ALL ANTWERP: “When I was seventeen, I was told that I would become a better ‘plus size’ model” (Antwerp)
Every weekday our reporter and photographer pick a casual passer-by off the street for a nice conversation. Want everyone has a story. And certainly in Antwerp. Today: Myrthe Bombeke (24).
“I am a model and make-up artist at No Babes. That is a talent agency where everything revolves around inclusivity. For example, people who have always wanted to be models but were not allowed permission to go on beauty taboos, start there.”
“I now work as a secondary occupation for No Babes. Because for now I’m still on sick leave because I’m struggling with my mental health. Working on that has priority at the moment, but I didn’t want to fully implement the atmosphere of the fashion world.”
“It was my childhood modeling job. Because I’m so tall. But my confirmations I not good enough, so had actually already put away. When I was seventeen, I was allowed to visit an Antwerp modeling agency. Two of the three sizes I had to submit were the bare minimum. The third doesn’t. I was then told that I had better become a ‘plus size’ model. Then I decided for myself: this is not healthy.”
“That’s why I started focusing on other creative things. ‘I’ll find my way,’ I thought. But now I have become a model. I would like to continue working in the fashion world. You meet so many interesting people here. Everyone has a corner. That’s what I like about it. I want to be like that myself, preferably with pink hair, as long as I can. I want to keep discovering new things and enrich my world.”