Give me that fierce look! Give me the stare! Make it strong. Pose. Pose. Pose!
No, we didn't actually shout those instructions at all. Because the moment Jiratchaya "Tawan" Kedkong stepped before the camera, she had everything under control. The 20-year-old winner from the fourth cycle of Asia's Next Top Model (AsNTM) was as natural through the lens and down the runway as she breathes. When she appears in front of the camera, she morphs from her bright and bubbly persona and ascends to her role as a serious, professional fashion model.
Jiratchaya's road through the world of fashion has been short. Just two years ago, at the age of 18, she decided not to continue her study due to her family's financial constraint. Fresh off of high school, she left her home in Lop Buri province to pursue a modelling career in the City of Angels.
"I've always wanted to be a model. I'm 177cm tall, and people would always say I should give modelling a try," said Jiratchaya. "But when it actually began, when I came into Bangkok alone after an agency contacted me, I was really homesick."
But she didn't get to stay in the Thai capital for long. After just a few months, Jiratchaya flew to Hong Kong where she lived and worked for six months. Singapore was her next destination, and then she got into an audition that led her to become a contestant in the AsNTM reality show.
"When they told me I got in, I was like, 'Are you serious!?'. It was totally unexpected."
The model admitted she was scared. As AsNTM is based in Singapore, every contestant had to speak English -- a language skill Jiratchaya herself said that she was not good at. Before, she relied on learning the language through watching series like Sherlock Holmes, Game Of Thrones and The Mentalist. In the show, her saviour came in a form of a pocket dictionary she always carried around. And she's not ashamed to make mistakes, as long as people could still understand what she wanted to convey.
"If I can't figure out how to say something, I just point to the word and try my best to communicate. And they'd help me arrange the sentences when we do interviews for the show," she recalled. "Really, those interviews were more difficult than a photo shoot or the runway."
Aside from the linguistics, one needs to possess the right skills and mindset to make it on the runway. Punctuality, especially, is a trait important in the industry. Physique also matters. Aside from height, models need to be fit, in good shape. Jiratchaya said she does weight training and running at the gym from time to time. Due to a good metabolism, she doesn't really need to control much about what she eats.
"Another thing to watch out for is your skin," she said. "It's up to each brand. In Asia, I find that people still prefer white skin, thinking it makes their clothes look better. Some people did ask if I could get any whiter. But, really, how do you stay white in Thailand?"
As for the secret to her strong walk, Jiratchaya disclosed that it's all about the music.
Jiratchaya before her AsNTM makeover.
"Just listen. Walk to the beat, rhythm and emotion of the song," she advised.
From becoming one of the new bloods among Asian models, Jiratchaya will soon make her mark in the UK. She's set to fly to London next month for a contract with Storm Model Management -- part of the prize package she received as AsNTM winner. As an outsider looking in, Jiratchaya's jet-setting life seems enviable. But, as the model was quick to contradict, overseas work isn't all fun and game as people might perceive.
"People often just see this beautiful and glamorous image of an AsNTM winner, but not the journey that precedes it," she said. "They say I'm lucky to travel around, to live and work in other countries. But things aren't that easy breezy. I'm not rich. Mostly, I just try to live with the cheapest thing I can find and try to save money in every single way I can."
Still, Jiratchaya said she wouldn't have her life any other way. The experience she's gained through her short period in the modelling world has been priceless. The model admitted that, two years ago, she was sad that she didn't go to universities like her friends did. But that ship of sorrow has long sailed. Now, she's very much enjoying her life and career.
"This kind of life is fun," said Jiratchaya. "I don't regret not going to college. But that doesn't mean I've scrapped higher education out of my future plan. Eventually, I will go back. I'll just need to find money to pay for classes first.
"I know how models are perceived, that we only eat, sleep and go for casting. People would say we don't need to have any talent or knowledge. That's not it. You don't know that some are studying and working at the same time. And you also have to be diligent or you'll never make it."
The model said she was motivated by her family. Both her parents sell stuff in local markets. They have no proper shop, and have to battle with the merciless heat and rain on a regular basis. Jiratchaya hates to see her parents tiring themselves out.
"I want to be successful, so that I can help them in return. They have always been supportive of me. In whatever I want to do -- be they study or work -- mum and dad would tell me to go ahead and not to worry about a thing. There's no way that I could get to where I am without them," she said, adding that she always seeks their blessing before she leaves for work.
Asia’s Next Top Model Cycle 4 winner announcement.
Ever since she won the competition, Jiratchaya has become an inspiration for young, aspiring models across the country. And if there's any advice she could give, she insisted: "Stop asking how and just do it."
Above all, she's also influenced someone very close to her heart: her seven-year-old sister.
"She wants to be a model, too!" said Jiratchaya. "We even have the same haircut. And if you point a camera at her, she'd start posing. I told her that if she wants to be a model, she has to learn English and do well in school. And if this career somehow doesn't work out for me, then I'll push her up and be the one to support her dreams."
Modelling for a bridal house.
