• Fashion

• News

"I was alive in almost all the low and difficult places there are"

Monica Joseph did not have a simple life.

She was born in Sudan, moved to Egypt and from there came to Israel.

Three years ago she started modeling, much thanks to Shelly Gafni, and since then everything has changed.

With a new job as a presenter, "V" about Fashion Week and a new role in the film - Joseph almost dares to dream again.

Interview

Tags

• Fashion Week

• model

• Sudan

Gal Slonimsky

Friday, 09 April 2021, 08:00 Updated: 08:09

• Share on Facebook

• Share on WhatsApp

• Share on general

• Share on general

• Share on Twitter

• Share on Email

0 comments

Start memorizing the name.

Monica Joseph models for Ronen Chen at the Thyme Fashion Week in Tel Aviv (Photo: Eran Levy)

It seems that in recent years the phrase "Cinderella story" has become quite common.

It seems easy to attach it to a great many women who started out as a kind of "dirt" and found themselves living the dream as a princess from the legends.

However, hearing the story of Monica Joseph, it is impossible not to think of that girl from the classic of the Grimm brothers, only in a much more extreme way.

Something that probably even they could not think of.

Recently Joseph has been sending arms to every good part of the local fashion and culture industry so that not far off the day it will be impossible to evade her name.

Monica Joseph, a 21-year-old model, entered the industry only in August 2018. Before that, she had to deal with the reality, which she said was “not simple”, to say the least.

Joseph arrived in Israel at the end of 2007, when she was seven, at the end of a difficult journey - which did not end even when she set foot here.

She was born in Sudan and after a few months already moved to Egypt, from there she came to Israel.

Here, too, no easy life awaited her.

It is not necessary to exaggerate to describe what Sudanese refugees are experiencing in the State of Israel, until the day she turned 18 - and then everything changed.

More on Walla!

Fashion

From "Big Brother" House - to Fashion Week: Dror Contento comes to shatter all conventions

To the full article

"I was never interested in modeling."

Monica Joseph walks on the track of Vivi Blaish (Photo: Eran Levy)

"I was never interested in modeling," she admits.

"I entered this world with the help of my model Gafni, who is also a make-up artist. She made me up at the age of 12 for a bat mitzvah party and even then she was enthusiastic about how I looked. We made an amazing and special relationship, but we waited until the age of 18. She opened the door for me. "I was very apprehensive about the industry, but from here on out, I have been in this business for three years and every day I am just learning more and more. It is a huge world that I am glad I entered."

In three years in total, Joseph has managed to work with quite a few big names.

Dorit Bar-Or, Shachar Avnet, Natasha Danone, Alon Livneh and more and more.

Then came the corona, which froze quite a few projects.

Joseph, who had just begun to enjoy modeling, had already dreamed of overseas projects - and had to lie and realize that at the moment no job abroad would be here. In recent months, with a return to routine, a flood of jobs came to Joseph that restarted his career. Last week she walked the runways of the Thyme Tel Aviv Fashion Week, was chosen to be the presenter of the shoe brand Scoop alongside the "Race for a Million" graduates Neta and Omar Barzani and the model Omar Barbie, and she is photographed for the film "Inverted".

"From the day I signed with a modeling agency, the first thing I wanted to do was Fashion Week" (Photo: Eran Levy)

How do you sum up your first time on the runway at Fashion Week?

"From the day I signed with a modeling agency, the first thing I wanted to do was Fashion Week - and this year it was the first time it happened. It was not like I imagined it in my head with an audience and energies, but it was a crazy experience. I have never experienced anything like it. "To feel up close what the designer wanted to bring out. I enjoyed every moment."

In recent years, the team of the Israeli Fashion Week has been promoting the change in the ideal of beauty.

Do you feel from your side that there really was diversity?

"Obviously. There was a very wide range of male and female models, and that made me very happy. I was a little afraid that this would not be the case, but you can clearly see that there is a variety. Today there is no such thing as one beauty ideal."

Throughout your years in the industry, have you encountered racism towards you?

"No. From the moment I entered this world I even feel a little admiration for my origin."

I mean, it never stopped you or prevented you from projects?

"On the contrary. I feel it's more pushing me forward. Today the industry is looking for different people - skin color, origin. Being beautiful is no longer enough."

"Being a presenter is a title I've been waiting for."

