Nadia Cumine - Meet The Models

1) How did you get into the industry?

The credit goes to my mum for that, she watched a TV show about hand models and thought that it’d be a great first job for me. I was only 15 at the time and Hired Hands website said that you needed to be 16 to apply, so the day of my 16th birthday I submitted an application and was on the books within a week!

2) Do you remember your first job?

Of course! There’s a funny story behind it. My mum dropped me to the shoot. I was having such a great time that I didn’t check my phone for hours and in this time, the neighbour of the photographer had told my mum that the studio had been abandoned for months and therefore prompted her to believe I’d been kidnapped. After calling Steve (my agent at the time) 10 times to double check that the photographer was a real person she eventually calmed down. I’m still not too sure why the neighbour told her that!

3) What’s been your favourite campaign you have worked on and why?

One of my favourites must have been Matches shoes and bags campaign. I love shoots that involve a lot of outfit styling. I was having bags balanced on my feet and lying on the ground in the most gorgeous looks. The team also had a great energy, and it was where I was introduced to Nando’s Peri Peri chips, which I’m eternally grateful for.

4) Any advice to new faces?

You don’t need to worry anywhere near as much as you are! I had so many sleepless nights before shoots when I first started out. If a client asked me to ‘bring a couple top options’ I’d end up packing half my wardrobe. Get talking to people and your worries will fade away.

5) Do you have a beauty routine?

For both my face and hands! My face includes double cleanse, toner, moisturiser, retinol and my LED mask to top it all off. For my hands I make sure to moisturise after every time I wash my hands and apply cuticle oil 3x a day. I also do regular hand masks and glycolic acid.

6) What is the strangest thing you’ve been asked to do on set?

I was shooting an editorial where I was body doubling for a celebrity. At first, I wondered why they needed a body double for the shoot but after they’d dressed me head to toe in designer clothes, they asked me to lie in a tree trunk which they’d hollowed out and filled with dirt. I could see why the celeb didn’t want to do the shot, but it ended up looking really cool!

7) Do you have a dream brand or client you are yet to shoot for? A Dream Collaboration? And why?

I have a couple of brands on my vision board. As a Harry Styles fan, his nail polish brand Pleasing is high on my list. Being able to collaborate with one of my favourite artists would be crazy. Tiffany & Co is also one of my dream brands, it has such a rich and iconic history and I’d love to say that I contributed to it in some way.

8) Outside of modelling, what is your biggest passion?

My passions have always lied within creativity. Whether that’s sewing bikinis, designing houses or making TikToks. I love having an idea in my head and seeing it come to life. I’m also very into sustainable fashion, and this has so many different avenues that allow me to be creative. From thinking of new ways to style a piece I’ve had for ages or how I can cut it up and turn it into something new.

9) Have you ever been starstruck when meeting a director or celebrity on set?

So far, not yet. However, I did have an ‘omg’ moment when Bella Hadid posted a photo of my hands on her Instagram. A fan had made a cool collage of one of my shots and one of hers and she must’ve thought my hands were good enough to make it to her feed. I showed everyone at school, to which some people said there was no proof that was my hand. (The struggles of being a hand model!) but I knew they were mine and I was pretty chuffed.

10) If you could only take 3 things with you to a desert island, what would they be and why?

SPF – I can’t be getting sun damage – I’ll have jobs booked for when I’m back!!

Taylor Swift 1989 (Taylor’s Version of course) – Got to keep the vibes upbeat and have something to dance to and 1989 has over 20 songs on so they won’t have to repeat as much.

A sudoku book – I’m rarely seen without one. And if you see me frowning at my phone on the tube there’s a pretty good chance I’m on the sudoku app instead. I can spend days on just one puzzle so that would keep me entertained for a while.

11) What did you want to be when you grew up?

I wanted to have my own nail salon! I remember sitting on Microsoft Publisher making a menu for ‘Nad’s Nails’ of all the nail art I could do. I always loved nail care and used to throw a tantrum whenever I had to cut my nails for school or sports. Little did everyone know I’d grow up to have a job where having nice nails is a requirement!

12) If you weren’t a model what would you be instead?

Probably an engineer! I studied Architectural Engineering at university and I used to bunk off quite a lot to go to shoots! I still have a passion for building design and especially love creating 3D models.

To book Nadia please contact us or CLICK HERE to view her profile

@nadiacumine