At the sidelines of our FW19 'The Swirl' photoshooting we talked with one of our models, Christine, about her feelings of 'Heimat'. Christine is a 24 year old student who is regularly modelling for Option Model Agency. She was born and raised in Zurich, Switzerland. Her parents are from Cambodia.
Nina: What does "Heimat" mean for you, Christine?
Christine: I don’t think or believe that ‘Heimat’ is a place. I would say it depends on the people I care about, but also the feeling I have for a place, a relationship with others. At times I am confused what means “Heimat”. I think it has always and will always be a place where I feel comfortable.
Are there things that make you feel home?
When I am vacation or when I am outside, I actually think of my room at home and its specific smell. But also, quite funnily, it’s the smell of rice. Whenever I come home I can smell rice, that’s home, or in other words ‘Heimat’.
That’s why your skin is so glowing. :)
Have you experienced stereotyping or discrimination based on your looks or your nationality?
In the beginning when I started school, I didn’t speak German well. I was wondering why I am ‘different’. So back then, I didn’t appreciate ‘grooming’ my ‘background’, my parent’s heritage and so on. I was called Chinese. But I was born in Switzerland, so I didn’t know anything different. I only started to appreciate and groom my roots when I started modelling. At first I was shy telling people that my roots are not from Switzerland. However I got great feedback when I started modelling, because being different was appreciated.
Thank you for your time and sharing this with us, Christine. We wish you all the best in your future endeavors!