An Okotoks teen has returned from a unique summer job where she was walking the runway in one of the capitals of the fashion world.
Reagan Bliss, 17, worked for nine days modelling an elegant lime-green Valentino dress while wearing pink Valentino stiletto heels at a fashion show at Lake Como, outside of Milan, Italy. She also modelled Cartier's high-end jewelry collection, Sixième Sens.
“It was definitely interesting. I had never worn anything like that before,” Reagan said of the job, which began in late June and ended in early July. “It was really cool to be dressed up that way.
“It was a runway walk, then we all went out together and showed off our jewelry. I loved it so much, it was such an amazing experience."
Bliss got the idea of modelling as a 12 year old and was later urged on by her friends at the Alberta School of Ballet.
“I have always been told I should model because I am on the taller-side,” the six-foot Bliss said. “I had people I dance with and they suggested I should model.”
She took the plunge into modelling last September and her first gig was in Guadalajara, Mexico.
It was an assignment for a furniture store commercial. The job included her being plastered on a billboard which was strategically placed in the streets of Mexico.
“It was a photo of me sitting on a couch,” Bliss said. “I was leaving for Colombia the next day. Before I left my friends and I went around the city and took pictures.
“It was surreal to see myself on a billboard.”
She then went to work in Medellin, Colombia. Reagan was accompanied by her father Brent, a retired police officer, during her stints in Mexico and Colombia. Her mother was with her in Italy.
Bliss was in Guadalajara for about 2 1/2 months working on print ads. She was on the cusp of landing a big job, but the family decided to come home due to political unrest in Colombia.
It turned out it was way better to be safe than sorry.
Approximately nine days after being home in Okotoks, she got the opportunity to work in Milan.
But there is plenty of work before showing off the finest in fashion at Lake Como, the village of Amal and George Clooney’s holiday home.
“It’s a long process in getting the job,” Reagan said. “I had one day of casting (in Milan), then I got a callback, so I had another day of casting.
“Then I had a fitting, then another fitting and then I finally got the job.”
Bliss, who attended Holy Trinity Academy before switching to the Centre for Learning online school to accommodate her modelling career, is a quick study.
“I kind of just taught myself looking at other models. My agent in Calgary helped me, but it was mostly just watching,” Bliss said.
It takes confidence to walk down the runway in front of rich, prospective buyers. Bliss gained that confidence due to dance and track and field.
She started dance at the Alberta Dance Academy in Okotoks before moving on to ballet. She is also an elite athlete. Bliss was fourth in the U16 pentathlon at the Canadian Outdoor track and field championships in Cape Breton, N.S. in 2019. She was also fourth in the hurdles.
Bliss was second in the high jump at the Simplot Games in Pocatello, Idaho, at 1.60m. Her medal was presented by 1968 gold medallist Dick Fosbury, who invented the Fosbury Flop.
“With track and field you have to have a really strong mental game, and that really helped with modelling,” Bliss said. “Modelling is definitely mentally challenging."
She said while it is expensive to travel and live in Milan, it was worth her while.
Bliss has already received an invite to model again In Europe and will be heading back in the fall.
It’s a tough decision on whether to walk down the runway or to run and jump – a win-win decision for the 17-year-old's future.
“Now that I have a taste of what the modelling world is like I think I do want to do it as a living,” Bliss said. “But I still like the idea of doing track and field because since I was in Grade 8 I wanted to do track and field in university.”
But for now, it’s not jewelry and gowns for Bliss as she relaxes at her Okotoks home.
“Lately, I’ve just been changing into leggings and a hoodie,” she said with a smile.
