New SA face conquering catwalks
SA’s Alexandra Binaris was teased at school about her appearance – now she shares the runway with the world’s top models
SHE first caught the eye of a model scout when she was just four years old. And as a teen she had people encouraging her to consider a career in front of the cameras or strutting her stuff on the catwalk.
But Alexandra Binaris wasn’t interested. The long-legged South African beauty was determined she would first finish school and get a degree.
But once she’d achieved these goals Alex decided to give modelling a go – and she hasn’t looked back.
Thanks to her striking features and sexy Angelina Jolie pout, her life is now a whirlwind of international travel, runway shows and glamorous photoshoots. The 22-year-old’s passport is filled with stamps from the many countries she’s visited since bursting onto the modelling scene almost a year ago – including the USA, France, Italy, Britain and Germany – and she now calls New York and Paris home.
Back in her hometown of Richards Bay, KwaZulu-Natal, her name is on everyone’s lips.
“The support I’ve received not only in Richards Bay but from all over South Africa is so awesome and overwhelming,” she says.
Alex recently spent three weeks back in SA but she’s so in demand she had to make time for photoshoots in between catching up with loved ones.
Her parents, Veronica and Gregory, run property and retail businesses in Richards Bay and her younger brother, Nicholas (20), is studying for a B Com degree at Stellenbosch University.
“I was fortunate to grow up in Richards Bay,” she says. “I really feel like this gifted me with the best childhood. We grew up slowly, humbly and outdoors in a tightly knit community.”
She’s just as grateful for the opportunities that have recently come her way.
“I couldn’t be more appreciative as I’ve always had wanderlust and felt my twenties were the time I’d explore and experience the world. I never expected it would be my job that allowed me to do this!”
When she knocked on the door of Boss Models in Cape Town last year, her face
free of make-up, Alex didn’t expect her life to change the way it has. But within 24 hours the green-eyed beauty was signed not only to Boss but also to Elite Model Management.
“She had the most incredible energy,” says Linda Bruchhausen, director of Boss Models in the Mother City.
“She lit up the room. I almost think that even if she weren’t as beautiful as she is, we’d still have jumped at representing her. Personality is a huge factor in the industry now.
“Alex has the perfect combination of the current strong, modern look but is also beautiful. Models like that are few and far between.”
When Alex went back the following day to sign her contract, an agent from Elite Model Management was there too and also offered her a contract – and a month later she was on her way to Paris.
“I instantly fell in love with the city,” Alex says. “I stay in a beautiful flat just a 10-minute walk from the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe. I mean, what more could a girl ask for?”
ALEX’S rise in the modelling world has been nothing short of meteoric. British and Italian Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar have all done features on her and she was named one of the top newcomers by W magazine and Teen Vogue.
She’s also walked the runway for Louis Vuitton, Chanel and Carolina Herrera alongside the crème de la crème of the modelling industry such as Cara Delevingne, sisters Gigi and Bella Hadid, Kendall Jenner and actor Johnny Depp’s daughter, Lily-Rose.
Recently at New York Fashion Week she modelled for Oscar de la Renta and Prabal Gurung, among others. Not bad for someone who was bullied as a kid because of the way she looked.
“I was teased about being skinny and underdeveloped,” Alex recalls. “Kids would say mean things, like that I’d blow over on a windy day. I’d come home upset and my parents would always reassure me that one day I’d be thankful [ for my appearance]. I never understood that until I was older – now I can’t count my lucky stars enough!”
As far as her looks go, she’s “a good combination” of her mom and dad, Alex says. She says she was a tomboy when she was little and loved being outside and climbing trees. On weekends she’d go jet-skiing with her family.
She had a bit of a naughty streak, she adds. “By the time I matriculated from St Mary’s Diocesan School for Girls in Kloof, Durban, I held the most laundry duties – a form of punishment. The laundry ladies even knew me by name!”
She’s glad she opted to study media and writing, film production and dramatic arts at the University of Cape Town after school and clearly took it quite seriously, making it onto the dean’s list and graduating with a distinction.
“I’ve always loved fashion and writing. My dream was to work for a fashion magazine – I never thought I’d be on the other side of it,” she says. “I love modelling and because I can do both commercial and high-fashion [modelling] I believe I’ll be able to do this for a long time. After that I’ll just see where life leads me.”
Apart from Boss Models and Elite, she’s now also on the books of New York modelling agency The Society Management, as well as Promod in Germany and Donna Models in Japan.
But she’s also had a few embarrassing “newbie” moments, Alex admits. In June last year she was chatting away to a guy and had no idea he was celebrated designer Marc Jacobs until her friends, who were beside themselves with excitement, told her.
“I feel in a way it’s what draws clients to me as it’s refreshing and down to earth,” she says.
Her daily beauty regime consists only of cleansing and moisturising, she reveals, and she stays in shape with yoga and strength training. “And I walk at least 10 km every day,” she adds.
As for her diet, she’s a pescatarian – someone who eats fish and other seafood but no other meat. When it comes to spoiling herself, she loves chocolate and can’t resist freshly baked chocolate croissants when she’s in the French capital.
In her free time Alex likes to explore the cities she’s been lucky enough to visit. “I love art and history so I often go to art exhibitions and museums and I love reading under this one particular willow tree on the Seine in Paris.”
A love of travel is something she shares with her boyfriend, Sean Chapman, and they recently spent a month exploring Europe together. They met in Mozambique and have been together for two years.
Sean (23) is studying for a B Com honours degree in logistics at Stellenbosch University and they see each other as often as they can.
What advice does she have for aspiring models? “Be confident, stay true to yourself and just be you!” Alex says. “There’s nothing more you can do. And always keep a box of plasters handy – your feet will thank you.”