In a world where social media has become a part of our everyday activity (quite a lot like an afternoon tea!), it made sense to have a quick interview with our little beauty Tasha Franken about her stylish blog Natasha's Soirée for the latest editon of #MODELLOG.
Elite: Hi Tasha – loving the blog! When did you first start doing it?
Tasha: I created my blog before I started modelling, maybe 2 years ago? I always had a keen interest in fashion and used to spend so much time reading various fashion blogs for hours after school… And then one day I thought – hey, if I’m spending all this time going through other peoples’ blogs, why don’t I just make my own?! And that was the start of it.
E: How would you best describe your blog?
T: I initially posted other various editorials, street-styles and generally anything I liked. I never used to blog about myself until I started doing my own styling and got my sister to take photos of me and then not long after that I started modelling and was able to post my own editorials! And then my blog became almost like a personal diary – blogging about my modelling work, places I’m travelling to and day-to-day life in general as well as things that I find inspire me.
E: What other blogs do you follow?
T: I just tend to look at my bookmarks every day and go through the list of my favourite blogs; I like Fashion Copious and Fashion Gone Rogue is a really good one for editorials. 4th and Bleeker and Fashion Toast are also amongst good ones to read, as well as the smaller blogs such as Lions, Tigers & Fashion Oh My! where this girl posts about all the stuff she finds in American thrift stores you don’t get so much here in the UK – so anything from $1 trousers and $2 shoes, and I’m always like - how do you get these kind of clothes?! I can never find such amazing bargains! And she makes it work, which is really cool.
E: What would you say is the best perk of your job?
T: I’d have to say travelling – I get an opportunity to work in all these amazing places I always wanted to go to plus I’m getting paid at the same time! And I get to meet all kinds of cool people and make friends with other models from all around the world - which is very useful because wherever I go now there's always a chance of me knowing someone.
E: What was your favourite shoot to date?
T: I did a really cool shoot in Chile actually - it was for 2-3 days and conveniently the other girl who got booked on the shoot was a good friend of mine, so that was a lot of fun! We flew out together and stayed at a really nice hotel.
E: If the weather stays as gorgeous as it is today, what are your plans for this week?
T: I’m actually flying to Barcelona tomorrow, so I won’t get the chance to enjoy this nice London weather! Last time I went there the weather here in London was gorgeous and sunny and I had a feeling it was going to be horrible in Barcelona. And I was right – as soon as we landed we were awaited by stormy weather!
E: Do you think you'll have some spare time to explore Barcelona?
T: Not really because I’m only going there for a job. But if I do, I will most probably go to Las Ramblas or go shopping… I just take it as it comes, it all depends on where I’m staying as generally just like to go and explore the area.
E: As an experienced traveller, what gets you through long-haul flights?
T: I always try and scout out any empty seats so I can have a row to myself so I can lie down… And A LOT of movies! I just try and treat it like a lazy, pyjama-day where I have all the food + drinks served to me, watch movies and try to sleep as much as I can! Sleeping is the best way to pass the time, even if I know that it will make me feel absolutely jet-lagged afterwards!
E: What’s the best freebie you got?
T: Actually my first and my favourite freebie was from a test shoot I did in New York in the Hamptons, and in the shoot I was wearing a pair of leather leggings by Helmut Lang. As I was getting changed after shoot I mentioned how obsessed I was with them and the stylist told me to keep them! I’ve only been modelling for about a month and never got given anything before and they were like $1000 leggings so I handed them back... And the stylist just threw them back to me and said I should keep them if I like them so much as he’s got loads! And I still wear them now – they’re always in my suitcase as they go with just about everything!
E: If you weren’t a model, what would you be doing?
T: I would most probably be at university studying something to do with fashion and then just see where it would take me; I don’t have a specific area that I would really want to go into just yet, but I know it would have something to do with fashion and the business side of it. I know I will go back to studying somewhere along the line, but for now I’ve got a dream-job where I’m earning good money, travelling around the world and I am also in the same industry that I want to base my future career on. So I’m positive that this experience will help me immensely by seeing it from a different angle and by meeting the industry professionals and making contacts. I’m in no rush though, just take things as they come and I can always go back to studying when the time is right for me.
E: What was your last tweet/ Facebook status about?
T: I actually updated my status earlier saying how happy the sun makes me! Weather in London is grey and dreary most of the time, so whenever I go to a sunny location it makes me realise how much I miss the sun! Obviously my whole life I’ve taken it for granted as I was born and raised in Spain, but now I’ve learned to appreciate it.
A bit of sunshine makes the day go so much better - especially when you have a full day of castings!
Thank you so much for the interview Tasha - we look forward to our next visit to your blog for inspiration and much-needed style advice!
You can visit Tasha's blog here:
www.natashassoiree.blogspot.co.uk
