Almost every teen goes through a period of feeling embarrassed or unsure of their looks. Aryn Terry, junior in Advertising, was once a young teen who second-guessed her curves and exquisite bone structure. She took control of her insecurities, however, and evolved into an aspiring model and entrepreneur determined to take on every facet of the fashion industry. Terry is currently a member of the Illini Union Board as well as the executive board for the Moda Bellisima modeling troupe. With a major advertising internship under her belt, and her recent winning of the Torrid’s 2010 Model Search, Terry is on the fast track to reaching her dreams.
HC: Have you always been interested in fashion?
I’m more interested in fashion now then I was growing up. It was always hard for me to find clothes and shoes, and I would get really frustrated when I was younger. Everything has gotten so much better for me with that though. I’ll shop at H&M, Forever 21 or ASOS; Target is also a really good place to go.
HC: When did you officially start modeling?
I don’t like to call myself an official model yet because I’m not signed. I’m actually talking to several agencies now; one is called Factor Women, which is a branch of Elite Model Management. I would say I started during it more so in my freshman year [of college]. My high school counselor, who I consider to be my mentor, was always pushing me to do modeling in high school. She’s one of the people who really inspired me to pursue it. I started by doing the homecoming fashion shows and I later got involved with a new campus organization, Moda Bellisima, which is a competitive modeling troupe.
HC: What would you say is your ultimate dream job?
I really want to be multifaceted. I have interests in a lot of things and I want to merge my marketing skills and creativity with the fashion and entertainment industries. Modeling is something I really enjoy, and I definitely want to get signed and do that for a while, but I have other plans too. I’m in the process of setting up an online business where I will start off selling clothes and eventually move to shoes.
HC: What would you say is the focus and style of your upcoming business?
I grew up not really having cute things to wear so I’d be looking like a grandma some days, and I really hated it. I want to sell like the extreme sizes of the shoe spectrum like 10 and up and smaller ones like size 5. I plan to hold off on that for a while though and start with clothes. I found that I really love designing, but I don’t love to sew; I want to team up with a pattern maker in the future. My designs are feminine with a pinch of edginess. I also really like things that stand out, like big, bold necklaces.
HC: Can you tell me a little about the Torrid modeling competition?
I had actually applied for the search the year before and didn’t get it. I was interning at this digital advertising agency in New York this past summer and one day I randomly remembered the contest and went onto the Torrid website. I decided to fill out the application again. I had to answer all these questions and the next month I got a call from them. There were 25 girls who were chosen out of about 4,000 applicants. For the next level, I had to be so annoying on Facebook and Twitter and recruit people to vote for me. I was getting really intimidated because some girls got around a thousand votes, but the contest took a lot of things into consideration. Three weeks later I received another call saying that I was one of the six winners of the competition. We got to fly to L.A., go to their headquarters, and do a daylong photo shoot for the website.
HC: How has it been for you as a curvy woman in the modeling world?
It’s interesting because in my experience doing plus-sized modeling there have been times when people have looked at me and said that I’m too small for this, but growing up I would be considered too big for a lot of things. I really respect one of the agencies I’ve been speaking with because they don’t focus on a specific size; they just pick women based on how they model. I’m not trying to promote an unhealthy lifestyle; I’m just trying to promote being confident because everyone can’t be a size 4. I think everyone is beautiful in their own way. We will all find flaws that we don’t like, but we just have to deal with them.
HC: What would you tell people who interested in a fashion career?
Just follow your dreams. Whatever you want to do, keep doing it, and don’t worry about what others think.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Illinois chapter.