WHAT do you reckon is going through a supermodel's mind as she swans down the catwalk in front of hundreds of people and towards a bank of blinding camera flashes? "A lot of things go through your head," says Daria Werbowy, who stars with Kate Moss, Carolyn Murphy, Angela Lindvall and Christy Turlington in the latest Versace ads. "Sometimes you think about what you're going to eat for dinner, or, did I do my laundry, or, oh sh*t, I didn't call my mum. Sometimes you're just blank. Other times you're like, yeah, strutting. Like yeah, all right, look at me, I'm modelling! I'm a model!" Described by Karl Lagerfeld as "a rare mix – a personality and a unique beauty", Werbowy was discovered at the age of 14 and signed with IMG Models in New York at the age of 17, in 2001. But it wasn't all as easy as it looks and she found herself back at home in Canada a year later. "Everyone said I should be a model, while nothing was happening despite my efforts," she told Canada's Weekend Post. "Those times made me take stock of the difficulties of this business. It is our appearance that is judged, and without a strong mental outlook, one does not last. In 2003, I changed; I was stronger and I was more sure of myself. I wanted to work again, above all to finance my art studies. I called IMG and returned to New York. Three days later, I did Marc Jacobs' fashion show and a week later I worked for Steven Meisel for Prada. Everything began to happen and it became my career." Aware that modelling can only be a temporary career, Daria has told of her ambition to sail around the world when she turns 27 in four years' time and still regards it as a way to fund her artistic aspirations. "When I remember that I have become a model to finance my studies in painting, none of its strength is lost," she says. "I know it will not last forever, therefore I appreciate every moment." (August 17 2006, AM)
Dolly Jones [VOGUE.CO.UK]
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