Julie Gras, a 22-year-old model from Tarbes in southwestern France, is turning down high-profile runway offers, including one from the brand Mango, so she can finish her university studies, while she considers building a modeling career in Asia.
Gras started out at 18 doing photo shoots "without expecting much." Four years later she is a professional model courted by several agencies, a shift that began the day she walked for the first time at Paris Fashion Week.
Gras said the photographer she had posed for, Coralie Claverie, urged her to take modeling further, believing she had real talent. That encouragement led Gras to enter the Top Model Europe competition at the end of high school.
The contest drew 25,000 candidates at the outset. In Toulouse, where Gras was selected through a photo shoot, the field had already narrowed to 3,000. In Paris, she reached the final 30 standing 1.75 metres tall and weighing 52 kilograms. She said she was still shy at the time but made it through to the semi-final after two days of trials.
Gras walked in an outfit inspired by the work of French designer Jean-Paul Gaultier, known for his avant-garde style, before also modeling for the African designer Christian Manzala. She did not win the competition, but the catwalk appearance earned her a three-year contract with the agency Universal Models.
Turning down Paris shows for exams
Gras has since signed with a second agency, Anakena, in Toulouse, also for three years. She said she declined runway offers in Paris, including one from Mango where she was advised to relocate, because her studies currently come first. She called it a difficult choice to say no, adding that the shows in question fell during her exam periods.
In Toulouse, she also tried out for the modeling agency Elite at a casting held in June. The agency wanted to sign her, but Gras said she is holding off, judging it still too early, since she wants to finish her studies first. A photo shoot for the Toulouse rugby club Stade Toulousain was likewise ruled out because she was still sitting exams.
Eyeing a career in Asia
Gras is studying for a degree in Japanese, a subject she said she is passionate about. She believes her profile could also work in her favor on the Asian modeling market, where she might be able to complete her studies while continuing to model.
She said she is torn between Seoul, Tokyo and Shanghai, and is due to travel soon on a scouting trip with her agent to explore the options.
The demanding side of modeling
Gras was candid about the pressures of the job. She said models often do not have time to eat even once they are styled and made up, and that the work takes a psychological toll, since there is no room for mistakes and many models end up in tears by the end of a day of shows.
She also pointed to the punishing schedule, with very early starts and very late finishes, saying she had suffered from the pace at times. After a heavy day of shooting or shows, she said she shuts herself away in her apartment for a full day to recover.
A Decathlon campaign this winter
Few of her fellow students know that Gras models on the side, and she said they will likely be surprised to see her this winter in advertising for the sporting goods retailer Decathlon, with which she has signed a contract covering ski photography for the company's website and promotional posters.
Looking ahead, Gras may take part in Paris Fashion Week again in 2027 before pursuing what she hopes will be an Asian chapter of her career, with an ultimate ambition of one day walking for the French luxury house Chanel.
