Modelling On Stay In Istanbul

Hello and welcome newbies❤️ , 

This blog will be about my experience modelling on stay in Istanbul. I used to dream about going ‘on stay’ with an international agency since the age of 16. When I tell you I visualised the crap out of it, I’m not joking! I mean, I never imagined Istanbul as my first on stay but wow! I completely fell in love with the place.

What do you mean by ‘on stay’?

For those who are new to the modelling industry or are unfamiliar with it, modelling ‘on stay’ is when you sign with an overseas agency and move abroad for at least two months. The agency sends you to all their clients and castings, and you try to confirm work just like you would at home. You get to see different markets and work cultures. There’s a risk you won’t get any work at all. You’ll never know until you’re there. Typically, you would stay in a model apartment owned by the agency and share it with other girls from around the world who have also come to stay. I was meant to stay for ten days, but it was later extended to a month. This was my first time flying solo, let alone living in another country! But I was very excited. Let’s get into my experiences.

Model apartment: 

So, as I mentioned above, the agency has a model apartment. I landed in Istanbul at 2 a.m. and was picked up by our driver, Emrah. He took me to the model apartment, and I remember seeing loads of shoes on the floor at the door, and I was so nervous! By the way, I had no idea who I was sharing with; all I knew was that I paid extra for a room alone. As soon as I arrived, I showered and went straight to bed, as pick-up was at 10 a.m. the next day. Now, you hear stories about model apartments and how gross they are, etc. Our model apartment was great! The photos don’t do it justice. I think I set my expectations so low to avoid disappointment. 

I didn’t take any pictures! Just videos and I’m not tech savvy yet soooo check out my Tiktok video for an apartment tour. (https://vm.tiktok.com/ZGepmj64L/).

We got a spacious apartment on the top floor, with huge windows and plenty of natural light. My room was cosy and clean. When I arrived, there were three other girls in the apartment who were all very nice and down to earth. Some had left, and more had arrived. There were never more than four of us at once. The apartment could fit up to six girls. Every week, we had a cleaner come in. The model apartment thing terrified me, but our agency made sure we had a nice place to stay. We were in a safe and secure complex with a swimming pool, a gym, and plenty of adorable cafes. 

Funny story:

Of course, there has to be one. It was my second day, and I decided to go and check out the complex. Just to add, I went in February, so it was rainy and cold. I was trying to find the gym. Awkwardly, I found the wrong entrance—there was an open window where you could see in and out—and I tried to bust open the door while all the Turkish men were trying to tell me it was a different entrance. I was low-key embarrassed as the whole gym watched me do that.

So, I walked back to the apartment to ask one of the other girls for directions. (There were no clear signs, btw.) I got instructions and walked back. This time, the rain got worse. I slipped over on my back and bum in front of everyone and landed on my elbows. For a good 30 seconds, I was staring at the sky while I processed what had just happened. I got up so fast and carried on walking—or, shall I say, limping—back to the gym. I finally found the gym, and I left within 5 minutes because I couldn’t even do a donkey kick.

A couple of days later, my whole back, bum, and elbows were purple! A lovely present just in time for my castings. And the pain—the pain was something else. I felt like I had jumped into a shallow pool with no water in it! Big L.

Moral of the story:

The moral of the story: the universe had told me on my first attempt, ‘Don’t go to the gym; your bum won’t get flat in a day’. So yeah, big L. I had recovered, thankfully, by the second week. But, typical, I literally can’t go anywhere. 

(Read my Milan blog and you’ll get it. I think this is becoming a series lol).

https://asharakha.com/girls-trip-to-italy-gone-wrong/

Castings: 

This is the bulk of the work you usually do when you’re on stay. Throughout my whole stay, I had around 50 castings. Some days we had 9, and some days we only had 1. It varied. The experience you get from casting this many times a day is incredible! You have the opportunity to meet so many people.

So, usually, the driver would pick us up from the model apartment and take us to our castings. You would arrive at the casting, and there would be loads of other agency girls all going for the same job. We would wait our turn and then they’d ask us to line up in front of the casting directors with our model card in front of us. And they would go down the line, picking which models they liked!

I have never experienced something so brutal in my life. If you were chosen, they might ask you to try on some clothes or ask a little more about you. Sometimes, we would turn up to castings after travelling 2 hours in traffic for them to take one look at us and say, Thank you, bye. I have never experienced anything like this. London is completely different. It was good to have this experience, though, as each market works differently. One thing about Istanbul is that it’s huge! It takes hours to drive, and the traffic is something else. 

What I learnt from castings on stay in Istanbul:

I am so grateful I experienced this brutal market at an older and more mature age. If I had been there when I was 16, I would have crumbled. It really tested your ability to face rejection daily and numerous times a day. Also, to not compare yourself with anybody else and to not take anything personally. It is never personal. You have to have thick skin. Sometimes I would finish a day of castings and feel exhausted! So that is why it’s so important to look after yourself mentally. For sure, this is when my morning rituals and practising self-care daily came in handy.

(https://asharakha.com/self-care-day-on-a-budget-asha-rakha/)

Skechers job: 

After seven days, I received a text saying that I had booked my first job. That’s a whole week of rejection, but continuing to trust the process. I had three days left on my stay. Nobody wants to go home with no work booked because you’d have a big minus on your account from the bills owed. (The bills include: rent, model cards, flights, etc.) You don’t pay upfront; it’s deducted from your earnings. So the ideal situation is that you work a lot and make a lot of money so that you can pay off your debt and earn for yourself. 

