As a child I always heard the phrase: “When she grows up, she’ll be a model,” but I never took it seriously. In high school I always wanted to try something new, to test myself. A friend invited me to a hair contest, and I was happy to keep her company. At the rehearsals for the competition, I was advised to try myself at modeling. I consulted with my mother, and she responded positively. Then there were the unfamiliar word “snaps”, tests and diligent preparation for the first work trip.
I have worked on fifteen contracts (now the sixteenth). Most of my career has been in Asia: South Korea, Japan, Thailand, China, Hong Kong, Taipei. In Europe I also managed to work: in Milan, Paris and Athens, I flew on direct booking to Barcelona. Before the pandemic I even managed to visit another continent: Chile and Peru.
In Lima (the capital of Peru), I did not stay long, there were few castings and jobs. The locals are intemperate, they react very violently to tall and light models, so I was only glad that I left earlier. Chile is a more developed country. In Santiago, there are good price tags for work, it is clear that the modeling industry is only developing here, but the prospects are clearly high.
A couple of years ago, I had a unique opportunity to work on the Greek island of Zakynthos with a team of professionals from Taiwan who specialize in natural cosmetics. Blue lagoons, a penthouse, royal breakfasts, olive tree plantations and stunning natural views awaited us.
I also visited Dubai with an incredible team that makes clothes from two lines — Chick and Funny. We flew in just for a couple of days from Shanghai, shooting for 14 hours every day. It was a difficult job, but I still have great impressions, they do not fade away to this day. Singing fountains, the Burj Khalifa skyscraper, various mosques, an artificial island in the form of a palm tree, racing in the desert, wide avenues, the atmosphere of the East-all this was like a fairy tale!
My hobby is tracking. I’ve been doing it for three years now. My mother suggested this idea and I supported it. Since childhood we loved to get out of the wild into nature, now we wanted something more ambitious. We climbed the peak of Love and the peak of Galina in the village of Arshan, Chersky peak and were on a four-day hike to Bosan (Hamar-Daban). So I wanted to go up to Peru to Machu Picchu, but for this the trip must be tourist, so that everything could be arranged according to the schedule.
What advice can I give to aspiring models? I don’t like giving advice. We are all completely different, even though we are the same. I believe that you just need to find your way in modeling by trial and error. Plans in our business are not always implemented, and even more so now-during the pandemic. The model should be ready, so that when the opportunity comes, to grab it, and not to clap.
I am grateful to the modeling for the constant work on myself and the expansion of my personal comfort zone. By the word “work” I mean maintaining physical fitness and compliance with the parameters, proper nutrition, learning languages, the ability to communicate with people of different cultures, leveling the level of stress resistance, the ability to quickly and efficiently pack a suitcase for a flight to the other side of the world, the skill of timing.
Text by K. Mironova
Photo provided by MA Velvet Management
