The look in London? Really tall and really thin – and I just don’t fit that
She won Miss Ireland, tried reality TV and had a sports celebrity boyfriend. But Holly Carpenter is f inding that in London, she’s a tiddler in a big, big pool
A TRAUMATIC public split from her Irish rugby player boyfriend, Cian Healy, and having to live out the heartache in the gossip columns have made 2014 a difficult year for Holly Carpenter. But the former Miss Ireland doesn’t do pity and rather than mark it as an annus horribilis, she instead opted to embrace a different Latin tag: carpe diem. So in October she packed her Louboutins and headed for the bright lights of London to further her modelling career. With the support of her best friend and fellow model, Jayne Higgins, Holly landed in Heathrow Airport on a one-way ticket.
‘It was a big decision to go to London because I have never really lived away from home before,’ she says. ‘When I did Britain And Ireland’s Next Top Model, I was away for about six weeks but I was on a show and I had no mobile or anything.
‘That was my only experience of living away so I was a little bit nervous. But Jane and I were both modelling and we decided to give it a go. Jane bought me a one-way ticket to London for my birthday and then it just happened.’
Young, free and single, the pretty brunette decided to throw herself into her work. Having been crowned Miss Ireland in 2011, she is currently using her network of beauty pageant contacts to inject herself into the London modelling scene.
‘It is crazy. London is just so different and so fast and so hard to get around,’ she says. ‘For the first week, I was exhausted just from finding my bearings. There is a great buzz and energy in London that keeps you going. I really love it but Dublin is so much more chilled and the pace of life is slower.
‘The first week, I spent the whole time meeting people. Alize Lily Mounter was Miss England and we kept in touch so she was my first port of call. She is my best friend over there now and we have gone out a few times. I have met her friends so I have an immediate group to hang around with, which makes a huge difference. If I had gone over on my own with no point of contact, I fear London would have been really intimidating.’
There’s no point... the models they are looking for are 5ft11in and tiny
Lesson one was to carefully choose which agencies to apply to.
‘It isn’t like Dublin, where there are a handful of agencies,’ she says. ‘There are so many here and you have to have a thick skin because you won’t be everyone’s cup of tea and they have no problem saying that. You can be with one agency for commercial, another one for hand modelling and another for fitness work.
‘The competition is tough. The second week, I sent off a load of pictures online to various agencies. Some of them immediately just said, “No thanks”, and that’s fine – I wasn’t expecting a yes from everyone – but I have callbacks next Thursday and Friday.
‘I walked into two castings and they said I was too commercial. The look they have over there is really tall and thin and I don’t fit that. I hope it goes well next week to get the ball rolling.’
Holly is dressed in black, her hair tied back in a ponytail, wet from the day’s torrential rain. Even dressed down, she is turning heads in the Marks & Spencer café in Dublin. It is difficult to believe that in London, she does not fit the criteria.
‘It is important to know what kind of model you are. There is no point in me going for castings for London fashion week because the models they are looking for are 5ft11in and tiny. I need to focus on my plus points, which is commercial work, and I can go to castings for TV commercials – the money is great. Thankfully I can still come home to Dublin for a week and do work here too.’
If height is an issue, she can compensate with her bubbly Irish personality – Holly says the gift of the gab is a bonus when networking in London.
‘The accent is going down really well. They think we are really friendly. On nights out, people are surprised when you talk to them. I think people grow a really thick skin in London and you get used to putting your head down on the Tube and avoiding eye contact – it can make you hard. I think they like the Irish and the fact that they are friendly and will talk to anyone.’
Down the line, Holly is keen to turn her hand to acting.
‘I did a six-week course in the Gaiety, mainly to get me ready for castings, because you could walk into a room and someone will ask you to pretend like you are walking a dog down a street while you are laughing and talking to your friends. That always made me shrink and I wouldn’t have been able to do it.
‘Then I did a slot on Damo & Ivor and I did a few bits on Callan’s Kicks and that gave me a bit of confidence. The Gaiety course broke me down and showed me that I could do it.
‘There is no point in me coming out of every agency in London feeling sorry for myself. There are so many models who have become icons who got nothing but refusals at the start – Naomi Campbell got told “No” loads of times. I’m not saying I’m the next Naomi Campbell but it helps to know that it is not just me.’
In 2013, Holly was named among the 14 finalists for the ninth series of Britain And Ireland’s Next Top Model. After several appearances in the elimination positions, she was knocked out in seventh place.
While she says the experience was invaluable, it also opened her eyes to the dangers of reality TV. She wouldn’t rule out an offer to follow in the footsteps of Nadia Forde, who is appearing in the latest series of I’m A Celebrity..., but she would be hesitant.
‘I would never say never but there are a number of shows I couldn’t do. Doing BINTM was intense. I can’t even imagine what it would be like doing Big Brother. I couldn’t leave the house, I had no mobile phone and I was always miked up and surrounded by cast and crew. It gave me an insight into how a show works but it also intimidated me.
‘I was so freaked out by the experi-
ence. Would I do the jungle? Well it always looks like fun, I wouldn’t rule it out. I like adventure and I went skydiving. The only thing I wouldn’t eat is olives so I don’t think I would mind eating horrible things. But I haven’t been asked so it isn’t a thing.’
While Holly is finding her feet in London, she is still in big demand at home. She was recently unveiled as the face of Green Angel cosmetics for the second year running. The work at home allows her to pay regular visits to her parents in Dublin, as well as generating income.
‘I was the face of Green Angel a year ago – they were looking at all the models and I was lucky enough to get picked,’ she says. ‘It is nice that it is 100% Irish and natural because when you are modelling you get a whole heap of different products put on your skin and it makes it really sensitive.
‘But this is all natural and perfume-free so it’s better for you. It’s nice using it in London because it reminds me of home. You can get it in Avoca and chemists nationwide.’
She tries to get home as often as possible to see her parents.
‘I’m very much a home bird and the thing I love about London is
The only thing I don’t eat is olives. I don’t mind horrible things
that it is only an hour away. There are so many places that I would love to go and see but the thought of living so far away, like in Australia, if anything happened, that freaks me out. ‘Now when I come home, my mum and dad are spoiling me rotten. You only learn things about life when you move out. I never realised how expensive food is!
‘But even at 23, none of my friends has left home because we all live so close to town that with the recession, it is fine to live at home. I appreciate my home more now that I have gone out on my own.’