Unfashionable, unpretty

There’s a new kind of bitchiness on the block – between plus size and straight size models. And it ain’t pretty. See, bigger sized girls have been derided and taken the mickey out of in the fashion industry for so long and their target audience of larger (or even just normal sized) women have felt tricked by designers, photographers and all those other ideal-woman-dreammakers for so long, they seem to think it’s now payback time.

Finally, girls who aren’t stick thin are getting avantgarde magazine spreads, big name campaigns and top level exposure – even on New York’s famous Times Square. The fashion industry – after decades of covering their ears and eyes – is ready to – perhaps not embrace – but listen to calls for a more realistic body image and diversity of shapes and sizes. Even governments worldwide are jumping on the positive body image bandwagon. Hurray! We’ve got ourselves a revolution! Long live the healthy body. The old ideal is dead..

But behind the scenes a not so fashionable attitude is emerging. Beautiful girls with a BMI in the healthy range are now considered too skinny by some. Perhaps buoyed by the recent success of plus size girls around the world, a few of their biggest (pardon the pun) fans and supporters and even some of the girls themselves are exhibiting what’s one of womankind’s most unattractive traits in my opinion: bitchiness.

They look at glowing, beautiful images of standard sized models and turn their nose up at them, snorting in derision. “Skinny cow,” they snigger. “If I only ate carrots I’d look like that too.” The underlying bitterness is understandable given they copped it for decades as the token “fat girl” on shoots and were showed in unfashionable tent-like outfits but really, where is the sisterly attitude, girls? After all, the original call by women wasn’t for BIG girls only, e.g. only girls with a BMI at the top range or even beyond it to be shown in the media. We asked for a healthy body image; a diversity of body types, sizes and ages.

Looking at images of models like Elle Macpherson, Jessica Hart or Sarah Murdoch, all I see is beauty, health and a natural glow. (And that’s not just photoshop.) Yes, they might be thinner than the average person. Good on them. Really, the average person is hardly what you’d like to aspire to – or see in magazines, at least all the time, right? Take that bitchy attitude a step further and next, we’ll be asking for only oversized and non-stunning girls to be used. Bring on the average Jane and Joe. C’mon! Don’t take that unpleasant attitude. Haven’t we got enough of that in reality TV shows already? People with no achievements and no ambitions – other than to make it onto TV?

Let’s face it: some of those skinnier models are naturally that body shape. They might work out more than you do or eat less or perhaps they’re even genetically blessed in that model like way but if they’re happy in their bodies why cut them down? Can anybody else see a little bit of underlying jealousy there?

I’m not saying I’ve never gossiped or talked badly about fellow models. We all get caught up in the moment – especially if we’re having a bad day ourselves and the model in question is unpleasant to us or full of herself. But let’s celebrate each others’ successes and embrace diversity whenever we can. Be grateful that there’s a variety of body shapes out there for teenage girls to aspire too. Why limit it to big, skinny or otherwise? Cut out the schoolyard bitching – wherever it may stem from, it’s very unpretty!

Australia has traditionally favoured a slightly healthier and more toned modeling ideal. Here are pictures of few Aussie models I absolutely love the look of. Different sizes, ages and shapes – in some of their happiest shots. Enjoy!

I love this shot of Jessica Hart from last year’s Seafolly campaign. Full of life, fun and absolutely stunning, if you ask me. Pic courtesy of www.pedestrian.tv

Sarah Murdoch, lovely inside and out as I had the pleasure of finding out during a shoot for Bonds last year, was beautifully captured by David Gubert in this spread for Australian Women’s Weekly. What’s best, no retouching. I found this picture on another great blog, Beautiful You by Julie.

Above a great shot of Australian supermodel Megan Gale who also shows a healthy body shape and, perhaps due to her size, became a overnight (bombshell) success in Italy where they love their women curvy – for a model. Pic courtesy of the Herald Sun.

Hamburg – Creative City

Out now in Habitus magazine - here’s a longer version of my article:

Forget Venice. The epitome of a city on water has a fair rival in Far Northern Europe. The unassuming trading port of Hamburg – much closer to Copenhagen than other German cities like Munich or Frankfurt – offers more than “just” seafaring history, beautiful buildings and an abundance of waterways splashed throughout the cityscape.

The sounds of water – boats bumping against docks, canals rushing past historic housefronts, swans leisurely paddling past and rivers gurgling under bridges – are everywhere. No matter where you’re bound, in Hamburg, you’ll be crossing water in some form or shape. There are around 2,500 bridges in the city state; more than in Venice, Amsterdam and London combined.

