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Spotlight on Isobella Jade: A real fashion warrior

posted by ChickSpeak
Wednesday, November 25, 2009 at 10:13am CST

Tyra Banks may think she’s got the upper hand when it comes to giving petite models a chance to make it in the fashion industry, but someone’s already beat her to it. Isobella Jade is a real-life fashion warrior as well as the author of the memoir, Almost 5′4. Jade recently published her second book, Model Life: The Journey of a Pint-Size Fashion Warrior, which is the first of a graphic novel series detailing the ups and downs of her modeling career.

Through smart self-marketing and sheer talent, Isobella Jade has been featured everywhere from The New York Times to The Wall Street Journal to Page Six. Jade took time to sit down with ChickSpeak to answer questions about what inspired her and helped her become successful:

ChickSpeak: How did you first know you wanted to become a model? What drew you to modeling?

Isobella Jade: At first, modeling was just a curiosity, and it was more about my ego, feeling pretty and getting attention. I never grew up reading fashion magazines. I knew what the Alloy catalogue was, and I understood that the girls were models. But I didn’t really understand what a model was, how to be one, or what it took. I had to teach myself. And through gaining a perception of what a model is and how I could fit into the business as a shorter girl, I found that there are all types of models.

I also understood the importance of marketing yourself well, with the right photos to the right agencies, and how to have a strong marketing mindset while understanding your assets and how they translate into ads and editorials and commercials. I learned how to get opportunities.

At the very early stage, I wasted time shooting with amateur idiot photographers and shooting for the fun of it, not the business of it. However, once I started working with professional photographers and gained my first modeling tear sheet in a magazine, modeling started to mean more to me. It quickly after became a passion and a goal to achieve. I became extremely determined to prove I could work as a model despite my height, by using what I did have.

CS: As revealed through Model Life, you experienced many rejections early on in your career. How did you overcome these obstacles?

IJ: Before I worked as a model, I was a very competitive track runner. So I took that athlete mentality and put it towards the rejection I encountered. I learned that a “no”, or not getting booked for a modeling job, or not getting picked, doesn’t mean you are a bad model, or not good enough. It just means you weren’t what they were looking for today. Just like in running, showing up and trying is the point, and is what matters.

CS: In addition to being a full-time model, you have also penned a number of books and articles. What role do books/writing play in your career?

IJ: Books are a wonderful way for me to share my message of believing in yourself and taking a chance on yourself and not being afraid of being self-made. Modeling, and the advocating I do on my blogs, podcast, and web videos, have been a launch pad for my books. I enjoy translating my own experiences into a book format.

Soon, you will be able to read my how-to modeling book for the short girl, which will be based on my blog ,and I have plans to write inspirational books. Aside from writing for my blogs and books, I also write every day in my journal, and I suggest anyone that is striving towards a goal to do the same. Writing is a way to organize.

CS: What is your ultimate dream, as a model and writer?

IJ: To share with the world that trying and waking up for the chance is worth it, and to show that working hard and believing in yourself, even if the odds are against you, does pay off. As for modeling, I am currently collaborating with the brands I use and enjoy, and by working with them, I also prove that being a model is more than being a certain height.

CS: Where did the idea for a graphic novel come from?

IJ: While writing my modeling memoir, Almost 5′4, I started to wonder how some of my modeling adventures could be translated into a visual and an illustrated format. I was starting to think about a graphic novel based on the modeling industry from a shorter girl’s perspective, and how some of my stories and experiences might look like as an illustrated graphic novel. After pitching the concept with some sample ideas and sketches to a publisher, Model Life came alive. Then, I approached a couple illustrators and was excited to find Jazmin Ruotolo to work alongside.

Model Life means a lot to me because it is a book with a self-discovering female heroine, and the book introduces the fashion world and modeling business into the graphic novel world. Now, Model Life has plans to become a series.

CS: In a nutshell, what advice would you give to models who think they are “too short” to make it in the fashion industry?

IJ: Modeling is more than fashion, everything from contact lenses to detergents need models in their ad campaigns and commercials. As soon as a shorter girl sees that modeling is about modeling “something” (a product), suddenly you can see that models are not all tall or on a runway. Self-promotion is key for a shorter girl. A shorter girl should be using her personality, her smile, and the energy within her photos to sell herself, so that height is a little thing in comparison to how well the girl can model that product.

CS: What part of your career are you the most proud of now, looking back on what you have already accomplished?

IJ: I am mostly proud that I didn’t give up during many difficult moments when I could have, and that I kept on hustling on, because hanging in there truly does pay off.

Katherine J. Chen is a sophomore at Princeton University who is majoring in English with a certificate in Creative Writing. She is a really big fan of Isobella Jade’s graphic novel, and thinks that anyone who dares to dream should definitely buy it!