Judita Dasilva is a talented professional model from London. Since being spotted by Vogue she has successfully started to carve a career in the fashion world. Despite her relentless schedule we were delighted when Judita spent a bit of time discussing her experiences and interests. Read on to discover her fashion inspirations, how she initially got into fashion modeling and what she’s hoping to achieve over the next 12 months.
Judita Dasilva
Judita Dasilva
Judita Dasilva
Q: How did you get into fashion modeling?
I was spotted by Vogue UK a few years ago but I wanted to take time to explore other interests first, then towards the end of last year (2011) I decided to throw myself into modeling full time and TV presenting and so far so good! I got myself an agent, I got my name, face and credentials out there and I haven’t looked back since 🙂
Q: How have the last 12 months been for you?
Funnily enough I cannot boast a full 12 months yet, only 6 months since I started modeling in November 2011. In that time I have worked a lot but I guess being 6ft and a size 8, my body type and shape has dictated my career thus far for me. Most of my work has been in catwalk and runway shows. London fashion week, alternative fashion week, afghan aid, independent designers’ runway collections like Jan Si, AngelEye, Shi Dolor, Bad London, Miss Matahari and Morella Sassoon. I have also been lucky enough to do both editorial and commercial campaigns. I have been one of the faces of online clothing store ReStyle Clothing and I have features in Tropics magazine in South Africa, the UK and online around the world. So all in all it has been a great 6 months and fingers crossed it continues this way.
Q: Who inspires you?
I wouldn’t say anyone really inspires me because I am naturally quite reclusive and stubborn so I tend to just march to the beat of my own drum and I would rather brave failure by doing things the way I like them to be done rather than the way I imitate someone who has done them before, because they inspire me. However if I were to say who I admire it would be Michael Jackson, Prince and Annie Lennox.
Q: Which modern day fashion designers or fashion icons do you look up to?
Again, I would not say I “look up” to anyone in particular but I do admire the work ethic, ambition and innovation of Tom Ford, the timeless beauty of Valentino’s designs, collection after collection, and even though I have no intention to ever get married I must say Monique L’Huillier knocks it out of the park for me. I’d take her over Vera Wang any day (but obviously is Vera came knocking I would bow at her feet!)
Q: Do you prefer to shoot on location or in the studio?
I know this is annoying because I am basically hedging my answer but I love location shoots if the location is something I can visualize looking great on camera because it is different or creative or picturesque, but at the same time I like the controlled discipline of studio shoots. They offer you more room to experiment with lighting and not to mention they also work better with my OCD!
Judita Dasilva
Judita Dasilva
Judita Dasilva
Q: Do you have any interesting stories about a particular photo shoot, or a casting you’d like to share?
I modeled for one of those photography workshops where a group of photographers rotate time slots over the course of a day, taking pictures of the subject to practice and refine their technique. Well there were about 12 photographers in total over the course of this one day and in one of the time slots in the middle there was this one lady who had relentless camera trouble, to the point where she could take hardly any photos at all because they would not come out right. After battling with her camera to no avail she gave up. Weeks later when the final photos were revealed to the group it turned out the 4 pictures she did manage to take of me where my favorite of the entire group and all 4 of them feature in my portfolio today. Talk about providence eh!
Q: How do you prepare for a fashion shoot or show?
No frills just rest, rest and more rest the 24 hours before, so let’s just say the Poirot DVD box sets see a lot of action on the days before shows or shoots. What can I say? I love that Belgian wonder of wonders…. yes I know he’s not real!
Q: Do you have a favourite photograph?
I wish I did but it keeps changing every week, it’s terrible being plagued by such indecision. However at the moment it is the runway shot of me in the ‘Jan Si A/W 2012’ collection show. I think it captures my look very accurately.
Q: Who is your favourite photographer?
Helmut Newton.
Q: Is there anybody you would like to work with?
Helmut Newton, but he is dead now so I have to resign myself to that unfulfilled dream.
Q: What does fashion mean to you?
What makes me comfortable should make me confident, whether it is quote-unquote “a la mode” or not.
Judita Dasilva
Judita Dasilva
Judita Dasilva
Q: How would you define your personal style?
