‘Working your ass off....Literally!’

Photo by Dennis Veldman

My name is Charlotte and IFT asked me to write something about me being a model. Of course that is not the only thing I'm doing, I'm also a student at the moment but right now I'll write something about my modelling career......

As a child I was not especially interested in fashion, let alone in modelling but when I was 14 I was asked by a model agency if I'd be interested in becoming a model. Because of my age my parents were involved in it, settled appointments with the agency and first they agreed that pictures were taken but that I would wait with the real work until I was a little older. But only one month later there was this Dutch fashion designer who really wanted me to do a show for him and another month later it was Amsterdam Fashion Week and suddenly I was working quite a lot. After I turned 15 I had my first shoot and show in Paris. I was still in high school so there were two totally different lives. In one I was this high school girl with nice girlfriends, having lots of fun, studying hard and playing field hockey but then the next day I was treated like an adult, worked with adults who were the best at their jobs as make up artist, photographer, stylist and so on, had to travel a lot and work really hard. As long as my grades were ok, my parents and school went along and it was fun to do.

After I graduated from high school I started being a full time model; the day after my last exam I left to London for work and after that Madrid, Paris, Hamburg and other European cities were on my route. It was really exiting living for a while at all these places, doing all those jobs and meeting a lot of people! There were many adventures and opportunities that came to me only because of being a model. Besides that, I had to wear all those gorgeous designer clothes and the best hair-and make up artists made me so much prettier than I actually was.

But on the other hand it was also lonely sometimes; I was only 17 and never long at the same place because models come and go and just when you've found someone you really get along with, one of the two has to go somewhere else. Sometimes I really missed my parents, brothers and friends at home.

When I was in Madrid I stayed with my boyfriend who happen to study there for 6 months, when I was in other places I mostly stayed in a model apartment; an apartment you share with other models from all over the world. Most of the times it was nice but also crowded and loud. You have to be very flexible and go with the flow, for instance when you have to get up at 5.30 a.m. for an early job on location you really need your sleep. But there's always another model who can sleep late the next day so she can party all night long and when se comes home of course she turns on the music really loud.

 Besides that, another disadvantage of modelling is the long waiting every model has to do; sitting hours with huge hairdo’s and extreme make-up, waiting till finally the photographer is ready. Also the hours you have to wait before you can do your thing at the catwalk, always brings a lots of magazines, books and water along.

Being a model outside Holland every day is different. If you don't have a job the day starts early with going to your (foreign) agency, were you get a list of castings throughout the whole city. Mostly you have to run from one casting to another and when you arrive you often have to wait in line because there are lots of other models waiting to do the same casting. I've read so many books while I was waiting that I lost the count. After the casting you have to rush to the next casting, although sometimes your booker calls for a fitting or an extra casting inbetween. You can never plan ahead. When you were lucky you can do a few castings with another model, always nice to chat a little and find your way in a new city.

In some cities there are clubs and restaurants that are free for models, so a free lunch, diner or free entrance and free champagne in the VIP area. So once in a while a little glamour after a day full of running from one client to another, hearing your eyes are not the right colour or you're to small for the job and other rejections.

When you have a job you have to work your ass off, preferable literally ;-)

 publicatie Madrid magazine Looc

After 1 year, full-time modelling was finished for me, I went to university in Holland. So now I'm again a part time model, 2 or 3 times a month I have a modelling job, in my holidays I often try to work a few weeks for my foreign agencies and every 6 months I do the Amsterdam Fashion Week. But mostly I'm a student just like everyone else and I love it. Being a full time model has learned me a lot and has given me the opportunity to live in several foreign cities and work and meet with the best professionals in their field. I have made new friends and I became a lot stronger and learned I could depend on myself. I also found out how great Holland is, how I missed it and how important my family and friends are for me.

I hope I can keep up combining my study and my modelling because I really like the combination. 

Hope you enjoyed my story and keep up 

the reading on this blog J

Love,

Charlotte

http://www.facebook.com/charlottevandesande