1. 82 ELLE.MY
RADAR MEMOIR
Wearing Naomi Campbell’s shoes
and posing in a wedding dress in
the jungle? All in a first day’s work
for some of our favourite models.
Illustrations by Li Hua
MODEL
RECALL TENGKU AZURA
V
ivienne Westwood came to Malaysia in the ’90s.
Her show was my first casting call. I met Vivienne
and she cast us herself. She was really nice, really
friendly, not scary at all. Those days we only had
agencies — no freelancers like they have now —
and we were known as Cilla’s girls (under Cilla &
Associates). It was me, Hana (Toolseram), Ling (Tan) and
Bernie (Chan). Another group would be known as Andrew’s
girls (under Andrewsmodels).
Was I nervous then? Yes, even now when I do shows, I’m
nervous. But it was great, especially the shoes. We wore the
same clothes that were just on the runway in Paris, so they
still had model tags on them like ‘Naomi Campbell’ and
‘Christy Turlington’. We were all like “Wow I can wear so-
and-so’s shoes!”. I think I wore Naomi’s, you know, the ones
she fell over in? The nine-inch shoes. I was so scared I would
fall. But all of us managed to walk without problems.
My first photoshoot was somewhere in the jungle, with
a waterfall. It was for a magazine cover in 1993. I was in
a short dress, standing in the water. I remember the stylist
was Peter Lam. I was so nervous because I wasn’t sure how
to stand or pose, and I was shy about my dress. But Peter
helped, he told me what to do.
The shoot went all day and we started at 7am. Those
days we didn’t have fancy lighting gadgets. If we needed
a certain type of light we had to wait for the right time of
day. It was the first time someone was doing hair and make-
up for me. I had hair to my waist, lots of long curly hair, and
the hairstylist was like “OMG, your hair is so long, it’s going
to take forever to blow dry it.” We had to use a generator for
the hairdryer. Things were different in those days.
I
had curves at 12. That same year, I was scouted by an
agency, which immediately had me down as ‘plus-size’.
Not because of my weight, but because of my build.
My parents had no reservations about starting my career
so young. They could see how much I wanted to do it;
I’d tried sports and dance classes but this was something
I had a passion for.
My first job, at 12, was a lingerie ad, modelling a
sheer bra — they had to airbrush out my nipples. My first
magazine shoot was “how to dress for your body shape” and
I was “cantaloupes/large breasts”. This was in eighth grade
[age 13]. Someone at school saw the picture and pointed
out a fold of flesh behind my knee. She said, “Ew, what’s
that fat fold?” From then on, I was called the fat model.
But I embraced it: I’m not the type of person to wallow in
my sorrow. And I haven’t really looked back.”
ASHLEY GRAHAM (on previous page)
“I think I wore
Naomi’s shoes, you
know the ones that she
fell over in? The nine-
inch shoes. I was so
scared I would fall.”
— TENGKU AZURA

2. 84 ELLE.MY
GWEN LU
M
y first photoshoot must have been 10 years ago.
Time flies! I remember finding my way to the old
Studio Rom in Kepong after a show in KL. The
shoot was for a magazine editorial. I was using
a map to find the place as I had only just moved
to KL. I was late and everyone was waiting for
me: Wee Chee, the stylist; Aaron Lee, the photographer,
the whole team. So I learned punctuality is very important!
I didn’t speak much while doing hair and make-up since
my Cantonese wasn’t good, and I wasn’t sure what was
happening until I saw myself being transformed in front
of the mirror.
I had a full head of extensions, with hair down to my
waist, dressed up in full Autumn/Winter clothes and a sexy
sultry look, despite the fact I still had my braces on at that
time. I had a feeling something major was in the making.
While Aaron was testing lights and giving the set-up a final
touch, Wee Chee demonstrated to me the poses and helped
me work on my expressions.
Since then, every photoshoot has been a new challenge
for me. I tell myself that each time I’m gonna show a
different side of Gwen Lu: I can be sexy, mysterious, happy,
nerdy, tomboyish, cute, confident — a chameleon!
“I saved up money and
had someone take my
photos when I was 15.”
— AMBER CHIA
RADAR MEMOIR
ASTOLDTO:SAMANTHAJOSEPH.
“Nowadays girls get training or
they find it online, or they can buy
Coco Rocha’s book and find
hundreds of poses.”
— CILLA FOONG
CILLA FOONG
I
didn’t plan to be a model. After leaving
school, I wanted to join the airways. My
sister had joined an airline and lived abroad
and it seemed like a very nice life. But that fell
through for me. I went to college, not sure what I
wanted to do. In the ’70s I was considered tall —
5’9”, and I had an interest in fashion. I saw an ad in
The Malay Mail for modelling classes and thought,
why not? I signed up. Honestly I was quite bored.
I was taught to use my fingers to tap to the beat
of the music when you walk, to keep time. I was like,
what am I doing? I was about to quit when the agency owner
told me that because of my height, I could do fashion shows.
I thought I could make some money and the rest is history.
My first shoot was for a magazine at Convent Bukit Nanas
or St Mary’s. They had a nice lawn. We were never trained on
showing our best angles or posing then. The photographer
directed me. Nowadays girls get training or they find it online,
or they can buy Coco Rocha’s book and find hundreds of
poses. I went for the shoot with a professional model. I was
definitely conscious because it was my first shoot and she was
so much more experienced. It was a shoot for a local designer,
Karl Chee. I remember he used a lot of colourful fabric. It was
very bohemian and sweet. As usual we did our own make-up.
I wouldn’t say the shoot was fun. I saw it as doing my job.
But it wasn’t so bad that it scared me off forever. 
I
will never forget my first runway walk — it was in 2000, for
a big show in Jalan Bukit Bintang. They needed around a
hundred girls, so I went for the casting. I was really excited
when I got the job, I called all my friends and told them to
come. I had gone for castings before and kept getting rejected.
This went on 20, maybe 30 times. I was so nervous, but I knew
I couldn’t fail again! At the casting they showed us how to
walk. It was 15 years ago, but I still remember the movements.
I saved up money and had someone take my photos for
me when I was 15. That was my first photoshoot. I sent them
to newspapers — in those days they had those contests where
you send your photo in, and if they thought it was the best and
you won they would print it. It was every girl’s dream. I really
saved for that shoot. I still remember helping my Dad out in the
market, and he would give me two or three ringgit every day,
and I would save it. I wouldn’t spend it at all. I still have those
photos. I really wanted to be a model and seeing myself in
print, in the newspaper, gave me confidence and motivation.
My first paid shoot was in the early 2000s, one and a half
years after I started modelling. I did a wedding shoot. The
studio paid RM100 for the whole day and it was the very first
time I wore a wedding gown. It was like a dream, wearing it.
We did one shoot in the jungle and another on the beach. I was
sweating like crazy in the dress and ended up sunburnt. But
when I saw the photos at the end, it was totally worth it!
AMBER CHIA (on previous page)