They don’t have stick-thin bodies, or legs that go on for
miles.
They are people you see on the street everyday, and yet their
faces are in demand when it comes to advertisements and
commercials.
Melissa Tan finds out more about the plus-size and
senior modeling industries here in Singapore.
In an industry known for thin and slim, some might say that 23
year old Clara Su sticks out like a sore thumb.
Clara is a plus-size model.
She is probably bigger that the average Singaporean woman, but
she’s done a commercial for an OTO fitness product, and has been
for countless casting sessions.
Clara was scouted by her agency imodels International some five
years ago.
"I was shopping with my friends, then they approached me. They
explained that there is a category and I’ll fit into that...
plus-sized modeling. "
"All the models you see are all skinny and very nice fit. So
it’s actually a surprise, but after an explanation and all then I
decided to try it out and I saw this industry in Singapore. "
Clara has grown to accept and embrace her size.
"Like what I always tell people, you know, I’m just like them,
it’s the same. I just have extra assets, more than them. These are
very expensive assets which the clients I’ve been to, they actually
look at me for this kind of personality and size."
And to those who are bigger sized like her, she has this to
say.
"I will just tell them, really confidence is the key. Because
you are really who you think you are. If you think you are pretty,
just look in the mirror and say you are pretty pretty. You’ll
become pretty even though you’re not. I mean, everybody’s pretty
also lah. "
With popular TV shows like America’s Next Top Model now
featuring Plus- sized models, more exposure has been given to this
industry.
Designers Jean-Paul Gaultier and John Galliano have both used
plus-sized models in their fashion shows.
iModels booker Bonita Ma says they are always on the lookout for
new plus sized models.
"Definitely market is smaller, but when they have a demand
they’re really looking for girls like Clara, not just for the size,
but also the personality whether they can deliver what they
actually want. Then again, when they need it, we’ll have to go
headhunt, look for the right faces. It all depends, if they want a
character, it’s more on the character than the beauty itself. "
But Calvin Cheng, president of the Association of Modelling
Industry Professionals says that the plus-sized modeling industry
in Singapore has not quite taken off yet.
"And I think one of these reasons is that in the west,
especially in the US< a skinny model is not representative of a
larger proportion of American people cos a large proportion of
Americans are actually obese. They find it worthwhile to have a
plus sized division. Whereas in Singapore, we are still quite a
slim and trim people, so plus sized people are not representative
of our country."
But another area of specialty modeling that we see in Singapore
- Senior Modeling - seems to be taking off quite well -
Perhaps because of our aging population, suggests Samantha Ho,
booker at Create Talents.
"We’re always trying to get more. Because as the population
ages, we actually forsee a lot more ads having to include senior
models. Recently, there are shopping mall ads, a few lifestyle ads,
we actually have requirements from the advertising agencies,
requesting for senior models."
They scout their talents off the Singapore streets, which was
how Samantha found 56 year old Sally Poh.
This veteran of beautiful mom contests and other pageants has
graced the pages of countless print ads.
The mother of three explained that modeling even got her through
a bout of depression.
"When my 3rd child was 5 years old, I found there was something
wrong. His speech was slow. Then we discovered that his hearing
ability was only 30 percent. I couldn’t accept it, worried a lot,
and even got a bit depressed. The doctor told me to go out and do
something that I enjoy, and not stay at home and worry. SO with all
the encouragement, I signed up for small roles to play on TV."
After that, her family encouraged her to take part in several
beauty contests which she did, and she won.
She’s never looked back since.
"I feel so proud of myself. The best one was the Ministry of
Manpower advertisement, which was on a bus, cos it was so big! When
I stand next to it, and the picture is so huge, I just feel so
good."
Another senior model is Doris Poon, who has been in ads for DBS
and Bayer.
She stumbled into the job, quite by accident, when she brought
her grandson to a child modeling photo shoot.
She said she’s especially happy when she knows that a job is
well done, when her friends and family are proud of her.
"In anything, there’s a demand for certain people and certain
category of people. So there’s no challenge. For my age there’s no
challenge. For the young, they always fight for fame and all that,
I don’t need that. So when the need arise, I join them."
One of Doris’ strong points, is that she is fluent in both
English and Mandarin, says her agency.
"Sometimes, especially for seniors, it’ll be good if they’re
bilingual, like Doris is very bilingual, so when they go down for
corporate videos and they need English speaking, it’s a very strong
point. "
For those like Doris and Sally whose modeling career took off
post-50, modeling has added even more to their wealth of
experience.
"I’ve learnt how to post in front of cameras, look more natural,
do mouth exercises so I can smile more naturally, my image also
changed, not so ‘auntie’ anymore. "
"Sometimes when I see commercials on TV, people give me
comments, then I’ll tell them, it’s not easy to shoot a commercial
like that. We just tell them it’s not easy, it’s a difficult
job."
So while some may feel that specialty modeling has a long way to
go here in Singapore, it’s an industry that truly shows the beauty
in the ordinary.
--938Live