Modellenland
- 12 mei 2022

Interview: Model Francesca De Braco (Italy)

Can you tell us a little about you?

I’m Francesca De Braco, I’m from Italy and I live in Verona. I grew up in a family that loves art and music. My grandmother was an opera singer and I inherited my passion for music from her. I find myself constantly using music to artistically express myself. I am a pop and jazz singer. More about me? I graduated with a degree in foreign languages and literature, I’m a proud chihuahua owner and I love every kind of sweets.

If you could change anything about yourself, what would it be?

I wish I liked cooking and I would like to learn how to shop for food without the use of a delivery service!

Anyway, on a more deep level, I wouldn’t change much about myself. I mean, of course I’m not perfect, but I understood that flaws are what make us unique. Self-acceptance is something I wish I had learned a long time ago. Apart from this, I truly believe that growing and learning from mistakes in order to become the best version of ourselves is a never-ending journey. It is no coincidence that one of my mantra is: “We’re all works of art in progress”.

How did you start modelling?

A long time ago a very good friend of mine, Federico Modica (who now is a great professional photographer), needed a model to try a new set, so he asked me to help him. We had so much fun! From then, many other local photographers asked me to model for them, and this is how my journey as a model began…

What do you think of the work as a model?

The work of a model is very interesting on multiple levels: on the first hand, you get the chance to meet a lot of people and learn something new from each encounter. You also have the opportunity to visit beautiful places that are usually closed to the public, such as private collections/exhibits in museums. It’s also frequent to visit historic buildings, abandoned villas or parks and so on which for me is artistically very enjoyable. On the other hand, I get the opportunity to grow and learn about myself. Each modelling shoot I am challenging to achieve the best result. I love the fact that I discover a new side of me every time, through the eye and the camera lens of the photographers.

What is your beauty regimen?

I don’t really have a beauty regimen; I simply try to take care of both my body and my mind. I try to always use the right products for my skin and hair and to drink a lot of water or tea (hydration is so important!). Some days I like to exercise in the gym, other days I just need to stay on my couch with my dog. Maybe the only beauty step I never miss is wearing mascara, some red lipstick… and a lot of perfume!

Anyway, I’ve chosen to be a freelance model in order to be free and not to have any restriction about my body size or my look, that’s why I have no experiences with any agencies or similar. To me is very important to have the possibility to be myself and the photographers who decide to work with me are conscious about the fact that I’m not an ordinary model with a perfect body shape and so on. I feel lucky because I found a lot of photographers who are not interested in perfection. Instead, we try to create pictures that drive feelings and emotions.

What are your personal qualities which distinguish you from others?

I am totally easy going, I like having fun, laughing a lot and I enjoy the time I spend with people who are as positive as I am. I always do my best to make people feel comfortable and maybe that’s why I often end up building solid friendships with the people I work with.

What are your plans for the future?

For the next year I’ll be working quite often on my music and to further progress as an author for other musical artists. I also plan to do more live shows with my band this summer. I would love to visit a new country and new art exhibitions. From a more long-term point of view, however, I would like to have more experiences in the musical and artistic field, traveling around the world, collaborating with other artists and musicians in order to learn new things from them. Another dream of mine is to write a book and start my very own start-up.

What are some of your favourite experiences so far?

It’s difficult to say what my favourite experience was because I have had many beautiful ones. I certainly always have a lot of fun when I take pictures with animals because there is always an element of unpredictability and surprise. But I also love the shootings set in abandoned villas, where between one set and another you can visit these wonderful environments that tell stories from other times: I am totally into these kind of things! Thanks to this work I have had the opportunity to visit places that otherwise I would never have seen and I am very grateful for all of this!

Do you have any advice for those who want to start modelling?

Be true to yourself and believe in yourself. Accept your flaws and treat yourself the same way you would treat the love of your life. Work on your personality, and don’t let anyone tell you who you should be or how you should look like. This is this advice I wish someone have given me when I was a little insecure girl who looked at the it-girls at school thinking “I’ll never be one of them”. Maybe I’m still not one of them, but I’m myself: my very own kind of it-girl, and I couldn’t be happier.

What do you think of the magazine?

I love it: I always find many inspirations and new ideas by leafing through the pages of Modellenland. I am also very happy and thankful that you have asked me to be part of this magazine: thank you so much!

Instagram: @francescadebraco