The Truth About Model Apartments (And Why You’ll Be Okay)
No matter where you are in the world — New York, Paris, Tokyo, Sydney — if you’re modeling, chances are you’ll end up in a model apartment. It’s a rite of passage in the industry. A wild, strange, sometimes beautiful crash course in surviving and thriving alongside other women who are all chasing the same dream.
Model apartments are exactly what they sound like: shared housing arranged by your agency, usually packed with other models — people you’ve never met, from all over the world, thrown together like a reality show no one’s filming (thank God).
You won’t always get your own room. You’ll live in close quarters with big personalities and bigger ambitions. And sometimes, it’s tough. The energy can be intense. You’re all tired. You’re all trying to stand out. And in a world that constantly compares you to the person standing next to you, it can be hard to feel grounded.
But something strange and beautiful happens in that pressure cooker. You bond. You learn. You grow up — fast.
When I was sixteen, I lived in a model apartment in Australia with a group of seasoned European girls who absolutely dominated the industry. I was terrified. They were cool and effortless, and I was just trying not to trip over my own nerves. One night, after a tough day, they took me out with them. I had my fake ID clutched in my sweaty hand, praying I’d make it through the club doors without being stopped. I didn’t want to embarrass myself.
We walked right in. No questions asked.
That night, one of the girls said something to me I’ll never forget:
“Point your face to the sky and walk with confidence. It’ll get you into any room you want to be in.”
It sounds simple, but it changed me. That’s the real lesson in all of this. Model apartments teach you how to show up — even when you’re tired, nervous, or totally out of your depth. They teach you how to move with confidence. How to hold your own. How to speak up, laugh it off, and figure it out on the fly.
Of course, there’s a flip side too. Some apartments are disasters. One in Europe had bed bugs so bad we were showing up to castings with bites from head to toe. There was also the time, when I was seventeen, that a Brazilian bombshell kept stealing clothes from my suitcase. It ended in a kitchen showdown, punches and all. But somehow, we moved past it. We even follow each other now. That’s just how it goes.
You’ll have good days and horrible ones. You’ll meet people who inspire you and people who test you. But you’ll come out of it stronger — with better stories, sharper instincts, and probably a few inside jokes that still make you laugh years later.
So if you’re staring down your first model apartment experience with anxiety, just know this: you’re going to be okay. Better than okay, even. You’re going to learn how to take up space, how to bounce back, how to find your people in the chaos.
And most of all, you’ll learn how to walk into any room like you belong.
Because you do.
Model apartments are hard on the body, mind, and soul — but they build character. And you should always try one, at least once.
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