At sixteen, Ines Crnokrak left her Serbian home. Her dream: to become a fashion model in Paris. This pointed and witty memoir depicts her passage-from her very first attempt to contact a modeling agency to walking the exalted runways of Milan. Being a model is never easy. For Ines, some days were glamorous. Other days were more difficult-like frantically trying to navigate foreign transportation systems and trying not to get swindled using unfamiliar currencies. Few jobs greeted her when she first arrived in Paris, but with persistence and clear-headed intelligence, she was soon walking the runways for Dolce and Gabbana, Dior, and Moschino. Along the way, she met such characters as the Gypsy Queen, Mr. Charming, the Shark, and the Giant. Her introduction to these leading figures along with her overview of the ins and out of the industry reveals how tough a model has to be. Her journey was never easy, but it brought her to a place she can finally call home. With lively humor and unflinching honesty, this fascinating story ushers us into the mysterious world of fashion, letting us slip behind the curtain, peek through the lens, and see what's really going on backstage.

Author Biography

Ines Crnokrak Skerlic was born in 1984 in Belgrade in what is now the Republic of Serbia. At sixteen years of age, she traveled to Paris to pursue her dream of becoming a fashion model. Getting off to a promising start in Paris, she walked in hundreds of shows and shot for layouts in magazines such as Vogue, L'Officiel, and Vanity Fair. Following this success, she worked in the Milan fashion market with designers that included Giorgio Armani, Roberto Cavalli, and Marchesa. She also worked on projects in Tokyo. At twenty-one, she moved her career to New York, where she enjoyed further success, working with such names as Marc Jacobs, Oscar de la Renta, and Ralph Lauren. Today, she still resides in New York and has started a family. While she continues to do some modeling, being a great mom is her first priority.