Imagine shopping for your homecoming dress at the mall when someone comes up to you and asks if you want to be in a fashion show.
This was a reality for senior Madison Hrivnak. When shopping for her homecoming dress in 2022 at the mall, a woman approached her and asked her to be in the STRUT fashion show. Hrivnak said she was given a ticket and asked if she wanted to be in the show.
Since Hrivnak got into modeling two years ago, she has appeared in magazines Vogue China, Harper’s Bazaar China, El China and Esquire China.
“I wasn’t sure if I would ever become a model, I also never thought I’d be published in a magazine, so that was pretty cool,” Hrivnak said.
Hrivnak says her biggest accomplishment has been appearing in Vogue China because it was surreal to see herself in a magazine like Vogue when she never thought it would be possible.
A shoot can last a few hours and Hrivnak said that her first one lasted for around five hours. Once she arrives at the location, she gets into hair and makeup, then changes into the outfits that are brought for her. When she is ready, the photographer takes her to the set, which was a bowling alley for Hrivnak’s first shoot.
Despite being a model in international magazines, Hrivnak still attends school and has a normal after school job.
Hirvnak says that she has done three shoots since she started modeling and only appears in photo shoots once she gets a call asking her to appear. Hrivnak hopes to continue growing in her career as a model after high school.
“I want to model after high school and I also want to be a runway model too, and I hope to find an agency to work for, and travel and do photo shoots,” Hrivnak said.
Hrivnak said that one of the hardest parts of being a model is having to be able to follow directions fast and commit to what you’re doing.
“Photographers might ask you to show them a pose that they like or think looks good and then after that they’ll just leave it up to you to show them different poses and keep moving while they shoot you,” Hrivnak said.
Even though it may be hard during a shoot, Hrivnak’s favorite part of being a model has been her team. Meeting and getting support from her photographer, makeup artists and designers.
“I wanted to get into modeling because modeling helps me build more confidence and it makes me feel good and I see modeling as an opportunity to express myself,” Hrivnak said.
