Former Canada's Next Top Model winner Rebecca Hardy was in Toronto this week for Fashion Week, and she took some time to talk to me about her new life as an international model.
It's LG Fashion week! Are you excited?
Very excited.
Which shows are you doing?
Right now, I'm working on a few projects. I'm not at the tents as much as I would like to be, but I'm actually really excited about one show I'm doing. It's not at the tents, but it's called Extreme Samurai, so it's Thursday at 9 p.m. at 319 Yonge Street. I'm excited because the clothes are really kind of out there and crazy, so the show should be amazing.
Have you found yourself becoming more discerning of fashion?
I think by being in the industry for a couple of years now, yeah, you get to see more, you get to know what you like and have your opinions. Being in the fashion industry for as long as I have, it's really opened my eyes to different things. It's exciting.
What's life been like for you for the past two years?
My life has been insanely busy. For any model, it comes and goes; you can have a week where you're insane every day, going to Toronto or here and there, or you have time where you're not doing anything for a couple of days. It's definitely extremely busy. I've had the opportunity to go to Milan, England, all over Canada, New York. It's been fantastic.
When Paulina Porizkova was fired as a judge on America's Next Top Model, she gave interviews where she said the show doesn't help models and that the industry doesn't take it seriously.
That's interesting; I'm really not that sure why that would be. Generally, the show is a great opportunity to showcase talent and learn a lot and get you prepared for the business, so I don't see why it would hinder, by any means.
Have you experienced any of the "reality show stigma"?
You know what? No. I can't say that I have at all.
How do you feel about Meaghan winning Season 3 of Canada's Next Top Model?
I think they chose the right winner. I hear that she's modeling in England right now, which is great for her. I thought this season was amazing. The production was bigger and everything is just getting bigger and better, so I think the show is definitely pushing forward. There are so many viewers and I'm so happy that Jay and the show are doing so well.
What was the most unexpected part of being a model?
I would have to go back to the long hours, especially when travelling. People don't understand that you're on a plane to Milan, you get off your plane and you're given a map and you have to go to 12 castings and figure it out. People don't understand how difficult that can be, especially when there's language barriers. It's very difficult and that's one of the things I found extremely, extremely hard. But diet and exercise really help with that.
Do you feel any pressure to be thin?
In the modeling business, you have to maintain a certain size, and that leads back to diet and exercise. It's part of our job as models to be very healthy and physically fit.
How have you personally changed since winning the show?
Canada's Next Top Model definitely made me more confident. I do a lot of speaking engagements now and, honestly, in Grade 12, if you had said, "Oh, you're going to be speaking in front of 400 people when you're 22," I'd have thought they were crazy. I took a lot from the show and learned from it, and I'm continuing to learn, but it's just been an amazing experience.
You didn't really enter modeling until your early 20s, which is fairly late by industry standards. Has that hurt you in any way?
It has and it hasn't. I would have to say that by going into it when I'm more mature and having finished school, I found it really helps because you are going to have to travel by yourself and have pressures. I think by being mature, it helped me push through different obstacles that I had to go through. But on the other hand, if I were younger, the networking would start earlier and you can meet more people, so there are ups and downs to it. But I'm really thankful to be done school and mature enough to handle situations.