I didn’t cast for Skechers; it was a direct booking. I was picked up at 5 a.m., and we drove 1.5 hours to the job. My call time was 7 a.m. I arrived at this massive house. We had a traditional Turkish breakfast before getting started. This was a campaign shoot, so I was working with another female model and two male models. They were all a lot of fun to work with. We went straight into hair and makeup, which was very natural. I had wet, curly hair. The styling had a back-to-school feel. I can’t say too much about this job because the campaign hasn’t come out yet. The house we were shooting at was so quirky! I remember being in the basement for styling, and it was a dark room full of rocking chairs and fake animal heads. Spooky, I know! 

One thing I noticed about the jobs and work culture in Istanbul is that it’s very laid-back. Everyone is chilling in the morning, but then after lunch, when we have 3/4 hours left, it’s panic time. Whereas in London, it’s the opposite. Everyone wants to finish by 5 pm.

By the time we had finished the shoot, it was around 6 p.m., and I was exhausted. I got back to the apartment, had dinner, and went straight to sleep, ready for another day of living the on stay life. 

Here’s a link to my Skechers vlog on Tiktok – (https://vm.tiktok.com/ZGepmUaXh/)

Shein:

Another client I picked up while I was on stay was Shein. On one of the casting days, I remember we were on our way working through the casting schedule when Emrah stopped the car and said, “Asha, get out.” I was like, “What?” And he was like, “Come on, extra casting for Shein, let’s go.” So he took me inside, and I had a request casting for them. I met the production team and went into the casting room, where I tried on some dresses and had my pictures taken. It was a really good casting, actually. They were looking for a regular model with tanned skin who was shorter. So it worked perfectly in my favour! 

Trial day:

I had my first trial day the following Friday. The trial day was a full-paid day but a test to see how I worked, so there was a lot of pressure on me to perform well. I was shooting their boho collection for their German website. The location was awesome; it was a studio with sand and plants everywhere. I had to wear a wig too for my trial day! A long blondish brown balayage vibe.

The challenge:

The biggest challenge for me was the language barrier. When it came to posing, I couldn’t understand the direction of the photographer. Shein has a unique posing style and angles that work for them. Eventually, I got the hang of it. It was a long day, as I worked from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. I’d been on my feet all day, working through the products and pictures. I remember feeling nervous and doubtful as I questioned whether I had done well. At the end of the shoot, the photographer pulled me aside and asked to speak with me. He called a coworker to translate for me, and I was thinking, Oh God, here we go. Maybe I flopped it. I was slowly preparing myself for the bad news. Until his colleague said I had smashed it and done so well, and they wanted to keep working with me regularly. They had asked me to stay for six months, but that wasn’t possible due to other work and commitments in the UK.

They had booked me for more shoots during my stay in Istanbul. It was nice, and each time there was a different creative team. One of my favourite shoots was when we travelled just outside of Istanbul to this gorgeous open-air studio in the middle of nowhere. The studio was so aesthetic, with loads of different sets, and I was working with such an empowering and high-energy team. Neslihan, Regina, and Özge. Sweetest ladies ever! They were talented, easy-going, and quick. We were shooting a summer collection in the winter, and, when I tell you, that was challenging! Nothing I haven’t done before, though. They lugged along massive heaters to make sure I was warm enough. 

Off duty: 

Now, this was a big highlight of my on stay trip. Weekends we had off; if we didn’t have any castings, we could do what we wanted. It was important for me to go out and see Istanbul! Istanbul has been on my vision board for many years, so I wanted to travel around and do the tourist stuff. I met some of the cutest girls who have become great friends: Orla and Meryem. I visited the blue mosque with Elizaveta; we went to the Galata Tower and had the San Sebastián cheesecake, which I’m obsessed with. One weekend, we went to the Asian side to have dinner and then to the grand bazaar. We did a lot in such a short space of time. We even went to get a kebab and tried to find the harbour, but ended up on the motorway! A rookie mistake for Meryem and Elizveta was trusting my navigation. I spent a lot of time catching up on admin and blogging in this beautiful local coffee/dessert place with the sweetest staff. Most of all, I gained friendships with some of the most incredible people with the sweetest souls, and I couldn’t be more grateful. 

Check out my TikTok to see videos and vlogs from my on stay experience modelling in Istanbul. (https://www.tiktok.com/@asha_rakha?_t=8nYLXiv1ADB&_r=1)

Overall experience:

I had the most insane time working as a model on stay in Istanbul. I came back a new person and had learned a lot about the industry. The good and bad. Thankfully, I settled the minus on my account and made money! Everyone was doubtful whether I would even work because of my height and damn, it feels good to have been able to come home and say I have worked with big global brands. Shorter models, this is your sign to keep going. You can do it & there is hope.

Models, if you ever get the chance to go away, I would definitely say do it! It’s very different to London but that’s the beauty of it. If it’s all the same, it will eventually get boring right? Everyone is so friendly and kind. If you ever need help, someone will always help you. Also, if you’re there for a long time, go out and explore the beautiful city. It really has its own wonderful vibe. One thing I will say is don’t underestimate how tiring the days are, the working hours are longer than the standard in the UK and also the rates are much lower. You work for much less and for longer but you gain an incredible experience and meet so many talented people.

Let me know what you think of this blog in the comments below.

Lots of love,