Life after the catwalk: professions and hobbies of top models. Is it really that easy

11.12.2022

Charity is the most popular activity among models, and, to their credit, their influence helps to make life easier for people from all over the world. Coco Rocha collaborates with the charitable organization Senhoa, which defends the rights of the people of Cambodia. She sends the profits from the sale of her Coco Rocha for Senhoa jewelry to charity.

She went even further by founding her own Naked Heart Foundation, Natalia Vodianova. The Foundation finances the construction of playgrounds in Russia and abroad. It has more than 100 playgrounds and parks, including those for children with mental disabilities.

But some models outside the catwalk have quite real and, moreover, very difficult professions. Amanda Murphy is an American top model, Miuccia Prada's favorite and ... a radiology technologist. Shooting in commercials does not prevent her from giving herself to work 4 days a week, and if her career in the industry comes to an end, she will continue to develop in medicine, since she considers the received profession to be her main achievement.

And Karlie Kloss completed a two-week programming course at the Flatiron School a few years ago, and was so successful in this that she decided to turn her hobby into full-fledged courses for girls.

However, Lindsey Scott excelled in programming much more. Not only does she grace the Victoria's Secret and Prada runways, she also holds a degree in computer science from Amherst College. Lindsey combined her programming skills with modeling to create an app called iPort, which is a virtual portfolio of a model.

Models often step from the catwalk to the big screen, but not everyone manages to get really good roles. So, after the Blue Lagoon, Brooke Shields got stuck in very mediocre films and TV shows for a long time. But Mile Jovovich and Cameron Diaz were much more fortunate. Many do not even suspect that their career began with magazine covers. Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and Lily Cole are also conquering the Hollywood Olympus today, not without success, but their best roles are obviously yet to come.

Today, models with a non-standard appearance are increasingly appearing on the world's catwalks. The era of perfectly beautiful girls is over, and designers prefer models with a twist. Unusual beauty is a new trend that not only sells the product well, but also inspires millions of people with similar flaws. In this review, we have collected the stories of 7 models who, despite their physiological characteristics, were able to conquer the world's catwalks.

moffi

Brunette Moffi became a real discovery in 2013. She is an extraordinary model. The fact is that Brunette has suffered from pronounced strabismus since childhood. However, this flaw, which can cause many complexes among its owners, did not prevent Moffi from signing a very lucrative contract with the eminent modeling agency Storm Models, with which such famous models as Kate Moss and Cindy Crawford worked.

Lily McMenamy

Lily has a completely inappropriate beauty for the modeling business: a large mouth, large teeth, a protruding nose and overhanging eyelids. To put it mildly, not beautiful. However, this did not prevent the girl from becoming a successful model. True, her mother, the famous supermodel Kristen McMenamy, helped her in many ways.

Velvet D'Amour

Velvet D'Amour is the most complete supermodel. Her weight is 136 kilograms. The girl is very proud of her body and carefully monitors so as not to lose weight. It was thanks to her confidence and perseverance that Velvet conquered the world's catwalks. She is the muse of Jean Paul Gaultier, who entrusted her to close his shows.

Melanie Gaidos

Melanie is a girl with a very non-standard appearance that does not correspond to any canon of beauty. Gaidos suffers from a rare genetic disease - ectodermal dysplasia - a disorder that is accompanied by underdevelopment of teeth, hair, nails and other ectodermal derivatives. But, despite the criticism and ridicule of others, she still managed to achieve success. Melanie is one of the most sought after models in the world today.

Diandra Forrest

Diandra Forrest is an albino African American. Her appearance is typical of her nationality (puffy lips, wide nose, high forehead), but her skin color is snow-white. Having endured a lot of bullying from her peers during her school years, Diandra did not break down and since 2009 has become one of the most famous models in the world. She has signed successful contracts with brands such as MAC, Jean Paul Gaultier and many others.

Shantel Brown Young

Since the age of three, Shantel has been suffering from an incurable disease - vitiligo - a violation of skin pigmentation. As a child, she was often teased as a cow, but despite the mockery of others, Chantel was able to succeed and became a very popular model. Popularity came to her after participating in the show "America's Next Top Model". Today, Winnie Harlow (alias Chantal) represents the clothing brand Desigual, and her shoots for fashion magazines are scheduled for several months in advance.

