Written In Partnership With Aggrandize
Photo Credit: Natalia Elenkina
Model, the painter, and clay potter. Is there anything this modern woman can’t do?
Natalia Elenkina has been making her way onto the modeling scene over the last two years. Although still a reasonably new arrival, this Russian doll is making waves.
From beachwear to French berets, Natalia has been spotted out and about in the streets of America, living the high life and passing on her sense of style to some of her 56 thousand Instagram followers.
Natalia Elenkina, though, doesn’t think that her good fortune is down to her looks. Instead, she sees modeling as an art form, rather like her clay pots and her paintings.
The Art of Modelling
Natalia says that modeling is an art form, like acting, singing, or dancing, requiring study, skill, and elegance. Modeling is about practicing the conditions your body looks best in, studying the lines of the face and the curves of your shape. It is more profound than simply displaying clothes. Anyone could be a clothes hanger, but only a model can do it with style and elegance.
Models need to be in excellent condition – not simply good, but excellent. If there is a single unexplained wrinkle, dimple, or pimple on their skin, they are likely to lose work because of it. Working out represents roughly 3 hours of Natalia Elenkina’s daily routine. If she doesn’t work out, it’s because she is too unwell to do so.
Next, models must be clever enough to spot the opportunities, apply for casting roles, and do their taxes. Most don’t earn enough to hire an accountant, so being a model isn’t all that profitable – unless you walk for the big brands or have an audience big enough to cash in on the influencer scene.
Thirdly, a model must know her brands, designer’s names, the CEOs and hirers behind the brands, the other models, and the newest trends in fashion. They must dress correctly, eat correctly and walk perfectly. In short, being a model takes as much dedication as being a circus performer does. An actor, a singer, put as much effort into their bodies and performance as models do… and they do it all with a smile. Like Natalia Elenkina, some of them even keep coming back for more.
Living the Model Dream
Natalia Elenkina became a model after a few well-placed Instagram shots made it to the right people. Before long, she was being hailed as an influencer and had her photographer paid for by whichever big brand name she is working with at that moment. She is accurate, living the model dream… It’s just a lifestyle that is a little different from what you imagine it to be.
Being a model isn’t lounging around, drinking martinis, and having your photo taken. IT takes dedicated hard work. If you don’t have the backbone for it, that’s fine, but be wary. The industry might have changed a lot in the last few years, but it will still chew up the unprepared and spit them out again poor.
