Sarah Morrissey is one of Ireland’s most successful models but it turns out this career path came about by choice.
When she was younger, her mum sent photos into Assets Models Agency and she started modelling at 21
Speaking to EVOKE about her early days in the industry, Sarah says that although she is confident now, it is a learned mindset.
‘I was not a confident person whatsoever,’ Sarah said. ‘I was extremely shy. If you’d asked my family, I think out of everyone, they couldn’t believe I ended up doing what I did for a living, because you’re obviously putting yourself out there so much.
‘I had such a lack of confidence. I think modelling gave me confidence, which is quite surprising.
‘I think most people would think that because you get rejected quite a lot, it wouldn’t be great for your confidence, but for me, I just loved it and it was something that when I started, I felt I was good at. It was the first thing I actually got and was good at and I could do it.’
‘But I think as the years have gone on, it’s definitely an age thing, but also when you become a mother, you just don’t really care anymore,’ Sarah said.
‘You don’t care what people think of you. You don’t have the capacity or the time to care about certain things.
‘Obviously, it’s part of your job to take care of how you look and stuff like that, but it plays on your mind a lot less because there’s so much other things going on.’
Sarah also spoke to EVOKE about not feeling pressure to conform to ever-changing standards in the modelling industry.
‘Because I do fashion, not beauty, it’s not the norm to have work done or to look a certain way. I think if I was an Instagram model or doing beauty, and you’re looking at that aspect constantly, maybe it’d be different.
‘When I started in the fashion industry, if you had any work done, you wouldn’t be hired. Obviously, I’ve grown up now, and I’m the age I am; It just isn’t part of my thinking.’
‘I wasn’t doing reality TV, and Instagram only became a huge thing later on in my career. As I’ve grown with this, it just hasn’t really impacted me that much.
‘I think if I started now, it would probably be very different.
That being said, Sarah explained that she’ll always support her daughter, Sadie’s, hopes and dreams, but that she wouldn’t want her to follow in her footsteps into modelling.
‘The funny thing is, I love my job, and I love what I do, and I would have never changed that,’ Sarah said. ‘I think I’m very lucky to get to do what I do for a living, but I really don’t want Sadie to do it.
‘Only because I think it’s fine if it was something on the side while you’re going to college and stuff, but there’s no stability in modelling.
‘You’re self-employed, and you don’t know if you’re going to be busy every year or every season, and you could be the best-looking model in the world, and it doesn’t matter. You need to have that little bit of luck along the way.
‘You need to meet the right photographer or the right stylist,’ Sarah explained. ‘And I just want something different for her, you know, I don’t want her to have that worry if she’s going to be busy every season.
‘Although I do want her to do a job that she loves. So if this is something that she ends up doing and loves, then that’s fine; But I would be aiming for something different, hopefully.’