Victoria Modesta

Victoria Modesta is a British woman of Latvian origin. She spent her entire childhood in hospitals, as she was born with a bad leg. At the age of 19, the girl made a fateful decision - she agreed to amputate her sore leg. In her place, doctors put a prosthesis in her place, but this decision did not affect her modeling career in any way. One can only envy the bravery and courage of Victoria.
Continuing the theme

Conquerors of the world's catwalks ... However, before that, more than one casting of girls is carried out. And this is not so simple as it seems at first glance. Those who want to connect their lives with the modeling business must meet certain parameters. Let's consider in more detail.

Appearance model - what should it be?

Where to begin? Of course, the appearance of a model is, first of all, high growth, a thin constitution of the body. In addition, the image must be holistic, universal. That is, the appearance of a model should be accompanied by a certain charisma, zest.

Height and weight are especially important for the girl on the podium. For shooting a photo model in various magazines, catalogs and advertising campaigns, the external parameters of the face are much more important.

In principle, the most important criteria in this regard for almost all girls are well-groomed beautiful hair, an impeccable smile, and natural eyebrows. The future model is obliged to follow her figure from a very early age. Excess body fat is by no means necessary. The skin also needs a lot of care. Even the smallest flaws will be visible under bright spotlights. Naturally, professional image makers, make-up artists, stylists work with models at shows. They are able to transform the appearance of a girl. Because the types of model appearance and have a certain similarity. The face should not distract the viewer from the clothing itself. However, it is necessary, and that it looks with her in a holistic way.

Face

Appearance model has clear requirements regarding the selection of girls. It is on them that their prospects in this area are determined. The standard of beauty has changed regularly since the fifties. To date, there are specific standards of model appearance.

For example, the face should be without any flaws, symmetrical. models are usually complete. The eyes are large and expressive. Cheekbones are high. Nose - neat, straight. Of course, even the most beautiful models cannot be thoroughly ideal. However, the closer to the standard - the greater the chance of success.

Growth, volumes, proportions

The next stage, which meets any casting of girls, is "in numbers". The height of the fashion model should be 174-181 centimeters. Although in Asian countries the requirements are much simpler. Models are enough 170-172 centimeters tall. There are, however, exceptions. For example, Kate Moss is incredibly famous with a height of 168 centimeters. For a photo model, a height of 168-175 centimeters is also suitable.

The slenderness of the girl is also important. The standard is considered to be 90/60/90. That is chest, waist and hips. The key parameter is the last one. For European catwalks, the hips should not exceed 90 centimeters. In Asia, 94 centimeters is acceptable.

If extra pounds do not affect the necessary parameters, then they do not play a special role. However, if a thickened fatty layer is noticeable on the body, some measures must be taken. In addition, it is very important that all parts of the body are proportional to each other, harmoniously combined with each other.

Age

It is best to start a modeling career at the age of 14-17. However, if your parameters match all of the above, you can try yourself in this business at the age of 20-22. Modeling career ends most often at 25-28 years. However, this is not considered the rule. It's just statistical data. The most important thing is how the model looks visually. In order to prolong your career, you need to lead a healthy lifestyle. That means taking care of yourself, eating right, exercising. Although many factors also depend on heredity.

Is it really that easy?

And finally. Do not forget that the model appearance of a girl is far from all that is necessary for this profession. Think carefully about how difficult it is to walk this path. Achieving your goals is not easy. You need to go through a lot before you get the status of a famous model that you covet.

In a word, this business is a huge work. It would seem, at first glance, this work is very simple and fun. In fact, these are daily grueling tasks. There are many beginner models, and the competition is very high. Therefore, in order to become famous, so that your name is recognizable, you must regularly take part in various castings, agree even to small fees for contracts, in general, for almost all the work offered to you. And even if during the day you have to go around dozens of studios located in different parts of the city, getting up at 5 in the morning and returning at 2 in the morning, you should never show your fatigue or bad mood.

So, weigh the pros and cons before deciding to become a model. Think about what you need to always look perfect, no matter what the circumstances. If you are ready for this, and your appearance meets all the above criteria - welcome to the modeling business!

Each model should have a beautiful and graceful gait, because no matter how attractive the face is, and how sexy the figure is, a sloppy gait can spoil the whole first impression.

