By Hannah Marwick
@hannah.marwick
Hello my name is Hannah Marwick I’m sixteen and live in Port Pirie, a small a country town two hours north of Adelaide, this is my Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Australia journey.
I started modelling about six months ago after being scouted through Instagram by my mother agent Stacey when I was around thirteen. I come from a very sporting family and my very first love was sport, I have been playing hockey for South Australia since I was twelve and modelling was never really something I thought seriously about.
Stacey encouraged me that I had the attributes that are important in modelling and suggested I come to an AZALEA workshop. So after convincing my Dad that this was something I seriously wanted to give a go, the rest is history.
From doing a few test shoots in Adelaide, my digi’s were posted on the Instagram @modelspolaroids. I had a few Sydney agencies interested in me, and we decided to go with the amazing agency KULT Australia. It all happened so fast, I was asked to go over to Sydney for MBFWA about a week before the castings were happening, so it was all last minute but I’m so glad I got the opportunity. I then headed off to Sydney by myself, with a few tears on the plane and feeling a bit homesick nothing was going to hold me back from this amazing experience.
This opportunity was one of my biggest life experiences without a doubt. Like most teenagers, my parents literally do everything for me, so I realised very quickly that independence comes with responsibility. I felt like I left Adelaide as a sixteen year old school kid and landed in Sydney as an adult. It was a real culture shock, but one that I am better for.
I’m not going to deny I did have to watch YouTube videos or ask my dad for verbal help when I needed it e.g. how to turn the oven on. The amount of times I got on the wrong bus or got off at the wrong stop was ridiculous but I managed to learn and cope with the transport. This trip was truly an astonishing experience – from all the test shoots and the amazing stories I heard from the photographers, to the incredible friends I made at castings.
The guys at the KULT office were unbelievable and made me feel like family for the whole time i was there. One of the most remarkable moments was being a part of the Client Liaison show at Circular Quay. This was mind blowing, almost surreal given that it was not only my first show in the Mercedes Benz Fashion Week but it was my first runway show EVER! The runway made me feel so invincible, I have gained so much confidence from doing this and I will not forget the people I met and experience I gained from that night.
Being backstage with all of the other models, the makeup artists and hair stylists in such a huge event was honestly just something I will never forget. It was pretty funny, the guys at Client Liaison must have liked something about me because they also chose me for the Sunrise feature the day before, modelling some of their funky gear which made me a bit of a celebrity back home. We don’t have too many people from Port Pirie who make it on breakfast television.
I’m truly blessed to have had the people that helped me get this far and for all the support I have received. I would like to thank my manager Stacey from AZALEA, and Lizzi, Amy and Saffron from KULT. And a huge thank you to my family, especially Dad for believing in me and allowing me to have this unbelievable experience at such a young age.
The opportunity to model at Mercedes Benz Fashion Week 2018 has opened my eyes to the industry at the top level and I have to say it has left me wanting more. This is hopefully my future and I’m super excited to see where it takes me.
