Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
Glam model’s picture perfect Embracing curves her inspiration
An Airdrie model is spreading her wings as she follows in her family’s footsteps and works towards fulfilling her dream of becoming a Victoria’s Secret angel.
Gorgeous Melissa McComb, 21, is one of Britain’s most sought-after underwear and swimsuit models and spends her life jetting round the world on glamorous shoots.
At size 12 and with a 32D bust, former Airdrie Academy pupil Melissa, who grew up knowing she was never going to rule the runway like her supermodel sibling, catwalk queen Amanda Hendrick, is proof you don’t have to be mega-skinny to make it in the modelling industry.
Melissa, who signed with Scotland’s top agency Colours when she was just 14, has appeared in campaigns for top high street stores, Selfridges and House of Fraser, and is a regular on Lorraine Kelly’s TV fashion section.
She said: “When I was younger, I really struggled with being curvy and thought I would struggle to find a modelling agency but Colours signed me on the spot when I was 14.
“They stuck by me and believed in me and eventually I started believing in myself and embraced my curviness.
“When I was 18, I moved to London and the work just took off. There is a big market for curvy models and it just keeps growing.
“The world of modelling has definitely become more versatile, with many of the big fashion houses being banned for using underweight models.
“Being super-skinny is fine for the catwalk where models are wearing designers’ samples but the high street stores are selling clothes for real women and they now want curvier and more natural girls to model them.”
Melissa, whose sister Amanda Hendrick has walked for every major designer – including Vivienne Westwood, Jean Paul Gaultier and Armani – on the catwalks of London, Paris, Milan and New York, is also signed to agencies in London, Milan and Hamburg.
She said: “Amanda has always been a massive support to me, especially when I moved to London as she knew the photographers and casting agents and was able to point me in the right direction.
“We are very proud of each other and we like to see each other do well.
“My first modelling job was with my sister for Schuh magazine when I was 10.
“I suppose, since then, she has been my inspiration.”