Woman Power Wednesday: January Winters

For this week's Woman Power Wednesday we're looking at the gorgeous January Winters. January is one of Ireland's most successful models working all over the world, including Paris, Milan and London. She has worked with brands such as Armani and her career shows no sign of slowing down anytime soon. We caught up with January to chat modelling, self esteem and career goals. 




Photo from herald.ie

-Did you always want to be a model or is it something you just fell into? 

I've always been interested in fashion and wanted to be a designer or a model. I studied Fashion Design in college while I was trying to get into the other side of the industry. Getting into modelling didn't really start out as I had expected, I thought it was going to be this huge burst of excitement, and I'd be a supermodel in Paris within a week. It definitely wasn't like that!! I found it really difficult to get an agency here to represent me, it took ages. It's been a very slow climb.  



Photo from independent.ie

-How do you think the modelling industry affects how you see yourself? 

I think it definitely affects how you see yourself, for good and bad reasons. On the down side, physically, I always think I'm a couple of sizes bigger than I am. Which definitely comes from standing beside people in work who are very thin and comparing yourself to them. Weight is obviously a big issue in this industry. Symmetry is another one, I would have never noticed that my nose is slightly off centre if it wasn't for modelling (cheers for that)! But on the plus side, I'm very comfortable in how I look naturally. It must be from wearing little or no make up most of the time and doing nothing with my hair. I think it's made be very comfortable being in my own skin.



Photo from twitter.com/januaryrussell

-The fashion industry is predominantly a female one, do you think this has has an affect on how you see women? 

I don't think so. I see a lot of women who are successful in so many different areas. I'm in the company of strong women, female entrepreneurs, business women, independent women and hilariously fun women who work in loads of different industries. It's not just confined to fashion.   



Photo from independent.ie

-Do you have a certain career goal in mind? 

I have so many! I keep them in month/week/day intervals, my room is covered in lists! Top of the list is always to enjoy what I do and have fun while earning a living. I'm not very money focused, I value my time way more. I'm moving into the presenting and DJ'ing side of things, basically talking shite and listening to tunes (which I'm really good at), so I just need to figure out how I can make some money out of it and I'll be laughing!     



Photo from instagram.com/januarywinters

-What women inspire you? 

My granny Wendy is a huge inspiration. She's traveled the world solo and at 86 she's not giving up. She goes to really unusual places, she's pretty much completed the globe. I'm learning how to drive so I can take her on a road trip! 


Follow January on Instagram here

Ciara x