Canada native Cailin Hill began modelling in 2010 after being scouted twice in one week whilst working two different jobs, one at the mall and the other in Starbucks. After deciding to give modelling a go, the fashion-savvy bombshell soon realised that she didn't quite fit the cookie-cutter "model" stereotype which has led her to create The Model Burnbook - a blog where she shares her thoughts, experiences and many frustrations of the fickle industry. Not long after, her quick-witted banter gained her recognition from the industry influencers and was dubbed as the wizard of tweets by Elle UK! Recently, Elite London had the pleasure of having the very miss Hill in town and we were totally hooked on wanting to know more about the blogging extraordinaire...
Elite: Hello! Let's start by hearing a little about yourself... Who is Cailin Hill? Cailin: I'm a model and a blogger. I'm Canadian. I'm obsessed with vintage shopping. I collect clothing from all of the countries I've been to and store them at my parents house (sorry mom!).
E: What's the most valuable thing you've learned from the modelling industry?
C: You can't get anywhere without good management and people who believe that what you offer is truly unique.
E: We hear you've got a blog – what's The Model Burnbook about?
C: The Model Burnbook is me; it's my personality, my views, my humor, my experiences.
E: What inspired you to do it?
C: The movie Mean Girls. I loved the idea of the high school burnbook - writing down your frustrations, free of censorship.
E: What led you to write about your experiences as a model & fashion industry in general?
C: I felt very alone. Modeling can be very isolating. It felt like I was the only model going through the experiences that I was having. I thought all models had these magical lives of expensive dinners, private jets and Instagram pictures of island sunsets. Meanwhile, I was being detained at Heathrow airport overnight with Nigerian drug dealers. I was running away from PR vacations in Italy, sneaking onto trains and hiding in toilets to get back to Milan at 6am. I couldn't find anyone else like myself. So I took the underlying theme of not relating to the pretty and popular girls, and I just rolled with it - something that everyone could relate to and suddenly I had this following of people who felt the same way.
C: Unlike other fashion/modelling industry blogs, you seem to be very honest and blunt. Would you say your blog a good reflection of what you're like in real life?
E: Yes, my honesty is my greatest asset and my greatest liability when it comes to my career and my personal life.
E: Because you give quite honest opinions on the industry, do you get a lot of model wannabes asking you for advice?
C: I get tons of questions from anonymous people trying to "break into" modeling. The best advice I can give to people is that modeling is not acting. You don't break in. Modeling finds you.
E: What other blogs do you follow?
C: I check Into The Gloss somewhat religiously, Natalie Joos' Tales of Endearment, Honestly WTF, Lyle Lodwick's Vogue Adventure and Oh My Rockness.
E: Who or what has been your greatest influence?
C: My father. I still send him these tragic emails about how I thought I would have had my life figured out by now, and he always writes back to me and tells me I'm doing exactly what I'm supposed to be doing.
E: What do you do for fun when you get some time off work?
C: I wander away, I'm always drifting away from the group...I try to never take the same path to a destination. If I walk one way, I have to know what it's like to experience another way to get there. Then when I get there, I wonder what happens if I keep walking. What if there's something incredible if I keep going. I'm trying to see everything and remember this visual map of my life so I can write about it later. I'm like a hobo with thousands of dollars worth of Apple products to document my journey.
E: Outside of your modelling career, what is your biggest ambition in life?
C: I'd like to start writing screenplays or write for a television program. Something very behind-the-scenes. Then to completely contradict myself, I'd like to act. Though I feel some apprehension jumping from one unrealistic career straight to another unrealistic career. I'd love to have a career that is 'stable'...but people like me don't take those paths even if they're revealed to us.
E: What is the best thing about your job?
C: A continuous life of making first impressions.
E: In what ways do you feel your modelling career has empowered you?
C: I used to be a very introverted person, which some people find very hard to believe. At castings you have to leave an impression. I'm glad I've had the opportunity to force myself to communicate with people, it comes easily to me now.
E: One last thing – where do you see yourself in 10 years time?
C: Dear Lord, I have no idea. If someone asked me 10 years ago what I would be doing today I would probably say "going back to college for the 3rd time, sobbing myself to sleep at night wondering what the hell I'm going to do with my life" and the worst part about growing up is that there will always be time to do JUST THAT.
Thanks a million Cailin, for the interview AND for having us in stitches as we do our daily scroll through The Model Burnbook!
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