PFW: Meet the Models: Liam Bergan

By Will Stickney

Last week, Liam Bergan, 24, sat in a chair in a tattoo parlor in South Jersey for 11 hours. He walked out of the shop after two days with a fresh piece of ink. An intricate honeycomb wraps around the entirety of the back of his head, adorned with both a butterfly and a bumblebee, symbolizing the iconic Muhammad Ali quote.

This week, Bergan is walking in several shows at Philly Fashion Week. Before this, he had walked in only one runway show. Modeling now for only seven months, this is Bergan’s biggest gig to date. He graduated from Bloomsburg University in May 2018, with a degree in business management. Since then, he’s worked a variety of jobs, including a landscaper in the local Philadelphia suburbs.

Bergan walks in Philly Fashion Week 2019

Modeling full time, however, is Bergan’s ultimate goal.

“I finally feel like I found something, after 24 years, that I’m truly passionate about and that I can be successful at,” Bergan said. “It’s wild. I’ve been networking like crazy and meeting so many different people that are so talented. And I’ve been meeting all these creative minds, and they’re all coming together, and it makes me want to go all-in and be involved in this indefinitely.”

Modeling, for Bergan, gives him the opportunity to express himself and build confidence in a way that he’s never really had the chance to do in other hobbies or pursuits. Modeling also gives him a platform for sharing his love for tattoo culture.

On his 18th birthday, Bergan got his first tattoo.

“From there on it was sort of like an ink addiction,” Bergan said. “I just kept getting them and at first people were a little skeptical, like ‘you should think about your future,’ but I think that self-expression and being comfortable in your own skin trumps anything else.”

Bergan also spent a semester abroad, studying at The University of Essex in the U.K. Bergan was inspired by the fashion-forward culture of England.

Finding new ways to express himself eventually led Bergan to the fashion world.

His passion for tattoo culture lines up perfectly with his ambitions in the fashion industry. Bergan ultimately wants to blend both worlds, merging the high-end fashion world with tattoo culture.

“I remember specific times and places when I got these tattoos,” he said. “I got them all over Europe: I got tattooed in Slovakia, Budapest, London. It just carries a memory for me and I have that associated memory and nostalgia with them.”

Bergan also uses his unique look and aesthetic to his advantage, capitalizing on what makes him different. As the fashion industry is becoming more and more accepting of a wide variety of identities and viewpoints, Bergan is riding this wave at the perfect time.