Fashion Foul

Anand Jon always had a new project going: MTV Asia; a book on the 100 most beautiful women in history; a denim line; purses with Lydia Hearst. He talked to Jesse about "branding" the name Girlco.

"There was a lot of bait to me, as someone trying to grow a business in the right way," McLean says. "I would do a lot of work for him in the hope that if things started to happen, you won't forget the amount of grunt work I was doing."

And it was exciting. Anand's studio, where the designer also slept when he was in New York, buzzed with life. Sanjana Jon, Anand's sister, and her boyfriend, who had a marketing company, were always around and had their own projects. Celebrities dashed in and out. One day McLean arrived at Anand's studio in New York and P Diddy's mother was there, kidding with the designer like an old friend. Models would appear for a casting call, and their portfolios included covers they had shot for top fashion magazines.

One year later, after February Fashion Week in New York, McLean tagged along with Anand Jon on an after-party trawl in the Hamptons. Anand's entourage would get into exclusive events, get photos shot with the hosts and any celebrities who were present and then hustle off for the next bash until sunup. McLean thought the party-crashing excursion was odd but rationalized that Anand was doing guerilla marketing: showing up at events with hot girls wearing his clothes, using the press and Internet to build buzz.

Brenda McLean was skeptical. "I was trying to figure out what he was doing in Dallas with a small agency," she says. Girlco represents only two dozen models at any given time; most have little professional runway experience. "He never really answered that question." But he did tip Brenda off to some model Web sites such as modelmayhem.com where he posted to get attention. Anand Jon had more than 1,500 female "friends" on his MySpace page.

Dallas was his way station between New York and Los Angeles, with occasional trips to Houston where a large group of expatriate Indians lived; many were his clients. On one trip, Jesse took six or seven girls to Houston for a big show when Anand received an award from an Indian cultural organization.

The McLeans eventually realized that the relationship was one-way. Anand would pop into town, and Jesse would pick him up at DFW. The designer rarely carried cash. He'd often spend the night at the studio instead of a hotel.

Each time, Anand would bring a huge suitcase containing elaborate beaded pieces that sold for $3,000 to $4,000. Often four or five girls that the McLeans didn't know from other cities would come to Dallas for a casting at Girlco. Anand would explain that the girls had contacted him.

When models tried on Anand's clothes, Brenda hovered in the background. "The clothes were very see-through and open-front where you can't wear a bra," she says. "I'm very motherly with the girls I'm responsible for." Though she didn't see the designer touching the girls' bare skin, there was a lot of nubile flesh on display.

Only once did Brenda suspect that something improper was going on. At Anand's request, Jesse had contacted "Brianna," who flew to Dallas for an event in Houston.

Anand slept on a sofa bed at the studio that night. Brianna and another out-of-town girl slept in a bed in another part of the studio, so Brenda had an older model stay there as well.

"I know he slept with [Brianna] that night, because my model called me and said she had to leave because she didn't like what was going on," Brenda says. (Brianna claims Anand Jon groped her against her will but stopped short of intercourse because the other girl was in the room.) The next morning, as they got ready to drive to Houston, Brianna was upset. She told Jesse that one of her best friends had been in a car accident and was near death.

Jesse called Brianna's mother to say he thought it best to put her on a plane home so she could be with her friend. The mother informed him that none of Brianna's friends was near death. Jesse thought it was simply "girl drama," endemic in the modeling business. Brianna composed herself, and the group drove to Houston.