Model Behaviour

In 2004, Banora Point schoolgirl Samantha Harris travelled to Brisbane with 
her mother and lined up at Garden City to sign up for the Girlfriend Model Search, 
little knowing that six years later she’d be gracing the cover of Vogue Australia’s 
June 2010 issue, only the second indigenous model to do so (Elaine George was 
the first in 1993).
“It was like a dream,” Samantha says. “I had the cover at home, and I’d look at it and I just couldn’t believe that was my face on the cover – it was really strange. Now I’m getting used to the fact that I was on the cover but you don’t expect a 19-year-old girl from Tweed Heads to be on the cover, you know?”
Slender and striking with gorgeous baby doll looks, the now Sydney-based 20 year old is a relative veteran in the modelling industry. Samantha modelled in New York for famed photographers Patrick Demarchelier and Arthur Elgort when she was just 14 and made her Australian Fashion Week debut in 2005. The shy, softly spoken beauty has graced countless catwalks, campaigns and shoots, and is now coming into her own after completing school.
“I do feel a little bit older because there are girls my age who are just starting. I was in Sydney not long ago at fashion week and for some of the girls it was their first and it was my fourth gig, so I do feel a little bit older.”
Named as the new Seafolly ambassador, Samantha shot the new swimwear campaign in Brampton Island in June with more projects on the way. At ease with editorial shoots and on the runway, the statuesque model admits to nerves before catwalk appearances “if I’m wearing really high heels” and hopes to work successfully overseas and be the face of a luxury label such as Chanel or Louis Vuitton.
Right now, her Vogue Australia cover is drawing interest and Samantha is happy to revel in her unique looks which she believes give her an edge in the modelling world.
“No one looks like me, which is a plus,” she smiles shyly. 

Photography: michaelgreves.com, Makeup: Jacqueline Smith, Hair: Hare’s Hair, Stylist: Di Cant for Identity. 
Shot on location at Treasury Casino & Hotel, The City