Model Hayden Rattai has recently returned from strutting the runways of New York and Europe and is now preparing for Vancouver Fashion Week in mid-April.

The St. Timothy High grad is about nine years into her modelling career and she says you never know what opportunity lies just around the corner.

"I've been doing modeling since 2015, so that's almost nine years, and this is my first New York Fashion Week," says Rattai. "When I was in New York, I got confirmation for Europe, so, you never really know what opportunity is going to come along."

Hayden

It was her first chance to appear in London, Milan, and Paris.

"It's really fun, and I love runway. It's cool getting to connect with so many creatives, not only designers, but makeup artists, hair artists, and the people who run the backstage. There's a lot that goes into shows that people don't really realize. And then, of course, I like networking with all the other models and people who are in my industry."

Rattai was scouted at age 12 but didn't begin modelling until she was 18. She moved to Vancouver a few years after graduating from St. Tim's. 

Haydn Rattai

She enjoys using her expression to help bring across the ideas of designers.

"It's always cool working with designers at fashion shows and getting to share what they've created. It's all about bringing other people's visions to life, in my opinion."

Besides runway, Rattai largely does commercial, lifestyle, and editorial modelling.

She was recently featured in the Vogue e-editions for Mexico and Italy and has appeared in Malvie magazine, a fashion, beauty and art magazine based in France, and Hunter, a New York-based magazine for creative minds and visual art hunters. There are many others, too numerous to list.

What's her advice to those considering a career as a professional model?

"I would just say keep going. If you're passionate enough, never stop pursuing what you actually want to do. I mean, modeling is always going to be there, so you can still pursue other things alongside modelling. I think it's cool to be able to kind of have a double-edged sword. And if you want to pursue modeling but also want to go to school, it's something that's kind of nice because you can do it part-time."

It's a full-time career for Rattai, though, and she has a second one as a scheduler at a hospital for Providence Healthcare, the largest health authority in Vancouver. Between the two, she's constantly on the go. The first available time slot for this interview was arranged over two weeks ago.

Hayden