melissa

height 5'8 / bust 38C / waist 37 / hips 46 / dress 16 / shoe 10 / hair dark brown / eyes blue

My family background is … Irish, Métis, Scottish and English! Recent accomplishments … Walking the runway for designer Cheri Milaney during Toronto Fashion Week was a surreal experience!  I can’t wait for my next walk down an International Fashion Week runway. I feel most beautiful when … I’m riding my bike, with the wind in my hair and the sun in my face.  There’s nothing more tranquil than being alone on the open road. I feel beautiful every day by … looking myself in the mirror after my shower and saying out loud “I am beautiful”.  It’s a nice feeling when others tell you “you are beautiful” but it’s an even better feeling when you tell yourself and you believe it! I challenge the beauty ideal by … supporting magazines, designers, brands and companies who want to make a change.  Every effort made is a step in the right direction. My favourite quotation is … Women should be measured by the lives we lead, not by the size we wear – Elizabeth Patch In the modelling world I would like to see … less airbrushing! Airbrushing has its benefits but should be used on more practical things such as removing a bruise or taking a wrinkle out of a shirt. It has become a huge part of the fashion industry, making a model’s legs look longer, waists look smaller and breast look bigger.  Time for more realism – let’s celebrate the bodies we were born with! My ultimate modelling job would be … to walk a European runway for a designer looking to bring diversity to the world of high fashion.