PHOTO BY NATALIE MCCRAY
FASHION
You wanna
BE ON TOP?
AMERICA’S NEXT TOP MODEL WINNER WHITNEY THOMPSON TALKS ABOUT LIFE AS A PLUS SIZE MODEL AND WHAT IT TAKES TO BE ON TOP. BY ASH KOWALEWSKI
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daremag.ca
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–WHITNEY THOMPSON
“I’ve been thinking a lot about what I’ve accomplished up until this point in my life and if I quit tomorrow I would be completely satisfied with what I’ve done.” Modelling work, like so many other contract jobs, isn’t always consistent, but Whitney’s career is still in full swing. While she shows no signs of stopping just yet (booking campaigns in London and Singapore just in the last few months), the 25-year-old does see herself settling down one day, possibly to speak out about self-image and eating disorders, or maybe even to open up her own modelling agency. Her advice for becoming a model is quite simple: “Do your research.” Like anything in life worth doing, you need to have a passion and ambition for what you want to do and confidence in yourself to actually accomplish it. “You have to have good motivation and can’t just be [big] and pretty,” Whitney says without reserve. “You have to have something [driving] you.” Not sure where to start? “Fake it ‘til you make it.” Uncomplicated wisdom from one top model so inherently comfortable in her own skin. And while the world of modelling may not be for everyone, Whitney’s wise-beyond-her-years pointers apply to everyone: “You can do anything you put your mind to if you genuinely want it. Stop talking about it and do it. You can’t wait until your life looks like it’s ready. You have to just do it.”
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YOU CAN do ANYTHING YOU PUT YOUR MIND TO.
Modelling isn’t an easy career path; the competition is fierce and the pressure to look good all the time is a hard to keep up, no matter what your size is. Whitney Thompson realized this when she first immersed herself into the modelling world during her teen years, attempting to become a straight-sized model that was later deemed “too curvy”. It wasn’t until America’s Next Top Model (ANTM) producers discovered her while she was in an airport en route for spring break that she made her foray into plus size modelling. She embraced her killer curves and won cycle 10 of ANTM, becoming the TV show’s first (and only!) plus size winner, which jumpstarted a successful career since her win in 2008. Sitting down with Whitney, we immediately figured out the tall blonde (or rather brunette turned blonde) is more candid than you would expect, by reaffirming our suspicions that living in a house with 12 other girls, all vying for the same prize, was less than ideal. But there’s no denying that her experience on Top Model gave her a push in the right direction and put her in contact with industry leaders. After her first main gigs with CoverGirl and a spread in Seventeen Magazine wrapped up, Whitney went on to book other contracts before her make-it-big job with Vogue Italia, which has been one of her career-highlighting moments.