" No more Chanel in the Seychelles. Concrete in Chicago is more to Patricia McHugh`s liking these days.

The daughter of contractor James McHugh has forsaken a full-time high-fashion modeling career to join her father in the family construction business.

Although the real estate industry has drawn its talent from a variety of other professions, modeling seldom has been one of them. But for Patty McHugh the movement comes naturally.

''I did work as a technical engineer, better known as a surveyor, when I was 16,'' she said. ''That was my real introduction to construction. It was a great experience. The men were the best, and nobody was disrespectful. Nobody can say these people don`t respect a person who does a job well.

''I thought it was amazing that these things got built, and I really couldn`t imagine how it happened. But I learned that it is such a human business, that people build these high-rises with their own two hands,'' she said of her site work on the One Magnificent Mile project on Michigan Avenue. But the construction industry was part of Patty`s life long before that.

''Every night at dinner when we were younger I can remember Dad telling us what was going on that day in the business, what decisions he had made. I knew what I was going to do early on.''

The modeling career was a slight detour on that road.

''When I was 18 and 19, even though I knew I wanted to do construction eventually, I just felt I wanted to do something else first. To go out and see the world before I came back to Chicago to stay put.''

On a family vacation in Florida, McHugh was spotted poolside by a New York modeling agent. In show biz terms, she had been ''discovered.'' Since her best friend already lived in New York and she had been accepted at New York University, McHugh decided to give modeling in the big time a shot.

''I was very successful after the first year, working everyday. There was constant travel, to Europe, all over. I was meeting new people all the time, meeting foreign people. When you`re stuck in a European hotel where there are no dividers and one toilet, you get to know people.''

Despite the glamorous nature of the business, the modeling took its toll. The Seychelles islands did not look so hot once the giant centipedes started biting and the voracious ants stood knee deep in the sugar bowls.

''In the beginning it was exciting to be away from home, to be in a new world,'' she said. ''But it is the kind of thing you burn out on. After a year and a half I wanted to be home. Chicago is the best city in the world. and I love it.

''In modeling, you have no control over what goes on. You`re at the mercy of the photographer, the stylists and the company they work for. They tell you when to eat, when not to eat, when to wake up, when to get on the plane and when to get off the plane.

''It`s not like that here. I feel much more in control of what I`m doing. And people in construction are much more grounded; they`re capable of getting things done. In modeling you meet some of the neatest people, but also some of the strangest.''

She still does an occasional modeling job and still is the exclusive model for Chanel No. 19 in Europe. But after repeatedly saying no to new assignments, the offers are beginning to drop off.

One that she is after, however, is the Lancaster tanning products job. It involves work in the Maldive Islands, a spot she has missed on previous travels.

McHugh, 25, lives on the family`s farm in northwest suburban Long Grove. It gives her more opportunity to ride her saddlebred and standardbred horses and to pursue her cross-country skiing. As much as she likes downtown construction, she prefers suburban living.

''After New York and all the traveling, I appreciate the idea of no noise,'' she said."
- Excerpt from Chicago Tribune by Steve Kersch, Jan. 1990: https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1990-01-21-9001060963-story.html

 

 

"beaute a l'huile"
MADAME FIGARO FR, 16 May 1987
Photographer: Jean-Noel L'Harmeroult
my scans

 

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 Patty McHugh (+ Nathalie Gabrielli, Andrea Malkiewicz & Jeny Howorth)
Wie Vom Winde Verweht
Burda International
Summer 1984
Photos: Gunter Feuerbacher
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Patty McHugh (+ Nathalie Gabrielli & Jeny Howorth)
Make-up Fur Sommerfeste
Burda International
Summer 1984
Photos: Gunter Feuerbacher
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COSMOPOLITAN U.K. May 1989

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Photo by ebay seller

cover + cover-look Harper´s BAZAAR Italy March 1987 by Oliviero Toscani - also showing unknown

Photos by ebay seller

cover COSMOPOLITAN Germany March 1986

Source: ebay

cover Madame Figaro France 3. May 1986 #12961

Source: ebay

 

Thanks for the ID to Martial.

CHANEL N° 19 perfume advertisement - L´OFFICIEL France November 1988 #743

Mademoiselle October 1986
"For Breaking Away"
Photographer: Gilles Tapie
Hair: Valentin
Makeup: Joe McDevitt

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facebook.com/www.supermodelicons.com

Mademoiselle December 1986

"The Heat of the Night"

Photographer: Oliviero Toscani

Hair: Christiaan Houtenbos

Makeup: Marc Schaeffer

 

Internet Archive

"LA BASE" - TU Mexico December 1988

contents + "Sommer-Strick: Mix mit muntren Maschen" - CHIC Germany May 1984 -also showing Karen Howard, Leigh Richards, Nina, Kerry Harper, Beth Rupert, Georgina Bartlett, Antonia Vasquez, Alix Menzell, Lisa Rutledge, Beth Todd, Corinna Drews, unknown

Thanks for the ID to RocketQueen.

MADEMOISELLE US, Dec 1986 - PH. UNK - ARCHIVE.ORG

MADEMOISELLE US, Nov 1986 - PH. GILLES TAPIE + SUZANNE LANZA - ARCHIVE.ORG

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"UN STYLE BIEN DECIDE" - VOTRE BEAUTE France February 1986 #594 by Lutz

source: ebay

"SIRENES DES SABLES" - VOTRE BEAUTE France July 1986 #599 - also showing Julie Nelson

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source: ebay

Thanks for the ID to RocketQueen.

contents +"AH! LES BELLES NAIADES" - VOTRE BEAUTE France May 1986 #597 by Lutz - also showing Julie Nelson, Lisa Hughes, unknown

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Thanks for the ID to RocketQueen.

"WEEK-END: DU TEMPS POUR SOI" + "IMPRESSIONS D´AILLEURS" - VOTRE BEAUTE France May 1986 #597 by Lutz - also showing Julie Nelson

source: ebay

Thanks for the ID to RocketQueen.

contents + "LE CHARME FOU DES SOIRS D`ETE" - VOTRE BEAUTE France June 1986 #598 by Lutz - also showing Ulli Steinmeier, Clary, Julie Nelson

source: ebay

Thanks for the ID to RocketQueen.