Hello everyone! My name is Alba Fernández,
I'm 29 years old and I'm from Valladolid, Spain.
Today I'm here because I'm going to be answering
some questions for the Model Academy with
ModelManagement.com
So, let's get started!
I'm going to introduce myself to you guys
And I'm going to tell you a little bit about myself
As I told you, I'm from Spain
and I'm an international curvy model.
which means that I represent the curvy
figure of women in the fashion industry.
So, I do runways because my height is 1.78m
I work also doing e-commerce,
I also do online campaigns
I worked for editorials, photoshootings, 
lookbooks...
Different kinds of modeling types, that are 
necessary for the modeling industry.
And I also want to tell you that I'm graduated
in Communications and fashion management
because I always wanted to know how the 
industry is working from the inside out.
So the first person asked:
When and how did you start your modeling career?
Ok, so when and how.
It was in 2009, it was here in my city, 
in Valladolid,
I went for the beauty contest Miss Spain
and I was representing Valladolid, my city
And that's how I started.
I started through the beauty contest and then, 
after that,  I went to Madrid, I studied there
And then, after some years, I continued
my modeling career.
What does it mean to be a model for you?
I love this question because I've always said
that for me to be a model is just to
show something to others, like you guys.
To inspire people.
When I'm in front of the camera,
what I'm thinking is what people are going to think
when they see this picture
So for me, to be a model means to show
something to others and inspire people.
What's the meaning of curvy?
This question is also one of my favorites.
I remember six years ago,
when the curvy movement started,
many many people got confused,
and nowadays, I understand curvy in
a way of diversity and inclusivity.
I see now that the Fashion industry is including
different body types,
As humans, we have different bodies
So you can have bigger shoulders,
you can have smaller waist or bigger hips,
It doesn't matter about the size,
It matters more about the inclusivity.
And I'm really happy that this is happening right now,
because thanks to girls and models like me,
we are showing that for example you,
if you're a normal woman on the street
with a size 40 or 42, or something like that
you can see yourself wearing clothes
thanks to my image
because before, we were used to see 
models with zero size on the runways
and I heard many times
I don't know how these clothes are going to look on me
and now, thanks to this inclusivity movement,
talking about curvy models,
maybe this size, which is a little bit bigger
than the regular ones
I can see and imagine how it's going to 
look on myself.
So that is what it means to me.
What was your biggest challenge 
when starting your career?
This question is also very important to me
because when I started my biggest challenge
was to believe in myself.
To be honest, when you start a career
like modeling,
or when you feel that you want to do 
something
but at that moment is not easy,
because you're not coming from a modeling
industry family,
or artist family,
or fashion designers family,
it's like everything is new for you.
You just know whatever you see on TV
Whatever you see on the magazines
So for me, the biggest challenge was
to believe in myself
and to show me that I could do it.
because it's struggling at the beginning,
you are alone in this kind of career,
you have to leave your house, 
you have to travel,
you have to trust people that you don't know,
and you don't know what's going to happen
 with your career.
So, at the end, I achieved my goal
And I'm very happy I took that brave step
But yes, my biggest challenge was to
believe in myself and show me
"You know what? you can do it!"
Ok, what do you need to start modeling?
First of all, as I told you before, you need
to believe in yourself
When you're starting modeling, you
need to know who you want to be
and what you want to represent.
What you want to tell people through your image.
This is the whole idea to be a model.
And then, of course, I totally recommend
you to take some polaroids,
like simple snaps with your phone,
or if you have a good camera
or you can tell a photographer to take
some simple pictures of yourself
and then, you can go to your city 
modeling agencies,
and if you can't find any modeling
agency in your city,
send an email to the closest city,
For example, now in Spain, if you're living
in Jaén, and there are no agencies there,
I recommend you to go to Madrid or Barcelona
and contact them.
They are the professionals of this industry.
And you need to trust the process,
you need to be patient,
don't try to rush things, because it's not going to work
This is like a long career.
You're not running 100 meters,
You're running kilometers.
Because at the end, you'll see the results.
And you need to put all your effort since the beginning.
How is the modeling life like?
