“You should be a model” isn’t something many of us will get to hear in our lifetime, but that’s exactly what this year’s Top Austin Model winner, Nicole Glenn, heard from one of her peers just a couple of years ago. It was that simple suggestion from a friend that started Nicole’s interest in modeling. But since then, it has been her drive and ability to make connections in the local modeling community that has made Nicole’s dream of modeling a reality.
It was just a year ago at a Dillard’s fashion show when Nicole met two other local models and former Top Austin Model contestants, Sarah Creel and Melanie Phillips. These girls were competing in Top Austin Model at the time and asked the other models, including Nicole, to vote for them for the “fan favorite” award. Nicole was immediately intrigued and went online to learn more about the Top Austin Model competition. Realizing that the next chance to compete would be in a year, Nicole kept the competition in the back of her mind while her passion for modeling grew.
The now soon-to-be 16 year old says she loves strutting her stuff and believes she excels in runway. I asked Nicole how she developed her runway walk (which I believe stood out amongst the other competition from the beginning). Nicole says she learned a lot from local models Sarah Gardner from the Kim Dawson Agency, as well as Brianna Fleet of Top Austin Model. Taking the advice she learned from her local mentors, Nicole says she began to practice her walk up and down her hallway for hours (at times frustrating her mom with her diligence.) Nicole also gained inspiration from reading national model Cheryl Diamond’s book “A Model Memoir,” which describes how the 16 year old confidently moved to New York City with just $600 in her pocket to pursue a modeling career. The fact that someone was able to put out a memoir by age 19 is just another reminder of how strange the modeling industry is. The only thing that’s short when you’re a model is the amount of time you have in your career, so having confidence early on is key.
Nicole’s advice to any girls who want to compete to be the next Top Austin Model, is to have confidence in yourself. “If you have confidence in yourself, then the judges and photographers will have confidence in you,” Nicole says. The 15 year old also maturely states (contradictory to what you might see on a reality modeling competition show) that one should encourage others to do their best. Nicole says, “By encouraging others to do their best, it brings out the best in you.” Nicole explained to me that during the competition the girls didn’t see each other as competitors, but rather as a big group of friends and at times were even close enough to be considered a family.
Nicole has recently been nominated for a Rising Star Award for Austin Fashion Week in May. Like most fresh faced models, the teenager is already having to balance her regular school life and her modeling career. When faced with the choice of either walking in the opening show for Austin Fashion Week or running in her track team’s end of the year competition, Nicole has made the choice to stick with the prior commitment she made to her team stating “If you fully commit yourself to something, then you know that’s what you need to do.” But Nicole says she is ready to jump on future modeling opportunities, which she is confident will start to come her way.
photography and styling: me
assistant: Tyler Neal
Hair and makeup: Adrienne Pena Pitkin
wardrobe: my own, white dress courtesy of Maya Star
Joanna Wilkinson
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