Special Feature Interview and Fashion Shoot With Model Monica Tomas

ELITE FASHION

Monica Tomas, one of the rising stars of the modeling industry, spoke with us during a photo shoot at a handsome country house in Upstate New York about the beauty of reflection. Monica modeled elegant pieces from pre-summer 2022 collections and explained how she recharges her mind and body in her suburban life.

Photographer: Adi Stylist: Ana Tess Makeup and Hair: Sadhvi Babu Model: Monica Tomas

THIS ARTICLE WAS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN RADIANT LIFE MAGAZINE.

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What is fashion to you? Monica Tomas: Fashion, to me, means elegant, graceful, and harmonious.

What do you like most about fashion? Ms. Tomas: What I like about fashion the most is that it’s a representation of who we are and what we aspire to be. It provides us a medium through which we can represent something higher than us.

What do you do when you are not modeling? Ms. Tomas: Learning a form of art inspires and motivates me. Recently, I’ve been learning Chinese and classical Chinese dance. I also like to take photos. Capturing the moment through photos helps me portray the images from my heart. When I’m taking photos, what the heart sees is more beautiful than what meets the eye. It’s the heart with which I’m able to portray the inner significance. By not just focusing on the external appearance, that helps me be creative and enjoy the process.

How do you relax in your busy daily life? Ms. Tomas: I like to spend time being inspired by nature, brewing a fresh cup of coffee, taking a walk around the city, organizing my space. Apart from these, I feel most balanced, energetic, and complete when I practice my qigong exercises and meditation, along with reading the teachings of Falun Dafa, a spiritual practice that teaches truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance.

What was most challenging when you started your modeling career? Ms. Tomas: When I started modeling, I didn’t know much about the fashion industry. I evaluated it based on other people’s experiences, hence the understanding I had of my job was only at the surface. So my challenges came down to not completely understanding who I was as an individual and what I wanted to represent. Just like everything else, the jobs we do also have so many layers, which I got to experience over the years. I used to believe everything I saw with my eyes, but the eyes don’t always give you a true picture.

Being able to understand what fashion means to me—and by holding true to my beliefs—helped me view it from a better perspective. Now that I see the depth of it, I understand that there’s a touch of the divine in everything. By improving in virtue and in being able to distinguish that, the beauty of the divine emerges. This brings great meaning and fulfillment to my life.

能否談談您對時尚的理解？ Monica Tomas: 時尚對我而言，代表著優美，雅緻以及 諧和。

時尚最吸引您的部分是？ Ms. Tomas：時尚最令我傾心的原因在於，它是「我是 誰」以及「我渴望成為誰」的表現，也提供了我們一種 媒介，用以表現超越自我的存在。

在未從事模特工作時，您都會做些什麼？ Ms. Tomas: 我會學習一種可以啟發以及激勵我的藝術形 式。近來，我開始學習中文以及中國古典舞，我也喜歡 攝影，捕捉剎那的瞬間，有助我刻畫我的內心世界。當 我在攝影時，我心中所見的遠比眼見的還要美麗，因為 用心所以我才能去展現那種內涵，而不是只注重外在的 表現，這讓我更能發揮創意且享受過程。

您在忙碌的生活中，如何放鬆自己？ Ms. Tomas：我喜歡與大自然共處的時光，替自己泡一 杯咖啡，也喜歡在城市裡漫步和整理自我生活空間。除 此之外，我感到自己最為平靜、完整，且充滿能量的時 刻，是在我靜坐修煉時，透過修習法輪大法（一種佛家 上乘修煉大法），這門精神修煉教人以「真、善、忍」為 指導原則。

您認為在您最初進入模特工作之際，最艱鉅的挑戰為 何？ Ms. Tomas：在我最初從事模特之際，我對時尚產業不 甚了解，我透過他人的經驗來了解這項產業，因此當時 對這份職業的了解只停留在表面。而挑戰，在於我並不 完全了解我作為個體時的身分，以及我所想要表現的角 色。其實就跟其他很多事物相同，我們所從事的職業， 充滿了各種面向與層次，這是我必須花費數年時間去體 會的。以往，我只相信我所能看見的東西，但雙眼卻未 能總是真實地反映事物的本質。 能夠了解「時尚」於我而言的意義何在，並通過堅信 自我的信念，幫助我從更好的角度來看待一切。現在我 能看見其中的深度，我也能理解萬物之中都有神性。透 過提升自我品行，才能覺察那些神聖之美，這給我的生 命帶來了美好的意義與實現的價值。

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