BY AMY SMART, TIMESCOLONIST.COM
Brentwood Bay teen Ryan Williams is getting used to the Zoolander jokes, having shifted from engineering student to top model in a matter of months.
The 19-year-old was studying at Ryerson University in Toronto when a friend of a friend suggested he should make an appointment with a modelling agency.
"I thought, why not?" said Williams, who is now based in Milan, Italy, and booking high-end fashion gigs with Prada and Danier.
Williams got a few quick runway lessons from his agent at Push the Talent — shoulders straight, eyes forward, relaxed mouth — before his first show at Toronto Fashion Week last March. He booked his second with Prada Exclusive and spent a week in Milan, which he now calls a home base, although he's constantly travelling.
"Good thing they have lots of brandy behind the stage before you get on," he said. "Because it's Prada."
He didn't know much about the brand, at that point, other than it was important.
"I just knew it was this big, high-end brand that I'm doing a show for," he said. "So if I mess up, I'm not going to make it in the industry."
Williams, who says his former style consisted of baggy jeans and a hoodie — and interests included cars, girls and rugby — has been hopping the fashion world ever since. After this vacation at home, his plans include Fashion Weeks in Paris, Milan and London by March.
The Stelly's Secondary School grad says he's adapting to the culture.
"My style has definitely changed," Williams said. "I'm wearing slim jeans that fit and dress shirts and nice jackets."
He's also enjoying the perks — skipping the lines at bars and clubs.
"Models always get in free, in Europe," he said. "You just go up and say hey, I'm a model. And they're like, OK."
He says bouncers are less receptive back in B.C.
"I try, but they're like . . . what?"
It's not all freewheeling glamour and luxury, however. Williams says one of the toughest parts is maintaining composure at a time in life when most of his peers are letting loose.
"You can't just get totally wasted, fool around and do these random things you used to do," he says. "Because you're always looked upon."
He also says that while travel is one of the main reasons he was interested in modelling, it's also the most taxing. He had never travelled alone before, but now he's responsible for booking flights, hotels and finding his way around a new city in a matter of hours. The nature of the industry means plans are constantly changing.
"Everything comes last-minute," he said. He'll change apartments, change flights and even change destinations on a dime.
For now he's enjoying it and has put his schooling on hold for the year — a hiatus that he may extend if things continue to go well. But he says he doesn't have long-term goals for modelling.
"You can't really have a long-term goal because you never know when you're going to be cut," he said. "Right now, for me, I'm going to do the best I can, for as long as I can, as long as I'm making money. And by the time it cinches, if it does, I will probably have accumulated enough to pay for school and finish my degree."
