I'm a fashion addict -Ruth Ayabina, model

Bayelsa State-born Ruth Ayabina, who grew up in Lagos, is a Nigerian model making the country proud in Ghana. This Human Resource Management undergraduate of Zenith University College, Accra, Ghana was discovered after a beauty pageant where she came out the first runner-up. Ever since, she has not ceased being hot on catwalks. In this interview she speaks about her modelling career and what thrills her most.

You studied human management, why did you opt for modelling?

I have always had a passion for it right from when I was little. I have always watched the TV, read fashion magazines, do the look and pose. Now that I have grown and with the right body, I opted for it.

Can you relive your first time on the fashion runway?

I was scared and jittery the very first time.  Though I had done similar things, that first day I felt quite different.  But I looked at the crowd, did my thing, walked well and I really did fine for the camera. I wasn't camera-shy because I had been on beauty pageants before. It was somehow similar. I was in my school pageant when I was in 100-level and I came out first runner-up. Then I did another one and I'm also about to do another pageant immediately I'm back to school.

What thrills you most about modelling?

I love and I'm bold to face the camera. They make me feel good about myself.

Can you counsel those that want to join the modelling world?

To start with, when people hear that someone is into modelling, they tend to think of the negative part of it. It’s not always like that. Don’t be weighed down by those negative thoughts of people. For instance, when I came into modelling, I started with beauty pageants. From there, I got to know many people. When you are doing pageants, a lot of people come in as judges and they have agencies. I got to know people who told me that I was good and that I could also do well in modelling. There and then, an agency picked me up, trained and groomed me to become a model. For those out there that want to be models, I think they should start by going for pageants first.

Haven’t you had challenges in your career?

I have had some challenges!  I have once been duped. I paid ignorantly to dupes for a fashion show and behold there was no such show. When I got to the location that day, I saw some other models who were also duped like me. We were more than 15 girls who paid N15,000 each. You can imagine how much the person made all together. It’s challenging at times but the passion keeps me going. I don’t have any regrets becoming a model.

Who are you aspiring to be like in modelling?

Naomi Campbell!  She has been there for a while. I love her zeal and passion for what she does.  She started out small and later almost everyone got to know her.

You once said in instagram that fashion is your addiction, can you explain?

I love everything about fashion. I can be in my house, not doing anything for that day, I would start bringing out my clothes and begin to blend them. In the fashion world, it is called play-dress-up. So, I love to do play-dress-up in my room and get to know what looks good on me. Another day when I want to go out, I would just pick it up and wear.  I play with fashion, it is my addiction.

Have you ever imagined the world without fashion?

A world without fashion is numb. It’s boring and out of the ordinary. Thank God there is fashion because I don’t know what the world would have looked like without it. Fashion gives people the creativity, knowledge and ability to make something out of nothing. Because most of the clothes we wear, these things we see, if you get to know what they make them from, you would be amazed. I went for a photo shoot one time, the necklace and everything I had were made of nails, false nails. They used it to make nice necklace and earrings. It’s all fashion.

Where do you think some models are getting it wrong?

I think it is the notion some of them have about going to see some big people behind just to get to the top or get jobs. You can get to your peak joyfully when you work hard for it. And you get more fulfilled remembering that you didn't have to use your body to get to where you are. They always rush into it, they don’t take things in bits. Because when you rush into it, at the end of the day someone might blackmail you and you don’t feel satisfied. The guilt would begin to show that you knew what you did to get to that position. But when you get there gradually, you would be proud of yourself.

When you want to attend a glamorous event, how do you dress to stand out and show who you are as a model?

My mother is a fashion designer and a style aficionado, so she puts me right most of the time. She designs what I wear. With her help, I have got to know how to dress well for events. It depends on the type of event I’m getting set for. If it’s an evening thing, I would wear a straight gown with slit.

Where do you think some ladies are getting it wrong in fashion?

What some girls need to understand is that not everything you see fits. They see some kind of dresses on people or mannequins and they just wear. But on your own body, it doesn’t look good on you. You have to wear what looks good and befits your confidence. Someone fair who wears something flashy would look too flashy. If you are dark and you wear something flashy, it complements your complexion. People abroad wear what suit their weather whereas some of us don’t even consider that. I went out one day and I saw a girl putting on summer boots. The weather here is hot, you don’t wear that.

How do you blend your colours?

I don’t like flashy colours, I'm not a flashy person. I like cool colours like brown, white, grey etc.

What fashion accessory forms a larger part of your wardrobe?

My shoes! Because there is this indisputable saying about shoes, that they give you a class. Even though you dress simple and put on a pair of nice classy shoes, you would still look good.

Fashion is about covering up your flaws and flaunting, if need be, your good sides. What part of your body wouldn't you mind flaunting?

I show off my legs; they are long and good to be flaunted. And I'm free flaunting them.

Are there some skimpy outfits you aren't daring enough to model?

I can model everything because if you begin to be choosy about the things you model, you wouldn't get to where you are aiming at. I can model bikini but I can’t do nude. But there are some nudes that can be done, maybe you use your hands to cover up some vital areas so that they don’t get the whole body. But the revealing nude, I can’t do because it doesn't speak well of my family. I consider my family too in what I do.

As a model who had worn some mind-blowing styles on various fashion runways, what advice do you have for fashion designers?

I think fashion designers should devise something that people can wear. I say this because at times some of the dresses they give us (models) to wear on fashion runways are just somehow that you begin to ask yourself who exactly would wear this. Let them give us something unique, something that can be worn outside the runway.  

Can you define your style?

My style is comfort. I don’t follow vogue.

Tell us styles you can’t be seen wearing.

You can’t see me wear tubes or bustier. I can wear a very short dress, I mean extremely short but not bustier because I'm very passionate about my boobs. Whenever I'm given a tube/bustier to model, I often see myself trying to pull it up and that shows I'm not comfortable in it. But I can wear the shortest of skirts. But to show off my boobs? No! It feels like I'm revealing my whole body.

What lesson has life taught you as a model?

As a model, life has taught me that your time would surely come. You don’t need to rush it. Because when you rush, you might get there but you may end up regretting or you start having guilt. I think you should take your time and let it go gradually. That is how fame comes or success comes. You have to struggle to get there. But when you get it the other way round, it doesn't last.

What is your philosophy of life?

My philosophy about life is take your time, do what you love best, trust God and you will get there.

What do you like about the Nigerian fashion designers?

They are really trying, not doing badly and they are advancing. I think they have really upgraded.

Do you hope to attend international modelling competitions in future?

That’s my aim. I want to be an international model and make the country proud.

How do you come about those poses you strike on your pictures?

During my leisure, I try some poses and that happens without knowing that I have a shoot to do. I just do it on my own, so, when I eventually have a shoot, those poses would keep reflecting back on my mind. At times, I do some unconscious poses that come out great, so that’s how it works for me.