In order to be a successful model you need to have an extrovert personality as well as a ‘look’ that is either classic or which is a good fit with current fashion trends. It is a combination of these two factors which are likely to determine the success, or not, of turning modelling jobs into a modelling career. There are many reasons why people choose a career as a model and work with modelling scouts like El Irving, but he considers five of the major perks associated with this challenging but hugely rewarding career.

Meeting the rich and famous

One of the benefits of being a model is that it provides the opportunity to meet people you would not ordinarily get to meet. As well as meeting those who can be influential in a modelling career such as fashion designers, magazine and newspaper editors and photographers, modelling can also ‘open doors’ and enable models to meet actors (like Emma Watson), producers, business people and even royalty. If a model is successful, he or she may find there selves invited to parties and gatherings where they can mingle with the rich and famous. For some of those who decide to enter into modelling, this is a major motivating factor.

Travel in modelling jobs

For many models, one of the great things about the work is the fact that there can be a great deal of travelling. Whether this is travelling at home or abroad, the opportunities are endless. For successful catwalk models, overseas travel is a large part of the job. Travel provides the opportunity to experience many different countries and cultures, and possibly to pick up a new language or two along the way. Additionally, international assignments are often better paid and provide better allowances. All of a model’s travel expenses and allowances are covered by the client. Provided that you are happy to hop on a plane, sometimes at a moment’s notice, this is definitely one of the benefits to being a model.

Learning new skills

Working as a model is a great opportunity to learn new skills. Modelling work involves lots of waiting around, creating perfect opportunities to improve knowledge and pick up tricks of the trade. For instance, models spend many hours with makeup artists and hairdressers, so they almost invariably pick up elements of these skills. As modelling provides the opportunity to travel, this also means that many models are able to learn and speak other languages. They may eventually speak confidently in the country they are visiting and communicate with fashion designers for whom English may not be a first language. And models need to be fit and healthy, so learning how to maintain a healthy body is a skill that all models acquire.

Promotion and profile raising

Many of those who want to take up modelling have other aspirations: acting, singing, dancing or performing in other ways. Modelling is a great way to get noticed and to make influential people see who you are and what you can do. Due to the nature of modelling, models can find it easier to appear in the media in some form, whether it be in print or on television. This may lead to more appearances, furthering one’s modelling career while opening doors to other opportunities such as acting, television presenting and even writing.

Money

The one thing that most aspiring models believe is that a career as a model will lead to them earning huge amounts of money. For some, this is the main driving force behind their desire to succeed. While earning money beyond most people’s wildest dreams is true for those who make it into the ‘super league’ of modelling, relatively few are in this category. That is not to say that modelling cannot be lucrative, but any aspiring model needs to be prepared for a few years of earning relatively modest sums. Once they have built up a large enough portfolio, they are more likely to be considered for higher value work such as advertising campaigns for major fashion labels and cosmetics brands.

These are just some of the opportunities and experiences that are available if you choose to pursue a career as a fashion model. The diversity of this industry allows for a great deal of flexibility and numerous potential career paths, regardless of your talents and interests.

If this is how you see your self, please get in touch www.elirving.com

The news that fashion has anointed a new designer as a star can be signposted in various ways. For Amie Robertson, who debuted her label AV Robertson at London Fashion Week on Saturday morning, the evidence came in the form of front-row guest Marc Jacobs, who had flown in from New York, and a coterie of superstar models including Vogue’s March cover star, Edie Campbell, celebrity offspring Georgia Jagger, and Lineisy Montero, currently in the Chanel campaign.
For a fledgling label, still designed from a bedroom in Robertson’s parents’ house in Manchester, these signals were enough to make the assembled guests at the Tate Britain show sit up and take notice. The show notes crediting Katie Grand also ensured that they paid attention. Grand, who is editor-in-chief of Love magazine, has styled for Prada and works with Jacobs. Her endorsement of an unknown like Robertson is a Big Deal. It turns out that the Central Saint Martins fashion illustration BA graduate met Grand when she completed a year’s internship in 2014 at Marc Jacobs in New York.
Robertson showed as part of Fashion East, the young talent initiative that presents collections by three young designers each season. Jacobs’s influence could be seen in her eclectic collection. She mixed striped flannels, satin and beaded embellishment. Long, striped dresses and wide-legged trousers were worn with knee-high jewel-coloured boots and short-sleeved satin blouses. Few hems were straight, and some dresses featured ties that looked like jumpers were tied around models’ waists. Grand’s styling was present in the fun makeup and piled-up hair. It added a slickness that most young designers would kill for.
Jacobs, dressed in his signature Stan Smiths along with a sweatshirt, backpack and printed scarf, said he came to support Robertson “because she was bright and talented when she worked with us”. The designer is in London to attend the launch of his beauty brand at Harrods, but whether or not he would be attending shows at the rest of London Fashion Week was unclear. “I’m here, but I’m not here,” he said, with a wave of the hand and the air of someone who likes to keep his public guessing.

Backstage, Robertson – who wore the bookish outfit of pulled-back ponytail, glasses and jumper – was mobbed for squad goal selfies with Jacobs, Grand and friends. These posts are priceless for building buzz – collectively, the designer and stylist share 720,000 followers on Instagram. Robertson, by contrast, is on 1,600. After today that number is bound to increase. “Katie took me under her wing,” said Robertson, who still had the rabbit-in-the-headlights look of someone new to being the centre of attention. “I don’t know why, but it’s great, she’s been amazing.”

The designer’s inspirations are already showing signs of being up to fashion muster. “Aliens came to a magical land and flowers started growing out of the earth,” she said of the collection. The stripes were down to her “exploring men’s and womenswear” and also part of the “horror element”, namechecking Beetlejuice. The cult 1988 Tim Burton comedy-horror stars Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder, who wear stripes, wonky lengths and layers. It was also referenced by Jacobs last week, following his show in New York on Thursday night.
Being part of a trend that also includes a household-name designer is a long way from that Manchester bedroom, but Robertson may have to get used to this new environment.
Someone more accustomed to the spotlight is Caitlin Price, the London-based designer who had her third outing with Fashion East. Price is building a following who appreciate her mix of streetwear with couture references. For autumn/winter, she used her trademark pastel colours on tracksuits but also long, gathered satin skirts and short bomber jackets. There was an early 00s feel that recalled UK grime artist Lady Sovereign and rapper Lil’ Kim. Price said it was based on the “British ritual of girls getting dressed up to go out” and a “sophistication and glamour, but not quite being able to pull it off”. The cutout silhouettes were inspired by both a Madame Grès dress and a Lycra catsuit designed as clubwear. “It’s about a hybrid,” she said.