Laura combines her study with modeling

"What I learned from modeling is that you have to be very self-assured" - Laura den Hartigh

Hi, my name is Laura den Hartigh, I am 21 years old. I am a fourth-year student at the Hotel Management School Maastricht. I will be graduating soon and will be doing an internship at IMA in Amsterdam. This is an influencer marketing agency. Here I will work as an influencer development intern. I am also a model. I have often been scouted in the past and asked if I wanted to start doing modeling. In the past I had no time for this and never thought about it.

How did you end up in the modeling world?

During my exchange to Barcelona I got more free time and then I was signed there at the model agency Francina Models. From there it went very quickly, and I became an international model. I am now signed with 5 agencies throughout Europe. I am also busy signing with agencies outside of Europe, such as in South Africa, Bali and the USA. But this is a goal for the future.

How often do you do this work?

When I was in Barcelona for half a year, I had castings every week and I was able to do a lot of jobs. I have done shoots for various Spanish magazines and my very first shoot ever was for the brand Mango. I also worked a lot for Spanish brands and local brands in Barcelona. I have walked fashion shows and I have done several fittings for famous brands like Desigual etc.

Can it be combined with school?

When I returned to the Netherlands, I started my graduation project. During this half year it was very difficult for me to combine my modeling career with school as module 7 is very intensive. I did do fashion week in Athens for the Greek brand Parabita. Fortunately, this could be combined with my graduation project.

Is there a link with the course? Hospitality?

There is certainly a link with my education. At the hotel school we learn to be presentable. This is certainly something that is very important within the modeling world. You must always present yourself as well as possible to your agencies and the customers (brands or companies) that you work with. At a casting you have to show your best side, if you do this well you can be booked for the job. During the job it is also very important how you come across and how well you do it. Hospitality also plays a big role in this, when you are hospitable to the people you work with, chances are high that you will be booked again for the following jobs.

What do you learn from work?

What I learned from modeling is that you have to be very self-assured or show that you are self-assured. If you are not or not show this, it can be a very tough world. You also have to be very flexible. It may be that you have a casting or a job last minute. It may even be that you have no jobs for a long time, but that you have to be available for a certain amount of time when there finally is a job for you. I think that self-assurance and flexibility are certainly aspects that you learn during this education and within the hospitality world. Of course, hospitality is very important within every sector and this is also the case within the modeling world. For example, the relationship between me and my agencies is very protective and welcoming.