Model Facade

From the mouths of babes, Supermodel quote of the day…

“Even I don’t wake up looking like Cindy Crawford.” – Cindy Crawford

We advertise weight loss shakes and pills we don’t drink or take. The hair is often clip-ins to add volume. There are camera angles, lighting and a lot of concealer. Our perfectly tailored fitting clothes are pinned at the back. I once met a stylist who put a dress on back to front, upside down, and pinned the back (previously known as front) to get the dress to fit the model.

The Model ego can be fragile; it can be shattered with one hold being lifted. I know ego is a dirty word, thank you, Dalai Lama, lesson noted, but sometimes it is the only protection you have, and it can be a great driving force. But this might be the reason that models have more issues then the Encyclopaedia Britannica. Insecurity is the hangover from working in an industry all about looks.

The model specimens get judged – a lot. So you have to have thick skin like an aardvark, rhino, or crocodile. Not that you can look like any of these things.

Many people have a heightened awareness relevant to their occupation – like a Child Care worker might sense a child in danger. Models have a unique sixth sense for a camera – if given a chance, models will pose for a speeding camera.

You have to be able to ride the wave of ludicrousy in direction on a shoot. Schizophrenia is part of the job description, “We are looking for friendly girl next door, sexy come to bed, but not quite to bed, with serious attitude.” We have to be versatile and good communicators. Having model chat is a virtue and a necessity in those patient hours of waiting, waiting, waiting. Model bitchiness is a bit of a fallacy, we all have to get along as much as possible to get through the long days and retain our sanity.

Models probably don’t get a lot of credit for swimming at the deep end of the emotional pool – I once accepted a Facebook friend request because the guy resembled David Beckham. I can be shallow and fickle, but I can also feel deeply. Such is the human condition that you can traverse between the different depths of emotional connection and thought.

We are quite often left battling with a mask and the authentic person beneath. The truth is our vulnerability is when we are most human, most engaging. I remember an acting teacher saying that the moment of change or vulnerability is so sexy. Not in the physical sense, but emotionally it is hypnotically intriguing. Sometimes being wrong is right. One of the best examples of this is the change from being strong to vulnerable.

When I cry, unlike Demi Moore, who looks achingly mesmerizingly beautiful, I look more like a pack of hyenas having a dinner party with a family of warthogs. Physically, it is not beautiful, but on a collapsing pedestal of emotional fragility, it is spectacular, dangerous, and real. In a world where so much is ‘smoke and mirrors,’ this realness is powerful.