A model from Vilnius: I am proud to be a Pole

”I am a student and a model from Maišiagala – says Daniel Liminowicz who has been getting his carrier going in modelling for two years now.

How did your adventure with modelling start? I know that your mother had once tried her hand at this area, maybe she still had contacts in the business?

My mum didn’t have any contacts. There was a casting organised in the Community Centre in Maišiagala. I decided to go. I was late, but at the last moment I managed to catch an agent. It turned out that I was the only person who went to the casting. A photo of me was taken and I was informed that I will get an answer in two days. However in two days instead of an answer I got a contract to sign. In that way I have been working with the agency Major Amber Models for two years now.

Two years is a long time for such a young person as you are. Did you travel a lot during that period?

I was only once abroad – last year I spent three months in Shanghai.

How did your work in China look like?

At first one goes to castings. If the client likes you he offers you a job – a photo shoot for a catalogue, magazine, catwalk. All in all I worked a lot, in China the people usually work a lot. Going to castings starts at 8 o’clock and lasts to late evening hours. If you get a job the next day, e.g. for a catalogue, then it takes a couple of hours.

Did you work with anyone famous? I mean both Lithuanian and world famous designers?

If it goes for the world famous ones, in Shanghai I worked with Carven. Apart from that with Converse, I had a photo shoot for the catalogue with their products. In Lithuania I worked with the magazines Laima and Panelė. Also with the photographer Gediminas Žilinskas, stylist Mantas Petruškevičius.

In the nearest future in Lithuania there will be the festival Mados infekcija and then the castings will start. In the past I took part in this fashion festival. I hope that I can make it once again.

Do you prefer photo shoots or catwalks?

Definitely catwalks. They take less time, but the emotions that accompany them are also important. At first you are very nervous, but then all of that wears off.

What do you think about the Lithuanian fashion market? How would you assess it?

The market is not big. We have a couple of fashion magazines and journals. There are also about ten more famous designers who always work with the same models and always have them for when a new collection is coming out.

Did you have problems in your work connected with your background, nationality, the fact that you are a Pole?

I am proud to be a Pole from Vilnius. It was never a source of problems for me. In my agency I was treated as everyone else.

Did you feel in any way special, different, because of the fact that you are a model? If one works as a model, one needs to unwind before the camera and not be that stiff. I think that this ability helps also in one’s private life, it is much easier to look at things.

Different things are said about the modelling business. Mostly bad things. Did anything unpleasant happen to you?

Here the difference between female and male models is visible. I heard that among female models there are cases of dresses being torn, shoes being destroyed just before the show. Gentlemen do not behave in such a way.

Do you connect your future with modelling?

I would like to connect my future with what I am studying now, that is politics and economy, and modelling will stay as a hobby. Maybe there will be time in the summer to travel somewhere.