 

In fact, if there ever was an ode to the ocean, Hamburg would be it. Nautical elements can be found throughout but where better to experience the city’s heartsong than at her very core, Hamburger Hafen?

The port of Hamburg officially dates back to May 7, 1189. It’s the day that determined Hamburg’s future as the world’s ninth largest trading port and member of the powerful trading alliance of the Hanse several centuries later. An annual celebration commemorating the day over 820 years ago when ships passing between Hamburg and the open sea were granted exemption from customs duties and also some tax privileges has become the biggest port fest in the world, the Hambuger Hafengeburtstag (port’s birthday party).

Every May, tall ships, traditional ships and yachts – around 300 in total – converge on the river Elbe for the opening parade with much fanfare and the foreshore turns into a veritable fairground with lightshows, performance artists and events on and off the water. But the undeniable highlight is the unparalleled Tug Boat Ballet. It’s a sight that has to be seen to be believed: klutzy tug boats performing bumbling pirouettes only centimetres from the embankment to the music of Johann Strauss.

On any other day, start at Dockland, an imposing glass and steel construction which leans out a 24 degree angle, creating the impression of a space age ocean liner docked on the shores of the river at the entrance to the Harbour. Energetic visitors can also climb the 140 steps to a viewing platform.

Then head to the unpretentious, simple, square and yet intriguing buildings of the  nearby Perlenkette (pearl necklace) a recent development reviving a formerly unused and barren area.

Next, go underground for some history in the Alter Elbtunnel, a pedestrian and vehicle tunnel considered a technical sensation when it opened up in 1911. Walking down the 24m metal staircase to cross through one of its two beautifully tiled tubes the chilly air and excitement will creep up your spine in equal measures.

Not quite as exciting but equally enjoyable are the beach clubs which have sprung up over the last few years on either side of the river – complete with sand and palmtrees.

A wander along the Landungsbruecken piers is a must, as is a trip on one of the traditional barges, quick visit to the museum ship Rickmer Rickmer’s or Cap San Diego and seafood lunch or dinner in the nearby Portuguese quarter should all be on your itinerary to get in the swing of all things aquatic before heading to Hamburg’s latest oeuvre, its flagship architectural project the HafenCity.

The International Maritime Museum Hamburg, placed exactly at 10 latitude, is your first port of call. Opened in late June 2008, the museum’s ten decks (that’s what they call the floors here) sum up Hamburg’s obsession with the sea like no other building.

Some guests have already visited the largest private maritime collection in the world 30 times in the 13 months since its opening. They’re fascinated by its 40,000 exhibits.

Costing more than EUR 6 billion, the project HafenCity is Europe’s largest inner city urban development project. It’s set to reshape Hamburg’s city centre drastically, adding an extra 40% of space to the Harbour for residential and business use.

Now is indeed a great time to visit the area, as some of its 20 quarters are already completed, while others haven’t even begun construction. It’s a strangely surreal cityscape to visit, where you’ll find the old warehouse buildings of the Speicherstadt next to cranes and cozy brand new cafes. The project is slated for completion in 2020 and, if you wait another couple of years – until 2012 – with your visit,  you’ll perhaps be one of the first to see the star of Hamburg’s new song, the Elbphilharmonie concert hall.

The architectural hybrid of historic cubic shape with brick facade and curving wave-shaped glass structure upper levels will combine history and future of the port in a singular performance place for classical and contemporary music – right at the tip of the new Harbour district, the Kehrwiderspitze – calling on all sailors to return.

Plus, on a positive note

I’m back in the land of connectivity – and just in time for some amazing stuff to happen!

It’s been thirteen years and a month since I first set foot in the world of modelling and Cosmopolitan magazine has it’s own 13 year anniversary this month: body love, a philosophy implemented to show a broader variety of sizes in the mainstream magazine. That’s right, in the last 13 years, every single issue of Cosmo has featured girls that aren’t your standard modelling size! Talk about cutting edge.  Check out my pics in their body love anniversary spread or head to Bella Model Management’s fan page to check out the other amazing girls in there.

Overall, 2010 has been a great year for a healthier body image in the media so far. “Plus” models are finally no longer a token gesture for designers and mags to show they do care. The girls are actually rocking it! Penelope Benson, Laura Wells, Lauren Maksimovic and Robyn Lawley are just some of the faces to watch in 2011! I love how everything is possible for these guys and they’re just at the start of their no doubt longlasting modeling careers.

