Local beauty snapped up by top agency
Dublin People 06 Apr 2012
THIS is the stunning Northside model who has landed
her dream job as a plus-sized model in South Africa.
Curvy brunette, Tia Duffy (24), will swap her home in
Finglas, where she was born and bred, for an exciting new life as a
professional plus-sized model with D&A modelling agency in Cape Town.
Refreshingly, Tia, who is a qualified teacher, is
brimming with confidence and proud of her hourglass curves and size-14 figure,
which she says she wouldn’t change for the world.
“I’ve been a size 14 for as long as I can remember and
I know that the usual models out there are literally half my size but it
doesn’t bother me,
? she told Northside People.
“This is my body and my natural size. I’m very fit. I
love jogging and I eat well. This is just the way I am and I wouldn’t want to
be anything else.
?
While other models may feel pressure to be stick thin,
Tia’s pressure is quite the opposite.
“I’m very conscious that I have to maintain my figure
and my plus size,
? she explained.
“I’d be wiped out professionally if I lost weight
because I would neither be a plus sized model or a thin model.
?
Modelling wasn’t always the ultimate goal for Tia who
trained to become a secondary school teacher. However, a lack of available
teaching positions forced Tia to reconsider her career, for the short-term at
least.
“I had entered a few beauty pageants before but gave
all that up when I went to college,
? she explained.
“It was only when I finished college and struggled to
get work that the modelling kicked off again.
“If I could get a teaching job I probably would be teaching
but I do believe that everything happens for a reason and this is a once in a
life-time opportunity.
?
Last year Tia was snapped up by Irish agency Assets
after entering a competition to become the face of online plus-size clothing
website, Simply Be. She has also modelled on TV3’s Expose and Ireland AM.
“I’m a real jeans and t-shirts kind of girl so I’m not
really used to wearing catalogue clothes but I enjoy it,
? Tia said.
“When you’re a plus-sized model, it’s so important to
be confident in your own skin and body because inevitably in some jobs you will
have to be comfortable enough to show some flesh and wear a bikini.
?
Being sharp, savvy and smart has already stood to Tia
who insists she would never be prepared to go nude or topless in a photo-shoot.
“I’m quite firm on that,
? she said.
“I was asked before my a photographer if I’d go nude
for a photo and he’d pay be
?¬500 but I told him exactly where I stood and if he
wanted to work with me otherwise he could go through the Assets agency.
“I think it’s vital to have an agency as a middle
person there to protect the many vulnerable girls out there who would let
anyone take whatever picture they like of them to get work. It’s scary.
?
By signing for an international modelling agency such
as D&A in South Africa, Tia now has the opportunity to work all over the
world.
She plans to move to Cape Town for two months
initially in October with the support of her family and her ever-encouraging
boyfriend of four years.
“I know being a plus-sized model in South Africa is a
very competitive industry but I think because I’m coming from Ireland I’m
willing to give it a go,
? she said.
“I’ve nothing to lose.
?
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