does your mutual love of jewelry come from? Lane: I’ve always loved jewelry because it gives me confidence. I’ve always looked at brands like David Yurman, Chrome Hearts, Cartier, but obviously those are so expensive. I’ve always thought to myself how cool would it be if I could just make my own jewelry, just think of it and make it? We all agreed that people can really express themselves through jewelry, especially being models. We just want people feel good about themselves.
John: Although we’re only selling jewelry to begin with right now, we are working on a small capsule collection that’s going to be consisting of T-shirts, hats, and totes that will be coming out shortly. Large-scale, long-term for Aethera, it is [called] Aethera Design—so long-term, we’re more of a design firm. That’s really where the creativity comes through, just not having any boundaries on what items we have the capacity and ability to create.
Your first collection came out in May. What was it like to see it go live online? Lane: It’s been about two months. Seeing that online was a really substantial, happy, pivotal moment for us. I can’t lie, though—the 72 hours leading up to that did not go as planned at all. We actually had to push the launch back about 24, 48 hours. Logistically, things were just a little behind. But that was just another lesson and a crash course in what we could expect to come for the future, in terms of hurdles.
Lane Hitt
What have been your greatest successes and challenges while founding Aethera—and how did you overcome them?
Lane: It’s been such a whirlwind of emotions and challenges. At first, our minds were a little warped. We thought we were Justin Bieber and that we could sell a T-shirt with a smiley face on it and make $40 million! But we really quickly figured out that’s not how it works. It’s really about learning the market and how advertising works. We’ve always been on that side with modeling, but we’ve never come to the understanding of how advertising actually works and how you’re supposed to sell to America and capture people’s attention. That’s been a real challenge, just trying to figure out how [to do that]. People have very short attention spans! We just have to, instead of telling a story, as much as we want to do that, because we love art and shooting on film and building a story with our brand. It doesn’t always work that way. You have to be very short with everything, and get straight to the point and say, “This is what we’re selling.”
John: I’d say the most difficult thing has been remaining optimistic on days that don’t possibly go your way to whatever degree you’re hoping for. The way we’re able to combat that is just thinking longer terms out. Where do you want to be in two years, four years, 10 years? And maybe not just focus on the tomorrow.
What was your experience like shooting and starring in Aethera’s first campaign together? John: That was a super fulfilling day. That was probably the happiest day we’ve had since the culmination of the company. It was really rewarding to see us all on the big screen and seeing the campaign for the first time, knowing that we were in the world that we had created. [It] had been super fulfilling since, for either of us, that was probably one of the larger productions that we’ve ever been on. Personally, that was the largest production I’d ever been on, and it was my vision. To have that moment prior to booking any major fashion campaign that I’m hoping to land, from a personal brand perspective, was really fulfilling. I think [it’s also] telling of what we are capable of producing in the future.
John VanBeber, Lane Hitt
What are some of your favorite pieces from the line? Lane: I would say my favorite pieces are the Revolver ring and the Burst bracelet. I love the burst bracelet, but what I love even more is when you attach three of them to make a necklace, it’s just such a unique-looking necklace. I’ve never seen any other necklace like it, and a lot of people like it.
Zac: My favorite piece is the burst bracelet, for sure. I designed that one myself. I also designed the cigar band, which has a unique acid-washed finish, which makes each ring unique to itself—so, it’s a one of 50.
John: [My] favorite pieces would be the Hex chain and the Safety Pin earrings, no doubt.
What jewelry designs or pieces are you’re really excited about that you’re working on right now? John: The second collection is much more futuristic and retro, and lives more in the world of Aethera that we are attempting to create. We are extremely proud of the first collection. From a design perspective, we had to play it safe to make sure things sold. The way I looked at Collection One was, if you were a fan of any sterling silver jewelry to begin with, there will at least be one SKU that you are a fan of, which we have data-tested. That is pretty accurate for an 85%, 90% percentile rate. Some of the things that we’re working on for the second collection are a pavé-set Burst link bracelet, which is really cool. We have a split Burst pendant that’s coming out—half of that’s going to be in gold, half of that’s going to be in silver. We have an all-Burst ring that is Lane’s personal favorite that he’s super excited about.
John: My personal favorite for the second collection is, we’re taking the Revolver ring and we’re making those into smaller huggie earrings. I think those are going to do absolutely ballistic.
John VanBeber
Do all of you wear a lot of jewelry all the time, or do you mix it up between minimal and maximal? Lane: Ever since launching the brand, we’ve been pretty decked out in our own jewelry. I’ve fallen in love with every piece, but we have to wear it as much as we can. Before we launched the brand, I mainly just wore my grandmother’s necklace that she gave to me—it’s an emerald with diamonds around it. We wear our jewelry every day
John: For me, I’m literally wearing nothing or I’m maximizing it. I wear 10 pieces or zero pieces. Personally, my signature has been when I do a five Safety Pin bracelet stack on my left hand, and that seems to be a real favorite for people. It’s really fun to layer this stuff. It does really stack nicely together.