As I was saying at the beginning,
the modeling life is a very dynamic life.
And for me, I feel like you never know
what's going to happen next.
I love this kind of dynamic life,
because I'm this kind of person that I don't
like to do the same thing everyday,
and with the modeling career,
you get to do different things everyday.
For example, one day you'll be working
with a team for one project,
after, you'll meet different people from
another project,
So it's very dynamic.
You will meet a lot of people.
A lot of people from different cultures
and different countries,
because if you get to be an international model,
you will travel.
And when you travel, to know different places,
different countries, you will meet
different people
you will have different experiences,
you will learn different cultures,
and you will practice your English.
Also, you have to take care about yourself very well.
Because it's a very independent kind of
solo life
you will spend a lot of time with people,
but also a lot of time, with yourself.
like travelling, living alone,
and thinking with yourself what you're doing.
What did your parents say about modeling?
At the beginning, when I told them
that I wanted to go for Miss Spain,
And I want to be Miss Valladolid,
they looked at me like What?
because when I was a child, I liked this 
kind of beauty and fashion thing,
I watched the TV, I saw all the models, 
and all the magazines
and the actresses,
And I told my family, OMG I want to do it.
I want to be one of them.
But my parents, they have different backgrounds
and they were telling me: "Alba, you know, 
whatever you see on TV, or on the magazines,
is not that easy and you will have to work hard
to do it
So I said, ok, why not?
I want to do it
and I'm aware about it
and I will try.
So when I went for Miss Spain and 
I was Miss Valladolid,
at the beginning they couldn't believe me
and then, when they saw me on the stage
they were like "ok, my daughter is taking this serious"
until now, 10 years later, they still see it 
as a serious thing
because I work as a model and my modeling career.
So someone asked me modeling in Dubai
like wow, what is that
like tell us more about it.
Dubai is an international city in the Middle East.
in the United Arab Emirates.
And it's a very cosmopolitan city.
Over there, you'll find a lot of cultures,
people from different countries,
you will find the biggest fashion brands,
you will also have magazines,
international magazines, like Grazia. 
I worked with Grazia,
I did an editorial with them.
Grazia, Cosmopolitan...
So you will find magazines
And also the social media is huge over there,
and also the commercial scene is very big
because Dubai is a very commercial city,
So I really recommend to any model who want
to try to be a model in Dubai
to go there, try it, have the experience
and enjoy it.
And if you're not a model, 
but you want to visit,
also go there.
At what age did you start modeling?
I started modeling when I was 18.
What is your goal?
Ok, what is my goal?
My goal in life, and my goal with my career
which is kind of the same
because I live in this part of my life right now,
What I want right now is to be an example for others.
To be a role model.
I want to help aspiring models 
with my tips and advices
and with my experience
And I want to keep growing my international
model career, go to the U.S,
I want to try there and live the experience
of being a model in the U.S
And I'm starting acting
So I hope I also get the chance to be an actress
and to show to the camera what I can do.
Is it hard when you leave your family?
It's really hard when you have to leave your family.
especially for me it was hard because 
I grew up in a village,
very simple life,
and very close to my family
but then, when I realized that the dreams
and goals I had I couldn't achieve them there,
I had to leave.
So I travelled to Madrid,
I lived there for 5 years.
and then I travelled outside, and I started
my international model career,
So it was hard, and it is even now when I have to leave
but at the same time, I get the energy because
I think "ok Alba, what you want, you cannot 
find it here".
So you have to.
Sometimes life is like that.
How many days do you work in a week schedule?
As I said at the beginning, modeling is
not like an office job.
You will not be working from Monday until Sunday
or until Friday, 8h per day...
something like that,
you never know.
Every day is different.
Maybe one day you're just having half day shooting
and you're working with a team for five hours
another day, you have commercial
and you have to be shooting for more than 10h
It really depends
and also, you don't know if you'll work
seven days a week, or just one day
So it really depends.
Thank you so much for your questions guys.
I hope my experience and my knowledge
is going to help you with all your questions.
Thank you so much. I hope you enjoyed
And see you! Bye bye!
