London catwalk beckons for Tassia
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THE catwalks of London beckon for a Lossiemouth model who had beaten off more than 20,000 rivals to reach the finals of a prestigious fashion competition.
Tassia Barksby (20) has been chosen as one of only 250 hopefuls from across the UK bidding to become the new face of clothing giants Next.
The former Lossie High pupil will jet down to London later this month to take part in a catwalk bootcamp, where she will have the chance to win a £2,000 shopping spree, take part in glamorous photo shoots and be taken under the wing of a top modelling agency.
Tassia, who is already registered with a portfolio website and has been doing modelling work for the past two years, entered the ‘Make me the NEXT model’ 2011 competition earlier this year.
Nearly 21,000 modelling wannabees submitted their photos for the contest, which was open to a public vote with the top 250 going on to the London finals.
Helped by a plea for votes on Facebook and the support of her family and friends, Tassia saw her placing rise until she reached the final position of 195 and earned her all-expenses-paid trip to the capital.
"It’s almost surreal. It hasn’t properly sunk in yet, it’s like a dream," she said. "I found out on Saturday morning when they phoned me up and said congratulations – you’re in the top 250."
That put Tassia in the top 1.2% in the vote, and she is the only entrant from the Moray area to be successful. Another Lossiemouth hopeful, Mia-Ruby Anderson, who featured in ‘The Northern Scot’ last week, was narrowly edged out of the top 250 in the contest, which drew a total of 1.9 million online votes.
Now Tassia, who lives near RAF Lossiemouth, where her father was posted 10 years ago, is preparing to strut her stuff at London’s Runway Academy on July 29 and impress a judging panel of industry experts.
Should she be whittled down to the final 50, she will be given VIP tickets to a top London nightclub, before returning to the catwalk for the live grand final.
"I’ve always wanted to be a model, and I hope one day I’ll end up moving down to London."
Originally from Nottingham, Tassia lives in Lossiemouth with her mum Lena and sister Abie (16), while her dad Adrian is currently posted to RAF Halton. He helped with his daughter’s Next campaign by lobbying workmates and friends to vote for his daughter.
Hectic photoshoots and paparazzi flashbulbs could become a more frequent occurrence if she goes all the way through the Next catwalk bootcamp this month.
The clothing retailers, who claim to have kickstarted the careers of top models like Linda Evangelista, Christy Turlington and Yasmin Le Bon, said all 250 winners who attend in London will get a "unique and truly invaluable introduction to all aspects of modelling", and receive tuition and advice from a host of fashion industry professionals.
Tassia is determined to take the experience into her stride and hopes to make a good impression on the day. "There’s a lot of bitchiness in the modelling scene but I’m just going down there to act myself, not try to be anyone else, and give it my best shot," she added.
Read the full story in 'The Northern Scot'.