The Healthy is the new Skinny campaign is also worth a look. Changing the New York fashion industry  - one T-shirt at a time. Oh, and don’t forget to check out Plus Size Models Unite. They feature inspiring and uplifting interviews and some not so comfortable stories for those promoting the “hungry” skinny look. (And I’ve written for them.) And yes, that’d be yours truly doing what I do best in the shot to the right: running. Had to be Bo Derek really – the only actress famous for a running shot. Uh, that and her Playboy spreads and worst actress awards.

For some – dare I say it – even cooler new pics, head to Body, Mind & Sol’s Fanpage this weekend. And don’t forget to “Like” me!

Healthy, natural and happy is… beautiful

Watching the latest season of Australia’s Next Top Model and its polished new contestants the other day, I was in awe of how well these girls knew how to pose for a camera, walk on a catwalk (in a major fashion show for their first challenge, no less!) and make themselves pretty with make-up and nicely styled hair. They are pretty perfect little models before they even start receiving advice from Sarah Murdoch, the show’s host, or the other model mentors like Josh Flinn. It’s incredible. When did teenage girls become so aware of their looks and appeal?

Sure, I used to worry endlessly about how I looked from when my body started hitting puberty but I thought applying sheer lipgloss and mascara and blow-drying my hair was dolling up. The times when I tried eye shadow or lipstick, I ended up wiping it all off, disgusted at how artificial and bad I looked. How come today’s teenagers no longer have those boundaries and no longer consider natural beauty to be true beauty? To this day, when I finish a photoshoot and walk out onto the street in full shoot make-up, I feel like a circus clown with warpaint on. What is needed to make a look beautiful for a magazine and for everyday life is something totally different.

An ex-boyfriend of mine used to call it the “make-up or wake-up girl” thing. Him and his mates would text each other after meeting a girl for the first time (and spending the night with her). “Make-up” was reserved for artificial, highly made up girls who worried about their look so much they’d even get up before the guys and ensure they’d have some make-up on prior to brekkie. “Wake-up” girls were the ones they’d fall in love with. Ones you’d want to lovingly gaze at and hold in the morning. They were naturally beautiful. No make-up needed. Their personality was reflected in their looks.

I love that little wake-up make-up saying. It’s a sweet way to distinguish and acknowledge natural beauty. It’s more about the person than their appearance. I hope those young girls on Australia’s Next Topmodel have a sense of their own value as a person and understand that outer beauty can reflect a beautiful personality but that being a model doesn’t actually mean anything in itself.

Being happy with yourself, looking after your body and being friendly, giving and appreciative is far more important. No make-up needed. Radiance comes from within.

Don’t think me hypocritical. I know I’ve got stacks of photos online that show me heavily made up. And yes, I do appreciate fashion photography and a great photoshoot. But if I had a teenage daughter would I like her to know how to move like  a model and put make-up on like a grown woman ready to go out to pull? Are you kidding?! I’d like her to be a tomboy climbing trees, falling into rivers and coming home with scratches and cuts from mountainbiking – with a smile on her face. There’s enough time for them to grow up and start worrying about their looks and how to apply concealer. (For the record, I only bought my first foundation and concealer five years ago when I needed it for modeling.)

Hey, why don’t we go ahead as role models and show them that we are happy in our skin. Without make-up. Here are some of the shots that show me happiest – and in my view most beautiful – no or barely any make-up needed. Beauty is being yourself. Below is me. Let’s start a little movement. When are you happy and beautiful? Email me pics to bookings@solwalkling.com and I’ll put them up.

On a road trip for the day with a friend. No plan, no time limit, just fun.

Happy and beautiful is… friends cracking you up.

Trying some Indigenous flower for the first time on a travel assignment up in Queensland after hunting for food in mud swamps.

Happy and beautiful is…  travelling.

Returning home after an offshore race. No sleep, no land, no worries.

Happy and beautiful is… doing sports.

Home on the Northern Beaches with Mr Wonderful, his family and kids. The sky was overcast but the outlook sunny.

Happy and beautiful is… being around loved ones.

Taking out a yacht for the day with good friends and inspiring company, yummy food and wine, anchoring near my house.

Happy and beautiful is… just relaxing.

At the end of a shoot at the beach when all the make-up has washed off and I’m exhausted.

