Modelling opened her eyes to a different world. While everyone only sees the glitz and glamour, young Samantha Ting gets to experience the world behind-the-scene that not many knows about.
Learning from experience
samantha Ting had never thought that she would become a model, as it was merely a dream that she didn’t think would be real, something she could never achieve. Now in her third year of modelling, the 17-year-old admitted that when she first started, she was introduced to a whole new world inside.
“Most people only get to see the outside of things. Like when the models are on the stage strutting their stuff, or when designers released photos or videos of their designs. But as a model, you would see things differently, everything starting from scratch.
“Since I started modelling, I saw the incomplete things and imperfections behind the scenes gradually grow to be perfect. As what people would say, one perfect picture usually comes from a hundred shots,” she added.
One thing for certain, the Arts and Design Foundation graduate said that being a model is much more difficult than it looks. “It takes a good attitude, mindset and resilience to pull off the job.”
While modelling can be stressful for Samantha, her passion for it never wavered. With 2019 marking her final year in an international high school, it became the busiest year for Samantha as she juggled between school, examinations and modelling.
At the same time, she also juggles with her emotions while modelling, “Being able to constantly have high self-esteem and confidence is something I struggle with. There are times when I feel most confident, and other times I needed to push through and believe in the people around me.” What kept her on edge, was that the people’s perception of being a ‘model’ can be hard to deal with.
Nonetheless, Samantha’s experience in the fashion industry was insightful as she gets to witness the bigger picture of the industry. “Again, everybody mostly only look at it from the outside.”
As the industry is not limited to designers and models, there are so many others involved that many do not understand. But according to Samantha, being a model allowed her to grow a deep appreciation for everyone in the industry as she knows for a fact that the work is not easy.
Aside from that, Samantha admited that the career had definitely helped develop her confidence level, and all the ups and downs made her into the person that she is today.
Recalling her journey into modelling, Samantha’s first photoshoot experience was for ‘Sereni and Shentel’ in 2018. “Even though I was around familiar faces, I was still super nervous and shy. I was so stiff throughout the shoot and I couldn’t think of any poses or facial expressions at the time. I felt like a baby learning to walk,” Samantha said.
Despite so, she received encouragement from her family and friends. “It gave me some hope and courage to continue until now. Modelling is my part-time job. But what kept me going was the confidence I had, all thanks to modelling.”
Samantha then shared her first runway experience in the same year for a local brand ‘WYNKA’. “I was asked to go for casting. There, I was the youngest and the most inexperienced among the others. I was surrounded by all these amazing local models who were highly experienced and knew exactly what to do.” She also said that this was when she first walked in stiletto high heels.
“I was selected and when d-day arrived, I was the most clueless one there! I had no idea what to expect and how to act. It was nothing like how I had imagined. There were a lot of waiting, and the backstage was a riot!” Samantha said.
Looking back, she admitted that her walk back then was terrible. “But I learned so much from that experience and it’s always good to learn something new to improve myself.”
What further strengthened her love for the industry was the different people she met, “I get to work with amazing and talented people which makes it so enjoyable and it is such a great experience.”
The following year, Samantha signed with a local agency, Style Series and was able to walk shows in Kuala Lumpur, Sibu and Malacca. The cheeky lass admitted that having walked numerous runways, she would still feel nervous whenever she is about to walk.
“There are so many different feelings that I get when I walk on stage, and sometimes, that feelings are what determines if I’ll have a good walk or not. There is almost like a sequence of feelings starting from the backstage, onstage and then back to the backstage again,” revealed the elegant young lady.
“When the line up to walk begins, I would start to feel nervous and excited at the same time. Before I walk out, I would catch a deep breath to calm myself down. Whenever I’m on stage, I always imagined that no one is around so that I don’t feel shy.”
Samantha then said that after the walk is over and she went backstage again, she would feel relieved. “To me, it’s always a celebration after the walk is over. But no matter how nervous I was being on the stage, every time I get off I just want to do it all over again!”
Asked about her favourite outfit she modelled throughout her career, Samantha said it is difficult to choose because each outfit is specially chosen by the stylist, hence each attire was special to her. “I can remember every single outfit I wore.”
But one outfit that she considered the most memorable one was the dress she wore when the Raja Permaisuri Agong, Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah visited Kuching and attended the Lembaran Emas in 2019.
“I wore this outfit from Tanoti. I was there when it was made, so I saw it being made from scratch. The outfit was also woven in parts on a single loom of black filament silk warp and gold threads. It was magical to say the least.”
While the future is uncertain, Samantha hopes to continue her modelling journey in the future, “Though I’m not sure if I would model full time, I do know for a fact that whatever offer comes my way, I would be glad to accept it.”
