LULU WAGSTAFFE, 18
How did you start out?
I'm quite tall, about 5 foot 11, and people would always say I should try modelling. I was on the books of a very small local agency in Adelaide, my home city, but I didn't get any work in Adelaide because it's a very small industry. Then I was found by an agency in Sydney that brought me over for 2004 fashion week. I've been modelling professionally since I was 15. I'm still based in Adelaide but I travel a lot.
How did you juggle modelling and school?
In my first year in Sydney I was in year 10 and I went back and forth from Sydney about 10 times. I combined school and modelling all through school and finished year 12 last year. Mum helped a lot.
Pros and cons of the job?
It's hard to be away from your family and friends but you get to meet amazing people. I went to Tokyo in 2005 and in my spare time I went sightseeing like crazy. I like to explore the places I'm in.
What does the future hold?
I might be going overseas soon. New York, Paris and Milan; any one of those will do fine. I see modelling as something that's good while it lasts but I don't think that I would compromise myself to a position where if it wasn't working out for me I would push it. There are a lot of jobs you go for that you just won't get. New trends come in each year and a different look becomes popular. They can love the Gemma Ward look, or a more classic look.
And when modelling's over?
It sounds like a cliche but a lot of models turn to acting or design or photography. I'm really interested in what it might be like on the other side of the camera.
What about the weight issue?
I don't want to put myself out of a job, obviously, because I enjoy what I do. But I do believe being healthily skinny is the way to go and not through avenues such as drugs or eating disorders. I haven't seen much of that in the Australian industry anyway. No disaster stories spring to mind. The body mass index isn't a medically proven way to tell whether someone's healthy or not. It's more of a generalisation; and applying a uniform method isn't the most effective way to do it.
theage.com.au
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