Happy and beautiful is… in the outdoors feeling the elements.

Modellife Crisis

Facebook, twitter and blogging are changing our society. We’ve got a new outlet to define ourselves and to portray who we’d like to be. It can be interesting and outright funny at times. I recently had a few giggles discovering lots of women in their mid to late thirties declaring “they could have modeled if they’d wanted to”.

First of all: good for you.. But really, why would you’ve wanted to in the first place? Is your life really that unfulfilled that you’d like to be a one-dimensional sex object defined solely by your looks and how well the camera captures your beauty? And do you seriously need to then go and have some raunchy amateur photos take to show the world that you are pretty and not THAT old, I guess?

I’m all for reinvention. But it’s a little sad and silly for grown women to aspire to look like a men’s mag model to show they could’ve modeled as a teenager if only they’d wanted to. Surely, it’s your life experience, how you’ve touched the ones around you and what you’ve achieved for yourself and the community that matters not whether you were a cute teenager or have turned into a better than average-looking woman (at least when in the right light and made up nicely)?

This new craze to reinvent ourselves as a woman straight out of TV reality show The Swan, complete with the oomphed up hair, big cleavage and oversexed online personality strikes me as the new female midlife crisis. Perhaps women who were too short to make the cut as a model – say 1.73m perhaps -, a little too fleshy as teenagers and not the obvious cheerleading beauties are now experiencing a modellife crisis?

Look, I’m all for emancipation and empowerment but this strikes me as a bit of a continuation of the girlpower movement the Spice Girls started, when it was emancipated to have one-night-stands.  [Big cheer from the guys here.] Just because men have been taking mistresses, buying motorbikes and getting hair replacements when they hit that confidence dip around their forties, doesn’t mean we have to reinvent ourselves as the finished Swan, buy high heels and revealing dresses and flirt with random guys online.

A woman’s beauty cannot be measured by her outer appearance. Wisdom, life experience and happiness are so much more beautiful. I know you’ll probably feel inclined to say “whatever, you ARE a model, so easy for you to say” but let me tell you that I struggled with being a model when I was younger. I  didn’t actually like modelling when I first started. I felt flattered by the compliments and reassurance but believed none of it and felt reduced to my outer appearance. I also objected to the image the industry portrayed at the time. (Even I subjected myself and my body to it and starved myself.) I felt reduced to a sex object. I hated the way people would say the word “model” with a kind of reverence and adoration in their voice. It doesn’t mean anything in itself. You’re just a genetic freak blessed with long limbs and a lean physique. Is that an achievement? C’mon! For a long time I felt I was doing a disservice to other women and especially young teenage girls by helping perpetuate such a superficial and one-dimensional ideal of beauty.

Women in your modellife crisis, don’t embarrass yourselves by posting pictures of yourselves on modeling websites and reinventing yourself as the “woman who could’ve modeled”. Look, I could call myself the woman who could’ve been the next Lauren Jackson. Who cares! It matters what you have done in your life and how you wear it. Put on a smile and perpetuate a happy, confident and shining image online. Not one pouting and flaunting it in suggestive poses. I’m proud of every one of my pictures that captures a healthy happy image. Sex appeal is good but heck, bookish, charming and full of life is sexy. Helen Mirren is. Could’ve-been-models are not.

Reader question answered

I recently had an email from one of my readers regarding the NIDA short courses I did a few years ago. How good are they and what did you get out of it, he asked. Here’s my answer:

I personally enjoyed the voice course a lot – the teacher was fantastic and it incorporated body work, a session where we all got to work towards our own style, lots of feedback from the other students and great techniques for your presenting. The Presenting course itself I didn’t enjoy that much, as it seemed to be aimed mainly at the younger girls in our group who were looking to become game show or music tv presenters. The teacher didn’t adapt her course to the students and it lacked variety. I almost asked for my money back, actually.

Re whether the courses have helped me professionally, I can certainly say they have made me more aware of my camera presence, how others see me and how to deal with nerves. And since NIDA is highly regarded and has some of the best teachers in the country, I think the courses are worth more for your own personal and professional growth than if you went to another college. And yes, it does look good on a CV but I think what really matters to most clients and casting directors is your experience and showreel.

Good luck with it all!

Sol

P.S.: Check out this recent video blog – nevermind the music or editing. ‘Tis was fun!

