A new Instagram message: “Hey! I am a sixteen year old girl. I am 1,78 tall and I am going to sign with an agency. The only problem is that my hips are 94 centimeters, I have to lose 4 centimeters. Did you also have to lose weight for modeling? Do you have tips for […]
No designer heels in Oxford Street
“Am I getting lotion?!”, two glistering, blue eyes look at me. A man from around 50 years old sits on a piece of carton in front of a store. “Oh, I am going to smell good!”, a cry of laughter escapes between the two teeth he has left. The man looks dirty and his clothes […]
Couture in water
In a beautiful, white dress I am sitting in an old, wonky, wooden boat. I am on the forefront of the boat with my legs hanging over the railing. The paint on the railing is flaking off and with my nails I peel it 0ff. My feet move along the rhythm of the little waves which […]
Retouched reality
A purple eye and bruises in my face. With raised eyebrows I see a photo of myself dropping by on Instagram. It looks like I had a huge fight. Apparently, the photographer photoshopped my face. Are there any limits in the use of photoshop? And what right do models have in this? Models always have […]
Blisters & callbacks
Fifteen kilometres of walking, eight castings, two fittings, one new e-mail and two missed phone calls. Jup, it is Fashionweek. hello-thank you-goodbye castings With a satisfied feeling I walk into Esselunga (a supermarket). Today was a nice day, busy but nice. Casting directors were friendly and I think a lot of clients liked me. Most […]
Dear fashion industry
Dear agency, I am sorry for not being such an outgoing person. Like the model from Brasil who came into the agency singing and laughing last week. She laughed like someone had just told a really good joke. Everybody in the agency seems to like her, or they act like they do. I was just wondering why […]
Time flies when you are having fun
“Could you please take off your belt, sir?, asks an irritated stewardess to a man. The man does not seem to listen and walks further. Security gates begin to peep. “I asked you to take off your belt”, says the stewardess again this time with an angry tone in her voice. “Oh, are you getting agressive?”, […]
‘Faceless pictures are like cars without wheels’
There is a pile of clothes on my chair. Clothes racks stand in between computers and studiosettings. Shoes lay everywhere. I hear a Spanish song in the background. It sounds familiar, but I can not remember where I heard it before. “Frontal, side, detalles, back y next”, says the photographer in Spanglish (a mix of Spanish and English). […]
Monkeys in the zoo?
Flashing cameras fill the room. All eyes are focused on the jungle-like setting. Here we are, standing in between several plants. Like some monkeys in a zoo. An Asian man dressed in an Adidas jacket and with (seemingly) an entire jar of gel in his hair, takes photographs of some models with his polaroid camera. […]