Shanina Shaik, cosy and cool
Shanina Shaik, bona fide high-fashion model. Picture: Nick Leary. Source: Supplied
FROM reality show runner-up to bona fide high-fashion model, Shanina Shaik has well and truly arrived - even though she’s still pinching herself.
“It’s sinking in now,” smiles the 20-year-old. “After booking Victoria’s Secret, it took me a good month to get over the feeling that it could all stop any minute,” she admits.
It took just over two years for Melbourne-born Shaik - who got her start at 17 on Seven Network’s Make Me a Supermodel in 2008 - to reach the modelling mecca; walking the catwalk for the American lingerie giant.
She made her debut last November. “It was so amazing, I kept thinking, finally!” she grins. “Two-hundred girls go to the casting, but only 30 make it to the runway, and there are three weeks of nerves and waiting for an answer.
But after such a gruelling process, I was comfortable on the day; it came so naturally. No other show in the world is viewed by 50 million people, and having my mum there made everything even better.”
Her ambitions don’t stop there. “I admire Adriana Lima, and Miranda Kerr is a great Aussie girl to look up to,” she says. “Even the old-school models are still working, which just shows how business-minded they are. That’s what I’m aspiring to. I’d also love to launch my own shoe line one day.”
Now living in New York, Shaik is dating American actor and model Tyson Beckford, 41, whom she met while filming Make Me a Supermodel. He appeared on the show as a guest judge and contestants’ mentor, but the two didn’t strike up a romance until the Aussie relocated to the US after the cameras stopped rolling.
“He’s very supportive because he’s been through this business, but we like to keep our personal and professional lives separate. He gives me advice on the industry - but only if I ask,” she laughs.
Whatever his advice is, it’s working; Shaik has also walked for Chanel, Kirrily Johnston and Italian lingerie brand, Intimissimi, as well as being named the new Youth Ambassador for Bonds. After enjoying a breather at home over Christmas, she’s on her way back to New York to tackle 2012 head-on.
“I miss Australia,” she says. “It’s hard to be so far away from your family. I miss the Aussie summer, the people, and the cheerful and relaxed feel. Oh, and Tim Tams and Vegemite.”
With a glint in her eye, she hints at more high profile jobs to come. “As soon as I get back to New York, I’ll be very busy - let’s just say that.”
Shanina wears:
Left: Bonds sweater, $39.95; Zara skirt, $59.95
Centre: Morrison jacket, $569; Bonds pants, $44.95
Right: Thurley top, $349.99; Bonds briefs, $16.95.
) wearing grey marle trackies?! 
shows that NEXT are sireous about her
