Chatting To My Friend, Holly Rose Emery

The Budding Career of Holly Rose

catching up with Holly

While other seventeen-year-olds are only beginning to think about possible career options, Holly Rose Emery is already making a name for herself in the fashion industry as a full time model. She currently lives in New York while her family are here in Auckland. Holly hopes to become a famous model and follow in the footsteps of Kate Moss or Miranda Kerr - without a doubt she will achieve this as she possesses determination and oozes maturity beyond her years. I met up with Holly backstage at New York Fashion Week to talk about her career.

Holly closing Mulberry S/S14 
(and that's Cara Delevingne behind her)

After only modeling for one year, Holly has been booked to walk for numerous designers at New York Fashion Week, a much-anticipated event. As she walks into a frantic room of stylists, hairdressers and make-up artists preparing models for the opening of fashion week, she wears a loose, white T-shirt and grey sweatpants displaying a sense of calmness and quiet confidence. Yet there is an aura of excitement and nerves along with the strong scent of hairspray lingering in this room that is filled with overflowing racks of vibrant clothing. She greets everybody then relaxes her 6ft body into a makeup chair before she’s transformed from an ordinary 17-year-old girl to an haute couture model. I sit myself next to her with my backstage pass hanging around my neck and out of the way of the workers zooming here, there and everywhere. Makeup artists begin to paint her porcelain skin as I ask Holly about what she loves about modeling and instantly her face lights up. I can tell by her enthusiasm that she is well away on her favourite subject as she talks at full speed about modeling, “I’ve met so many interesting people, been to so many different places and I thank my modeling career for providing me with these wonderful experiences.” She shows great pride in her achievements as she lists “walking for Prada, Valentino and being featured in my own editorial in Vogue Australia” as highlights of her career so far. All these experiences would have been a distant dream for Holly a year ago but with immeasurable hard work, Holly is on her way to her goal of being a successful model.

Contrary to the stereotype of stick thin models, Holly was in fact quite a big person. Unlike the slender, elegant young woman she is today. At 95kg she knew she was overweight as she use to lounge on the couch eating nutella sandwiches while she watched Tyra Banks announce the winner of America’s next top model. “Believe it or not”, she says, “That’s when I realized I wanted to do that!” Two years of a Weight Watcher’s membership, loads of self-discipline and drive, saw Holly lose over 40kg. On her sixteenth birthday she walked into the offices of Red11 modeling agency read to give it ago. “Boom! I was signed”, says Holly with an animated grin. It is clear she knows it was the best decision she has ever made. Holly had 6 successful months of modeling in New Zealand before her agency offered her the opportunity to become a full time model overseas and Holly obviously jumped at the chance because “it was a step closer to achieving my dream.”

We may be envious of Holly’s life but it isn’t as glamorous as we perceive. While her blonde hair is wrapped around curlers, she speaks with a half-joking tone and tells me that “modeling is harder than it looks” but I know she’s being sincere. Becoming a full time model meant that Holly had to make some sacrifices. She looks a lot less exuberant when I bring up the topic as she gazes at the floor and replies, “It was extremely difficult leaving my family and friends and dropping out of school.” Holly looks at me and sighs as she reveals her self-doubts, “Sometimes I wonder if I‘m doing the right thing by leaving school and leaving family and moving out of the house”, but a smile appears and her spirits revive as she continues, “But I know everything will pay off in the end.”

Even though models have a relatively short career span, Holly plans to be in this competitive world for long time. “The secret to a successful career is to build a brand for yourself”, and through eyes of steel Holly says, “And that’s what I’m going to do.” Holly has achieved more than the average teenager but she is humbled by her journey. An organizer comes over and breaks the news to Holly that she will be closing the show and she shakes her head in disbelief, “I can’t believe this is real life.” Just as Holly is about to leave the makeup chair to get changed from her sweatpants to high-fashion apparel, I ask her what she would want to do if she wasn’t modeling but unexpectedly she leans towards me and redirects the question at me, “What do you want to do when you’ve finished school?” I respond, “I have ideas but their all just pipe dreams.” She plants her hand on my shoulder to give me the following advice:

“Keep dreaming big because you never know and dreams are able to somehow manifest their way into reality”

P.S. this was actually my english assignment so somethings are fictionalised - such as that I actually didn't go to New York to interview her (I wish). Holly's personality and quotes are genuine as she is a close friend of mine.