Tailored, simple and comfortable.
Q: Where are you based?
London, UK.
Q: What’s it like being where you’re from?
Culturally I am a hybrid. The family originates from a mixture of Brazil, Nigeria and Cameroun but I was born and raised in London, spent part of my formative (primary school) years as a child in Nigeria to gain some “cultural grounding” as my mother put it. I then went to boarding school and university in the UK and I have always really been based in Hampstead Garden suburbs. So in response to your question, “what is it like?” … in one word … confusing!!!!
Q: What’s been the highlight of your career to date?
Featuring in Vogue magazine. It still slightly freaks me out when I sit down and really think about it.
Q: What are you hoping to achieve over the next 12 months?
Hopefully more of the same and even better! I’d like to feature in bigger and better catwalk shows and hopefully broaden my repertoire as a TV presenter … fingers crossed, knock on wood, a million horse shoes, a forest of four leaf clovers and any and every other good luck charm I can throw out there into the cosmos of infinite possibility ha-ha!
Q: What do you do to relax?
Listen to my iPod, watch movies and count down the days until the release of the next movie I want to watch in the cinema (nowadays the movies I am willing to pay to see as few and far between), while blogging on forums to weed out every little ounce of pre-release info I can find. Right now I am in my customary holding position as I await “Prometheus” and “Expendables 2”. If you see me around Odeon looking aggressive you can take it I was not happy with the finished product!
Judita Dasilva
Judita Dasilva
Judita Dasilva
Q: Where would your favourite holiday (vacation) be and why?
Mauritius, The Maldives, The Bahamas … basically anywhere warm, picturesque and populated by vast expanses of beach splendor … aaaaaaah Amen to that!
Q: What songs are on your iPod at the moment?
A weird mix of 80s pop and electronica (heavily featuring the trifecta I live by: Michael Jackson, Prince and The Eurythmics), to West End and Broadway show tunes to my staple diet of John Williams movie scores. I would suggest only bi-polar people risk borrowing my iPod.
Q: Do you have any interesting hobbies?
Not really. I do like my own company A LOT! Is that interesting … or just weird and slightly unfortunate?
Q: If you could give a little piece of advice for new or aspiring models what would it be?
Trust your gut. If something seems like it is too good to be true, it probably is. If someone seems sketchy to you, they probably are. Believe in yourself, have a realistic expectation of your capabilities, that way anything that comes along in excess of what you expected will be a pleasant and welcome surprise!! Most importantly don’t let your hunger to be a model cloud your good judgment because people in this industry, who have been on the hustle longer than you, can smell your desperation a mile off and are all too quick to take advantage. So in a way, a healthy dose of skepticism is a pretty useful weapon.
Q: What motivates you to do what you do?
Stubbornness, blind ambition and an unwillingness to settle for what is good enough when I could try to get what is Fantabuloso!
Judita Dasilva
Judita Dasilva
Q: Is there anything else you’d like to let our readers know about?
Yes, I am now a regular presenter on www.infogazm.com, where I present video bulletins every Wednesday and they are all viewable via the Infogazm website or on YouTube if you just type in “infogazm” in the search bar. I also present regularly on http://thegoss.tv/rants/index.php where I get to freely express some of my crazy and sometimes controversial ideas. Yay!! Here are the links to my other web pages. For instance my personal website www.juditadasilva.com, Spotlight, StarNow, YouTube etc.
Editor’s Note: Judita Dasilva is an incredibly talented person with a variety of attributes suited to a successful career in the fashion industry. Over the next few months we’re looking forward to Judita’s career flourish as she continues to feature in prestige publications. Definitely one of Urbanity Chic’s “One’s to Watch!”
If you’d like to get in touch with Judita Dasilva or check out more of her impressive portfolio just follow the links below:
Twitter link: http://twitter.com/#!/JuditaDasilva
Web page link: www.juditadasilva.com
MySpace link: www.myspace.com/juxyjux
Model Mayhem: http://www.modelmayhem.com/2602633
Star Now: http://www.starnow.co.uk/juditadasilva
Spotlight: http://www.spotlight.com/interactive/cv/4412-4533-6398
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