Our love hate relationship with fashion

Here’s a great video that was recommended to me re Australia’s Next Top Model’s latest “scandal’. Nicely led discussion by Kerri-Anne Kennerley who also recognises ANTM shows a very realistic (and sometimes shocking) view of the fashion industry. It’s a shame Sarah Murdoch – who I think genuinely cares about body image issues – has now come under fire as a presenter of the show.

I know from my own experience that the girl in the show was treated mildly in comparison to what she would have experienced in the “real world” of fashion. When I started modelling as a teenager, I was about the same weight and ten centimetres taller and was told in no uncertain terms to lose weight. The first agency I went into told me to lose ten kilos before even coming back. Everyone thought it was normal to starve yourself to be a size 6, at least we now have plus sizes in the media and a size ten can win Australia’s Next Top Model.

And yet, of course it would be great to see an greater diversity of shapes and sizes and looks in the media. We’re working towards it, in my opinion. Australia’s Next Top Model to me is more like a tongue-in-cheek view of the industry – but I do understand that it might influence young girls in a bad way. Thankfully, it also shows that modeling isn’t all that glamourous, that it can be cut throat, demeaning and just utterly wrong.

Rather than having a go at Sarah over the episode, let’s be thankful she is the presenter now and the girls have a better role model than Jodhi Meares. (No need to elaborate, right?) I’ve only met Sarah on set once and had a rather brief chat about modeling and body image but I do think she genuinely cares. I think positive changes in the industry are afoot. Let’s keep working towards it together. Maybe we don’t have to change ANTM but just offer other, better shows, magazines, covers and ad campaigns to young girls? I’d like to think so. Then, ANTM would just be a harmlessly entertaining show and one of many options on the TV program.

Sol x

Running…

From Body, Mind & Sol

JULY 13, 2010

Adding a challenge

I was planning on a long slow endurance run today but when someone takes you up North Head via the back path over rocks, through walls and up set after set of stairs, that’s pretty much impossible. Instead it turned into interval training, getting my heart rate up and running from side to side – while trying not to break my ankles. It was a stunning route with breathtaking views over the ocean and back towards Manly before hitting North Head and the harbour.

Today’s verdict: 9.8km in 1hr 2min – not bad given the difficult terrain but I’m not impressed with my body either. The next one will really have to be a long slow run, won’t it?

Oh, maybe I can blame it on the long leggings I was wearing – definitely too hot for those today. But at least I wasn’t wearing pink undies under a tennis skirt like the other girl runner up on the track – what the…? Well, I guess I better keep that one quiet or you might vote for me to run in a skirt in the City to Surf? Donate here…

All up I’ve done three training runs so far since last Friday and the times were pretty good: 10km in 45 mins over flat terrain, just over 11km in 58 mins up a massive hill and now 9.8 km in 1hr 2mins doing interval training… To find out more about my City to Surf challenge, head to Body, Mind & Sol or donate here.

Fit, fab, feisty, fun… and foxy!

Woohoo! Get ready for some action, people! The long awaited (at least by me) Fernwood TVC is about to hit screens around Australia this week. I loved the concept from the word go. “Women, here are a few new “f” words:  FOXY… FIT… FEISTY… FUN… FAB… Fernwood”

Beautifully shot with upbeat fun music and fabulous co-stars – check out Amy’s sexy moves and Mary-Anne’s beautiful smile -, the commercial makes me want to go and work out the moment I hear the tunes. (Maybe that’s just because I was running, boxing and kicking so much on the day? Conditioning?) Anyhow, I love it. It reminds me of the “Run as if you mean it” campaign – as I actually look really  puffed in a fair few shots. (Perhaps not surprising given I kept doing warm-ups, sprints and work-outs all day…)

My favourite two shots of me: the side kick and blowing hair out of my face. Thank you, Tristan and Marcelle, for those! Enjoy! And once you’ve watched it, donate to my City to Surf run here, to keep me going!

Pump it up!

Finally it’s out! A whole day of shooting with the lovely Fernwood team, photographer Paul Suesse, stylist Jacqui Olstein and hair and makeup artist Kate Lee resulted in a beautiful cover, a yoga and Pilates fashion spread, backpain story, dance feature and beauty spread. I’m in love with the results – which I think actually really captured me. Dancing and running around are two of the things I probably – other than Pilates – do the most. Check out the images in the slideshow below and let me know which ones are your favourites! If you’d like to read more about the shoot itself, click here. And here’s a link to more info on Fernwood gyms (where you can get a copy of the mag as well).

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