10.3.09

Native model in Bazaar spread




Featured in the March 2009 edition of Harper's Bazaar UK is Tara Gill, a Mohawk/Irish Toronto Native. The spread is entitled 'The Sheltering Sky' and has elements of tribalism, Tomb Raider, Mad Max and middle eastern vibes throughout.

18 year-old Gill was discovered in 2007 by Elmer Olson while out at a teen club in Toronto. She was featured on Fashion File's Bootcamp to Bigtime five-part series, that still airs in repeats on CBC. This 5'11 teen was picked out by top agents from the annual Olson talent pool showcase and heads to the Big Apple to decide which agency is right for her. She goes with DNA and is immediately booked for New York and Paris Fashion Week.

For the Fall 2009 shows she walked the runways for designers such as Oscar de la Renta, Yves Saint Laurent, Christian Lacroix, Jean Paul Gaultier and Dolce & Gabbana.

I met Gill in the summer of 2007 while on set at fashion photographer Mario Miotti's when I was the fashion styling assistant for a B East creative shoot. That is when she filled me in on her mother's Mohawk roots. She was kind and gracious on set even after the long day under the hot lights. I guess it prepared her all those flashing lights that now come from everywhere.

*Photos from Supermodels site


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Posted by Lisa ~ Urban Native Girl at 4:07 AM
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11 comments:

  1. Very cool! She has a fierce look to her, as Tyra would say. I'm curious, who are some other Indigenous models that are being featured in mags, on runaways and in catalogs?
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  2. There aren't very many, but I will begin to feature some of them as I come across them. The Baker Twins are a dynamic duo who do work in Canada but not for the big magazines (just yet).

    http://www.thebakertwins.com/
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  3. Oh yeah, I've heard of them.
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  4. oh yeah I found this a while back . . . Alyssa Miller is another Native model - will do an update blog soon :)
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  5. Thanks so much for finally putting an exact tribe to her Native roots. Tara is stunning, I remember reading about her a while back, but failed to update myself on her current success.
    It wasnt until I was making a video dedicated to Native Canadian models, that I began my search for tall agency standard Indigenous beauties and she popped in my mind.
    I inquired about her tribe/nation on many forums, but got no exact answer. Finally, someone misinformed me that she was of Anishinabe descent, so I included this false information in my video.
    Had I known she was Mohawk, I would have said so, but now its to late to edit it. I did the best I could to make ammends for my mistake, but please check out my video and I am sure you will see there are many agency standard Native models out there :)

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTgmhEH3YUA&feature=channel_page
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  6. AboriginalCanadian - Thank you for that video link - that is awesome to see so many talented beautiful NDN models out there. I would love to check some of them out more and give them some props!
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  7. Tara Gill was NOT discovered by Elmer Olsen. She was actually discovered by agents at SHOK Models an agency in Toronto. The write up is not accurate. SHOK Models signed her to Elmer Olsen Models as stated in an article in The Toronto Star.
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  8. Hmm, urban native models seems to be slowly moving away from thier roots, not all, but for most. Thats what troubles me, with this hype on modeling. I don't know but they should incorporate for natives to learn a little bit about thier history as native people, thier culture, traditions, and language before entering into such grounds as modeling. But I'm just saying........ Just thought I'd put that out there.....
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  9. I think it's important for all Native peoples to learn about their culture, traditions, and language. This is not always an easy reality to attain. For me it would mean dropping out of school, moving to the rez and having no job. Not exactly a reality I want to embrace, or have the ability to embrace. Many Native peoples don't have a culturally enriched upbringing and come around to their cultural learning and understanding in their own time. We all have our own paths to carve and create.
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  10. actually Tara is not Mohawk.
    she is Algonquin.
    She is really in touch with her roots, she knows everything about her tradition and culture. However, she does not speak the language.
    I was her childhood friend and I remembered she always used to go up to the rez where her grandparents resided on sharbot Lake ON.
    Anyways, Tara I just wanted to say congrats!
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  11. @Anon - Thank you so much for your input! That is amazing and yes congrats to Tara!
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