Zac Mirabelli, John VanBeber, Lane Hitt
We have to ask you about your friendship. How did all of you meet?
John: I met Lane at a party. There’s an individual named Gerald, who was my first agent in Texas at Kim Dawson. Lane has known him as a mutual friend from the industry. Lane and I actually grew up 20 minutes apart from each other in Texas, but never met [until we were] in New York. I actually met Zac at the New York Sports Club, at said gym where we saw him together. At the time Zac had one of the best physiques in the gym. It was just a “bro recognizing bro” moment of acknowledgement, and I just told him he had a good physique. Then I saw him in the sauna later that day, and we just started talking. He said he was here for modeling, and then I was like, “Which agency?” He said Ford, I said Ford. Lane showed up 10 minutes later. It’s pretty much history. Our friendship is really important for the brand. It is the most important thing, and without each other, there’s no way that we could have accomplished even a fraction of this. I’ve had two smaller companies prior to this, and I’ve known that I wanted to do something big. I’m hyper-disciplined. It’s just about finding your team that picks up the slack from the skill sets that you don’t possess to allow the entity to live.
Lane: We all needed each other and that’s how it happened. We all have our strengths and our weaknesses, but together we really gel perfectly.
What are some of your favorite modeling memories from your careers, so far? Lane: Steven Klein! I would say Steven Klein, because I have nothing but good things say about him. Steven’s a really good friend of mine. When I shot with him out at his house in East Hampton, he just has such a magical energy about him. He’s very welcoming to whoever is on set, and it’s such an experience. That’s what I love about shoots. There’s not many of them like that. But when they put you in the right environment, and they make you feel at home, and you just feel like you’re part of an experience—and then they start shooting you? That’s when you get the best images, and that’s when you start really coming to life.
John: I’ve been on set with Thom Browne four times now, and Mr. Browne himself has been there twice. Those shoots are always super pivotal to me. I think Thom Browne’s such an icon for what he’s done for the industry, as well as having to spearhead the whole Adidas legal battle. That’s been really inspiring to me, to never see his creative efforts wane when all the bullshit’s going on. I shot a worldwide Zara campaign last year, and that was one of my top three bucket list, grail brands to work with. It was a super fulfilling moment when that happened. It was a direct booking that came out the blue. It was an athletics project, and I was specifically chosen because of the shape and length of my legs, which have handicapped me sometimes in industry. It felt really validating to show them off for that project.
Zac: I went out to the Catskills with a very talented photographer, Menelik [Puryear], and we were out there in a cabin for three days. I definitely had the time of my life. I shoot a bunch of really nice jean, e-comm projects a lot, and they’re really loyal for me as well. I’m thankful for all the creative opportunities, as well as the recent Aethera project I shot.
John VanBeber
Who are some male models or colleagues that you look up to in the industry?
Lane: For the longest time, I’ve looked up to Sean O’Pry as a model. I think his look is obviously very beautiful. Also, David Gandy. When I signed with Ford, my agent gave me a gigantic David Gandy book. I had asked, “What do I need to do to replicate where he’s at?” I think he’s beautiful, the way he moves. He’s very natural. [My agent] gave me that book, and he said, “This, just read this book, learn this book.” That really helped me when I first started.
John: My agent, Sam would be one. He’s been doing this longer than I’ve been alive. I’m 28, and he’s been at Ford for 29 years, so I really trust him with my life. I look up to him. I’ve always been a real big fan of Kit Butler. As I’ve gone on this journey and become my own boss and am growing into my manhood and just more masculine on my degree, I realized that you can take inspiration from people here and there. But realistically, you have the capability and the abilities to do anything, if not more, than what your peers are doing.
Lane: I think I really love models who treat it also as acting. At the end of the day, modeling is acting. That’s all it is, and you’re not saying words. I’m also an actor, but you’re just expressing yourself onscreen. That’s all you’re doing. You shouldn’t be Zoolander when you’re modeling—you should just think of yourself as a character, more or less. That’s what I find the joy in.
John: There’s this model, Dalton Dubois. She’s my favorite in the industry right now. She’s fucking awesome. She’s with Ford.
