From the land of England we meet Ariyah Skye - a young and talented fashion model.
In a very modest way, she accepts that she is still new to the industry but she also demonstrates a lot of passion and determination to reach the top.
Equipped with a Master’s Degree in International Employment Relations and Industrial Psychology from the London School of Economics & Political Science, she certainly can be labelled as a beauty with brains.
Here is Ariyah, up close and personal with Life Online.
From a scale of 1 to 10 what would you rate yourself as a fashion model and why?
I was very much into my studies growing up and have entered the modelling world only very recently so I have so much to learn and experience before I can rate myself! It is much harder as a shorter model to get a lot of fashion model work; however I am enjoying every minute.
I believe you are of Indian origin. What prompted the change and how did it help your career?
I was actually born and bought up in London and am originally from Bangladesh. I recently came back after pursuing my second Masters in Amsterdam and began working as a professional makeup artist. I do get a lot of criticism from family and friends that despite studying so much I now model and work as a makeup artist which is unrelated to my Masters!
However I think it’s important to follow your dreams and your passions. Who wants to wake up in 20 years saying 'I wish I did this' or 'I wish I did that'? I say, just do it while you can, while you have the opportunity.
Whilst building up work as a makeup artist, working with photographers gave me a chance to try my hand at modelling, something I have always dreamt of doing and here I am now.
I have now been modelling for just a couple of months in a variety of shoots and every time I work I always learn something new.
As a fashion model, how do you position yourself to be occupied with work & what are the challenges you’ve faced so far?
I do enjoy modelling primarily as a hobby but I am still fully professional and put my all into every shoot I do. It is definitely much harder to get modelling work as a shorter model but you simply need to face reality and know your boundaries and limitations.
For instance I might not be able to do high fashion work, however I know I am more suited for promotional work and beauty/skincare portraits so I do not let myself get disappointed if there are some genres I am unsuitable for.
A lot of work also may involve nudity and lingerie but it’s important for models to make it clear to the people they are working with if they are not comfortable with doing that. Again that can be a challenge and limit the work you get but it’s important to stick to your own decisions and not let anyone else get in the way of that.
How was your experience working in Sri Lanka?
Wow, what can I say, Sri Lanka is so beautiful and picturesque no matter what part you are in, that I was so lucky to have an opportunity to work on a photo-shoot there. I was only in Colombo for one day so I had less than one hour, very early in the morning, for a swimwear shoot.
I was very lucky to have a chance to shoot with the talented Arantha Sirimanne and despite having such a short time to shoot 3 outfits, we got some beautiful shots. I had a great experience in Sri Lanka all round and hope to be back to visit again!
5.What's your long term plan for life?
I will still continue with modelling when I can, hoping to do more promotional/fashion work and also carry on working as a professional bridal makeup artist which is my main job.
My plan for the next couple of years is to travel the world. I am working day in day out so I can save up! I started with New York and then Sri Lanka and next on my list is Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam which I plan to visit for 2 months in March.
In summer I hope to go all around South America. Food is one of my passions too and every time I travel I love to collect recipes (this time in Sri Lanka I learnt to make Pittu, hoppers and coconut sambar.. mmm).
And I hope to collect recipes from around the world and eventually publish them in a book. I have always loved travelling and always wanted to see the world and I feel the best opportunity is to do it now. I even have a map of the world on my wall where you can scratch off all the countries you have visited. My goal is to have scratched off more than half of the globe by 2014!
Profile
Full name :: Ariyah Skye
Age :: 24
Current location :: London, England
Bust :: 32D
Waist :: 27
Height :: 5'3
Modelling :: Beauty and facial portraiture, fashion and swimwear.
Text by Jayantha Fernando
Pics by Arantha Sirimanna & Ariyah
0 Comments
James Samuel says:
Jan 03, 2013 at 12:00 amAmazing photos, stunning scenery, Ariyah is a beautiful woman, well done to all persons involved, can't wait to see more.
anon says:
Feb 04, 2013 at 12:00 amWaaw. She is a dream. More of her please!