Of course, the ability to walk femininely is useful to any girl and woman, but for a model this is a very necessary and important "accessory" that can reveal her individuality and give a ticket to the world of high fashion.

Once you've done a superb parade in one insignificant show, you can immediately expect new proposals, because if you are the best at defile, it becomes completely unimportant to fashion designers how you look. It is not so difficult to learn this, but it still requires certain skills and time.

Previously, film stars of that time were role models. Their graceful and feminine gait drove all men crazy. The unsurpassed Marilyn Monroe also possessed this skill. However, later the girls chose a new ideal for themselves - a model, and to this day the model's catwalk gait is an example to follow.

Irina Shayk at the fashion show 2015

Decide on a style

As you know, each designer has personal preferences about models and their gait, so you should choose either universal or train until you get the most basic and common types of fashion shows.

For example, the famous fashion house Louis Vuitton selects for its shows only those models that are able to defile without moving their eyes.

Models seem to walk exactly along the line, fixing their hands in a certain position, while staying focused and noble. In narrow circles, this type of defile is called the classic, and basically it is taught.

There is another look that can be found at Versace shows or, for example, Victoria`s Secret. This is a more free and even expressive fashion show style, which is characterized by a smooth gait, not fixed hands, as well as active hips that visually outline the number 8.

The designers chose this defile style to show all the lightness and ease of the image and focus on the new collection and its features.

Basic rules for the perfect fashion show

For a home workout, you will need a lot of space, for example, a long corridor, at the end of which there should be a large full-length mirror. It is very difficult to learn the perfect defile without a mirror, because you need to see your shortcomings and know what exactly needs to be corrected.

It is desirable to train in tight-fitting clothes, black leggings and an ordinary T-shirt are ideal, as well as in shoes with medium heels (about 7 cm).

You should not immediately put on high-heeled shoes, because due to inexperience it will be very dangerous.

To begin with, you should mentally draw a straight line and strictly follow it. The most important thing in any fashion show, regardless of its style, is an even posture: the back should be straight, the shoulders should be lowered, and the crown should stretch up a little.

You can check whether your posture is even by standing against the wall, while the heels, buttocks, shoulder blades and head should touch it, fixing in this position, you need to train to walk in a straight line, and then on the world podium. At first it may seem that it is difficult and uncomfortable, but after training for at least 10-20 minutes a day, you can get used to this position and believe me, you won’t be able to go back to stoop and you won’t want to.

Another common problem for beginner models is the position of the foot. Many do not attach much importance to this, but it is the direction of the foot that is a very important nuance during the perfect gait. Each step must be started with a toe, and they should be slightly turned in opposite directions, while the heels should go along the same imaginary line one after the other.

The length of the step is also quite an important feature, it should not be too wide, ideally, the step is equal to the length of the foot.

The arms should not be too tense, let alone bend at the elbow. In a classic fashion show, the arms swing relaxed behind the back. You also always need to remember three cherished rules that will help you walk perfectly on the podium.

go tediously strictly on a flat line;
step should start with a toe;
at the end of the runway, it is imperative to stop for exactly three seconds to give photographers the opportunity to capture a fashionable look.

These rules were invented unsurpassed, and to this day no one has challenged them.

The stop at the end of the podium can be different. The position of the hands depends only on your imagination or the wishes of the designer, but there are two types of fixation of the legs: classic and standard.

Classic looks like this: the left leg is supporting, located straight, and the right leg is slightly bent at the knee, placed in front of the left. This position is mainly used for shows of dresses and underwear.

With standard position the right and left legs are parallel to each other, one of which is the supporting one. On the show, during this position, you can change the supporting leg, thereby moving the hips from one side to the other.

Of course, even posture, foot position and posture at the end of the podium are important, but muscles play a big role in the ability to defile correctly. You need to keep your body in shape and exercise regularly.

An excellent example for many novice models can be a beauty who, thanks to swimming and cycling, was able to become a real queen of the catwalk, and after that the highest paid model of our time.

You also need to remember that not all models were born with the skill to skillfully defile along the catwalk. Even the most famous models had missteps during the show. The main thing is not to retreat into yourself after an unsuccessful attempt, but to treat everything with a smile, and if one door closes, then knock on another.

If our tips on how to prepare for the fashion show were useful to you: