By Jenni Sellan
@jennisellan

Passion purpose and the genetic lottery.

TO PURSUE a career in fashion modelling is to enter a fashionable jungle of smoking hot bodies and angelic faces. It’s a saturated market to say the very least and locating the sweet spot that puts you in full view of all the right people is becoming increasingly difficult as the industry filters it’s way through the genetically eligible in its quest to find the names that will define the industry’s next generation of stars.

So what determines the sweet spot and who are the girls who will dominate the next generation? The answer might surprise you.

In her interview with Ford Models, for Models.com Vogue Bookings Director, and Co Director of the talent group at Condè Nast, Helena Suric, addressed this exact question and according to her very qualified (VOGUE) opinion, the next generation belongs to the girl who doesn’t limit herself to her genetic qualifications. In fact she goes so far as to say that she believes a time will come where that kind of model won’t even exist.

Whether you are an emerging talent or your bookings are full, in order to stay both relevant and in season, the same questions that Vogue are asking of and about their talent are the same questions that you need to be asking of yourself:

1. What else are the models doing?

2.What are they passionate about?

3. How are they affecting change?

4. How are they using their platforms and… 

5. If they are not doing any of the above, do they even care?

The condensed version – the industry wants to know who are you in your world and how are you affecting it?

You might qualify on the beauty scale, but your commitment to a worthy cause outside of yourself is going to be worth more than you may have previously considered, because if Vogue’s Helena Suric is on the money, the industry isn’t just looking for print and editorial, they are looking for your story and your contribution; your passion and your conviction.

As the world evolves, fashion evolves with it and while the thought of your look sharing space with cause and passion as a career qualifier may feel a little off centre, it’s actually refreshingly revolutionary because what the industry is asking for gives you the freedom to reposition your identity away from how you look, to a definition by purpose.

This is not about denying your beauty, it’s giving it the opportunity to be used as a platform for purpose that exists outside of yourself.
This is one of the most unique opportunities for models in fashion’s current time and place in history that exists…. to create something personal from the platform that the industry has gifted them.

Develop your story along with your portfolio!

Get involved with your community, give back, and find passion and purpose connected to your opportunity.

Need some inspiration?

Both in the driver’s seat of their careers and doing life on their own terms, Karlie Kloss and Adwoa Aboah are two stunning examples of models refusing to be defined by the generous hand genetics has played them, impacting an emerging generation as platform and passion collide.

A global fashion star known for her campaigns, covers and runway prowess, the world of  Technology and science have also befriended her – Karlie Kloss. Crazy Smart and beautiful she’s making her mark on the world of tech and among other things runs coding camps for girls. She’s earning some serious cred in the business world while ruling the runways and she’s the perfect role model for models who want to take their fashion career to an entirely new level.

Strikingly beautiful and regularly featured as a cover girl for Vogue, Adwoa Aboah was unsurprisingly voted Model of the year in 2017. This British super star has been on a significant journey of self-discovery to overcome addiction and self-loathing. Developing on line platform, Gurls Talk was born directly out of her own personal experience and has been her opportunity to create a safe space for girls that she herself needed but didn’t have as she navigated her own teenage years; a place for girls to talk about anything through a platform accessible to every girl. She’s an advocate for diversity and another stellar role model for the industry.

Using the opportunity to affect change has the potential to lift the ceiling on your career as a fashion model. Beauty as we know it fades, but passion and purpose endure to affect generations. Be known and remembered for that.

Got the Face? ✓
Got the Body? ✓
Found your Passion and your Cause? ✓

Here at AMFAM we’ve always known and believed you are more than your beauty, but it’s time to prove it to the rest of the world.

#refreshinglyrevolutionary.