Here at Supermodel we try not to play favourites, but Yasmeen Ghauri takes our breath away every time. In magazine layouts her dark gaze draws the eye and doesn't let go. On the runway her distinctive style not so much shows off the clothes as positively flaunts them.
"I think my secret is that I'm double jointed," laughs Yasmeen, talking about her infamous 'wiggle'. Yasmeen is speaking from her apartment in New York, where she has lived for the past four years. "Also when I started doing the shows, the models were all showgirls. It was so different to today - so professional and *so* strict. I remember doing Versace, and feeling very intimidated, like I had to do something. That's probably where I got up the nerve to go for it."
Yasmeen has been a formidable presence on the modelling scene since her discovery in 1989, on the streets of her native city of Montreal. The offer to model came just at the right time, as Yasmeen was becoming disillusioned with full-time study. Despite having been voted Crew Member of the Month at the McDonald's she worked at a few nights a week, Yasmeen had no problem trading the name tag for a Prada bag.
These days when she sells her soul for money the payback is slightly more lucrative. She is one of the hardest working models, and her exotic elegance and dangerous curves translate to many markets.
Yet of all the big name models, Yasmeen is the least likely to be seen in public.
"I am very private," she confirms. "On the one hand, Aries are supposed to very aggressive, and do whatever they want to do, most of the time, without thinking. That's very me. But they're also supposed to be very people oriented, and I'm not really. I tend to be more anti-social."
If she's lapping up the glamorous life, she's doing it in her own time. Her love life isn't played out on the pages of magazines, neither is she likely to make a documentary about herself. "It's just not my lifestyle, so I'm not looking for anything like that," she says.
Yasmeen does, however, share a love of shopping with her supermodel sisters. Has modelling made her a better or worse shopper? "I think it's made me an *excellent* shopper! You know what you're looking for, you have a better eye for what suits you, for quality, for workmanship."
Regarded as having one of the hottest bodies in the game, it's surprising that Yasmeen has never done a calendar. "I've thought of it but my look is very uncommercial, so most companies wouldn't take the risk. I think blond-haired blue-eyed girls sell a lot better than my type...I don't want to believe it, because it would be better for me if it weren't
true, but it's true."
Did Yasmeen ever wish she were different? "I guess I would have liked to have lighter eyes, but we can't have everything we want," she muses.
With all this lounging around and posing, how does she get the time and motivation to activate her mind and body? "I read a lot, I listen to a lot of music, I try to put my work aside at the end of the day. That's why I prefer New York, it's more nine-to-five here, whereas in Europe it's quite long hours. As for the body, I used to work out sporadically but I've never been very athletic. I kind of hate working out."
Ironically, the one person who thinks she needs to get her ass down to the gym is Yasmeen herself. "I think I have a huge ass! I think I could hide a flashlight there and it wouldn't be found for months. Definitely."
by James Conway
(From SuperModel Issue 5. August/Sept 1994)
|