What’s the biggest misconception about male models in the modeling industry? Lane: I don’t know—that we’re all douchebags? A lot of models are weirdos, which I don’t entirely blame all of them for. It is a very mind-manipulating kind of industry. A lot of the models that we’ve met are genuine people. A lot of people think we’re very superficial and not nice people, and that’s not true. A lot of [models] also are very smart. Obviously, there’s that whole stereotype that all models are very dumb, and it’s grown to the point where I’ve never wanted to tell people I’m a model. It’s scared me from even saying it, which is not fun. I also just don’t want to say it because nowadays, everyone’s a model, because every influencer under the sun, every person with Instagram, says they’re a model—so it’s just not even fun to say it anymore. Last year was by far my best year, and I actually had a very good year for myself and I wanted to tell people I was a model—and I still didn’t say that. I just had no confidence in it, which is terrible.
John: A pretty big misconception is that if your Instagram’s popping online, that always seems to translate to “He’s doing well” from a USD perspective. The misconception about how well off we’re doing from a financial measurement is generally misconceived. A lot of people are just getting typecast. It’s interesting, because if you have a personality that’s a little different than another individual, and you’re a model, I feel like your personality gets exaggerated to the worst parts of it because you’re a model. Versus, if you were a finance bro and you were just behaving like that, it would be more generalized of appropriate behavior.
What designers do you guys really love or are really into right now? Lane: I love Tom Ford. He’s my favorite designer. Always has been, he and Ralph Lauren. Ralph Lauren’s Purple Label collection is the definition of beauty, and it’s so elegant.
John: I’m on this huge wave of Korean designers right now. The silhouette I’m looking for, from a denim perspective, is a really baggy, oversized, futuristic, cargo-y, superfluous amount of denim on the pants. I really love Tom Ford, Gucci as well. I’m not afraid to say that I think a lot of designers right now are incompetent, lazy, and cutting corners. I don’t think fashion’s in a great place right now.
Lane: That’s what we’ve been struggling with, as well. Being able to make sales and to build a community. It’s not so much about building beautiful art anymore. Obviously, we’re going to continue to do that as much as we can. But for short term goals, that doesn’t really get you there anymore. Something people really appreciate, or pay attention to building a beautiful campaign, or shooting a series on film. It just doesn’t work anymore. Even the work that back in the day, with Bruce Weber, the film that he shot—I don’t think that could even work in today’s world.
John: To say the least, we’re really missing Mugler’s inspiration on the entire industry that he had in the ’90s. I feel like we’re just attempting to mimic what Thierry [Mugler] did 30 years ago.
Lane: We’re really hoping to become the future of jewelry. It sounds silly, but our world is growing so fast. Obviously, you can’t make advancements in jewelry the same way that you can make advancements in cars or technology. We hope that, throughout our designs and throughout our photo shoots, because of us being three Ford models and because of who we know, we’re hoping we can push jewelry into the future and make it seem more electric and young and make people excited about our pieces and our collections. [We want to] bring back that feeling that fashion used to have.
What are your plans for the rest of the summer? Any fun trips? Lane: We are going to shoot our capsule collection, which we’re super excited about. We’re planning on making a trip out to LA, that’s more for networking and connecting with people. As far as shoots go, we’re on the cusp of a few campaigns—none of which are being confirmed. Of course, I would love Steven Klein to shoot our next campaign. We’ve been going back and forth with him. That would be for when our gold [jewelry] is released. As of right now, it’s just our capsule collection being shot, and just growing the brand as much as we can.
John: Maybe doing some slant hiking in the Catskills, just getting back to some nature. We’re just going to be plugging here, working away. Personally, I like the city in the summer. I prefer to travel in the winter.
How are things in the romance department? Are any of you single? John: I’m single. I recently exited a relationship. I’m open to dating, but I’m not seeing anyone at this moment. Zac is so single—he’s not seeing anyone! Lane’s about to get on his knee yesterday, so he’s locked up.
Lane: Yes, I’m very much in love with my girlfriend.
Where do you want your brand to be further down the line in five years, or 10 years? John: In five years, no doubt, we should have a couple concrete flagship stores. In a perfect world, in five years, I would be very satisfied if we had a brick and mortar location in Tokyo and in New York. I really like the idea of pop-up culture and drop culture. I don’t think you need to have super secular, concrete locations that you need to live and survive in. My ultimate goal for the brand, past that, is we need to be making one-of-one costume-esque, performative jewelry for red carpet events. That’s actually what we filed our patent under, is costume jewelry. In five years, the next Dua Lipa—whoever it is—ideally would be collecting her Grammy for Best Album of the Year, possibly wearing this super futuristic, custom, sterling silver, platinum-plated Aethera spine. Really one-of-one, beautiful statement pieces that can live on the red carpet and could be celebrated at an event to the caliber of the Met Gala.
Lane: Yes! And we will get there. It’s about knowing those people, getting to know them. Right now we have our two celebrity friends Allison Janae and G-Eazy, rocking it. Dua Lipa would be a dream—we will work towards that.
John: Whoever wants to be a hero and nominate themselves as the first celebrity to let us create something for them, we are welcoming you with open arms!
All images: Courtesy of Aethera
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