Ten days ago, Belgian model Jolien Bosmans (18) was invited to a casting in Milan. She was popular there, because on Thursday she walked her first catwalk during Milan Fashion Week. For Prada, after all: a show studded with stars, which Jolien was allowed to open. “When I got the news, my agent said, ‘Wait, sit down for a minute. Because there is more.’”
LOOK. 18-year-old Jolien walks a fashion show for Prada in Milan
After a week in Milan, where the Prada show took place on Thursday during Milan Fashion Week, our Belgian Jolien is back home in Hamme. She has just returned from the airport when we get her on the phone.
Walking in a show for Prada, almost the most famous luxury brand in the world, is no small feat as a model. When we ask her how long she has been in high fashion, Jolien says: “One week now. (laughs) I had never done a big name like Prada before. In fact, it was the first catwalk I walked. Previously, I mainly worked for fashion schools.”
There’s nothing that can prepare you for high fashion
Jolien Bosmans
“I have gained a lot of experience, but there is nothing that can prepare you for high fashion. I also didn’t know until the very last minute that I could open the show. In the fashion world everything is last minute.”
First fly to Milan for one day
Barely ten days ago, Jolien was invited to an exclusive casting in Milan. “Every few weeks I go to my modeling agency (Unit Model Management, ed.) to take Polaroids, which are photos in which you are not wearing any make-up. My last photos were apparently chosen by a Prada casting director. Especially for the casting, I went back and forth to Milan with my agent, for one day.”
Jolien was not nervous during the casting. “I am a person who does not get stressed easily. There weren’t that many girls and I was well prepared. We were at the airport, on our way back to Belgium, when my agent got the call. “You have the job, you run the show.” When she said that, I immediately started crying.”
“Then my agent said, ‘Wait, sit down for a minute. Because there is more. You can work exclusively for Prada for a year’. It really didn’t come in. I never would have dared to dream that.”
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The cliché of mean models is not true. In reality, they are all very nice and enthusiastic for each other
Jolien
“‘You look amazing’, zei Emma Watson”
The week before the show, Jolien stayed in Milan to try on clothes for Prada. “I met a lot of nice people: there was no competitiveness at all. The cliché of mean models is not true. In reality, they are all very nice and enthusiastic for each other.”
“I thought my outfit was so beautiful. I was really happy with it. It was very comfortable and the silhouette was beautiful. I was allowed to wear flat shoes, which meant I had no stress at all. But even if I had had to wear heels and had fallen, I wouldn’t have bothered. Then I would have just gotten up and kept walking.”
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“Before I stepped onto the runway, I saw Emma Watson. In her British accent she told me: ‘You look amazing.’ That was really cool.”
You could follow the show live, so my friends and family watched it that way
Jolien Bosmans
A spot on the guest list of the Prada show is only reserved for the biggest celebrities. “But you could follow the show live, so my friends and family watched that way. That gave me a good feeling.” The front row at the show was littered with celebrities such as Kylie Jenner and Scarlett Johanssen. “But as you walk, you look in front of you. You see nothing except the light that shines in your eyes.”
Front row at the Prada show. Left: Kylie Jenner. Right: Scarlett Johanssen, Wes Anderson and Benedict Cumberbatch. © Getty Images
“Afterwards, people came around backstage with glasses to celebrate, for everyone who helped. Also for the models. So the first thing I did after the show was drink a glass of champagne.” (laughs) In short: Jolien’s first show was a success, and the future is smiling on her.
Unlike most models, Jolien was not cast, but sent Polaroids to agencies herself at the age of sixteen. “Photos I took with my iPhone 6. As a child I was always the tallest in the class, and I didn’t like that. It made me insecure. Every time my mother said: ‘But Jolien, all the models are your height, you should be happy with that.’ That way I gained self-confidence.”
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2023-09-25 14:33:04
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