Teenage bullying victim in model final
A TEENAGER who overcame severe bullying from both boys and girls is to compete in the final of Supermodel England.
Nicole Lowton, 17, of Highburton, will represent Huddersfield in the Teen category.
If she wins the final on November 17 she can enter a competition to win the world title.
Her first experience in the modelling industry took place when she was 16-years-old.
A family friend who worked for the Laura Crane Cancer Trust asked her and her sister to take part in a catwalk event raising money for the charity.
Nicole said: “During the event I found that I enjoyed modelling the clothes and for someone who was very self-conscious and shy in high school, I surprisingly found myself thriving in that environment.
“I am also a part-time freelance model and juggle college with a part-time job, modelling, fashion blogging, charity work and pageants and have almost 4,000 Instagram followers.
“We also raise money for the Zoe’s Place Baby Hospice group in the process.”
Nicole added: “As far as the bullying was concerned, in high school my first boyfriend, who I was with for around 18 months, was horrible.
“I was made to feel as though I wasn’t good enough as a person to achieve what I dreamt of achieving.
“One of my friends convinced me to leave him after seeing what he was like and I eventually managed to break up with him.
“However, I couldn’t then move on from this because afterwards a big group of girls started spreading rumours about me and my twin sister around our school and calling me a liar. They circled me and Anya and started shouting abuse at us. I ended up being hit in the face with a bottle for trying to get past to class.
“We were made to feel intimidated every day. Myself and my twin sister were named ‘pretty little princesses,’ ‘snobs, ‘racists’ and were told that we had not been through anything and were begging for attention. “
In February this year, she applied for her first beauty pageant, Top Model of Leeds, a regional heat for Supermodel England.
She thought that it would be a good opportunity to try new things and develop her self-confidence.
Nicole said: “The competition involved a fashion round, where we were given the opportunity to model clothes that represent our style; an eco round,- where we made our own outfit to walk in, and an evening round, modelling our own choice of evening gown.
“As an additional part of the competition, we were raising money for Candlelighters, a charity supporting children suffering with cancer.
“I managed to raise £220 independently for the charity. We also took part in an ‘interview’ round where we were asked an onstage question on the spot, and were judged on our answer.
“Despite not winning the title at the final, l had huge determination to progress in the pageant world, within Supermodel England. I applied for a regional heat again via the website and was accepted into the national final.
“I began contacting local businesses via email in regards to photo-shoots and messaged photographers about collaboration work. Surprisingly, this took off quickly and I was offered my first paid shoot a few months into modelling part time.
“Over time, I officially became a freelance model part-time. In addition to this, I applied to be an ambassador for Mirror Image Style, an online clothing company.
“To my surprise this was accepted and I began promoting their clothing range online through both Instagram and Facebook.
“Part of the reason why I feel so strongly about charity work is my little brother has a rare kidney disorder, Nephrotic Syndrome, and has had this since he was five years old (he is 10 now).”