Monica Joseph in Scoop's campaign (Photo: Shay Franco)

There are quite a few challenges in the modeling industry.

Although the origin of Joseph, who may have been supposed to deceive difficulties, Monica says is only an advantage, there are quite a few more risks in the profession.

One of them is sexual harassment, which despite the rising awareness of the issue, is still considered one of the hacked issues in the profession.

"Thank God, I did not encounter sexual harassment on a set of photos, but unfortunately the rabbi got to hear from others around me who encountered it," she shares.

"I think the Me Too movement has changed and maybe even pressured people who would allow themselves to do things in the past, even if it's just throwing comments. But like I said - I have not experienced, and I wish it would not happen either."

Has anyone ever thrown you a misplaced comment in this industry?

"It happened to me many times that I took notes that were supposed to be a kind of 'build' to the heart. Sometimes I was told that my chest was small or that I was too thin and I did not 'fill' the garment. Mostly it was from women. "The meaning of their words about other people. I worked hard to build my self-confidence and things like that can completely undermine me. I try not to give it too much weight, but in the end we are all human beings."

"It happened to me many times that I took notes to heart. It can completely undermine me" (Photo: Eran Levy)

One of the big surprises for Joseph is the fact that she does not have Instagram, one of the necessary tools for a portfolio in the modeling world.

What’s more, quite a few advertisers sometimes prefer a network anchor, influencer or someone with a strong social media presence with an agenda and statement than a model with experience.

"I had Instagram, but recently I chose to take a break. I felt it was burdening me," she says.

"I felt like I was constantly comparing myself to others. Whether in appearance or in experiences. It became something bigger than it really was, and I decided completely consciously to take a break and keep doing what I love without communicating it on the networks."

This is pretty crazy in your field.

Do you not feel it could hurt your career?

"It's definitely an important, if not the main, tool in our field today. But mental health is more important than anything, before work. When I felt it 'choked' me, I decided it wasn't worth it enough. Maybe I'll get back to it later."

"I felt that Instagram was suffocating me and I constantly compare myself to others" (Photo: Eran Levy)

As mentioned, apart from Fashion Week, in which she walked the runways of Alon Livne, Vivi Blaish, Doreen Frankfurt, Sasson Kedem, Ronen Chen and others, recently she also added the title "Prenzor" to her resume, after being cast by the shoe brand Scoop to replace Sapir Narcissus who has been in office for the past year.

"It's a title I've been waiting for," says Joseph, adding: "I was happy to meet in reality people who swept me and made me laugh on screen and work with them. The whole team was amazing. My next step is the game world."

And it seems that she is also making huge strides there, with her first film in which she is taking part and being photographed these days.

"When I auditioned for a film I flew in levels. I want to spread as many arms as possible in as many directions as possible - and the new film is a big part of that."

How important is your financial independence to you?

"It's the most important thing to me. Unfortunately, I have no one else who can do it for me. My financial back is solely me."

"There's a very extreme difference from where I grew up to where I am today."

Joseph in Scoop's campaign (Photo: Shay Franco)

There is no doubt that Joseph works hard these days, but hard work is not something that can stress a young woman who has grown up into a frightening and threatening reality.

"There is a very extreme difference from where I grew up to where I am today. I was alive in almost all the low and difficult places there are. I lived with economic problems, security problems - both in Sudan, Egypt and here. I had a difficult childhood, but from there I just immigrated."

"I will not physically forget the move to Israel," says Joseph, "to cross the border when you are a seven-year-old girl. It was a situation I had to be very alert to all the dangers that could be. This experience caused me to develop a lot of defenders, it caused - and still caused "Makes me - to be constantly on alert, alert, measured in everything I do and say. I would be happy to feel more confident in my home. I work on it."

Monica on the Asian route (Photo: Eran Levy)

And when you were little, in this complex reality, what did you dream of being when you grew up?

"It's a little sad to say, but when I was a child I did not dream. I had to deal with reality, and it did not allow me to dream. Now that I have reached the age of 21, my dream is to take off the armor, covers, layers and defenses I put on myself, build self-confidence. "And not to give in to people with my different worldview. It sounds kitschy, but all I want is to be peaceful, free and happy. I'm on my way there."

• Share on Facebook

• Share on WhatsApp

• Share on general

• Share on general

• Share on Twitter

• Share on Email

0 comments