From Catwalk to University
I just needed some brain-food, desperately.
Former model, 25 year-old Renske Leunk, recently graduated with a degree in Anthropology and Development Studies from the University of Sussex. She now works in sales for Business Monitor International. The first question we just had to ask was: why would someone step off the Milan catwalk and into higher education?
“I just needed some brain-food, desperately. I’d been modeling for four years and wanted something different. Of course it was fun in some ways but you don’t get proper stimulation. Also, my parents are both teachers so it’s a familial thing. And I’m pleased I did.
“Juggling a modeling career and a degree at the same time would no doubt be hard. Modelling is generally short-lived so people put all their energy into it while it’s there.”
Life in motion
Renske was scouted in Amsterdam at the tender age of 16. After signing on the dotted line, she spent the next four years jet-setting her way from Paris to Milan, via Tokyo, New York and the pick of the world’s fashion hotspots. Funnily enough, however, she claims that fashion has always bored her.
“It’s only the traveling side of the job that excites me. I’ve lived in some of the world’s top cities and traveled a lot: that’s the part of the job that kept me going, and the different people you meet.”
And rather than stepping back completely from modelling to study for a degree, Renske made use of her unorthodox background. Two years into her time at Sussex she organized a fashion show with a difference: showcasing trendy styles all under the banner of ethical clothing. So, was this a personal campaign or a reflection of a shift within the fashion world?
“Both. There’s more and more stylish ethical clothing coming out. For myself, I’m a vegetarian and am concerned with animal rights and environmental issues. The aim of the show was to demonstrate how ethical clothing can be cool. And it went down very well.”
Career path
The degree Renske opted for was, on the surface, a marked difference from the career path she had followed before. And now as a qualified Anthropologist – a job which stereotypically sees people trekking to the untouched corners of civilization - she finds herself working in sales. Explain?
“I originally wanted to do psychology but after three years out I realized that my interests were more aligned with anthropology. I went travelling, got to know myself a bit better, and decided that maybe I’d rushed into that decision. And at the end of the day your degree doesn’t necessarily determine what you do after university; it just gives you a whole range of options.”
Future Plans?
“Who knows? Ethical fashion? Hmmm. Maybe that was it for me in terms of modeling. As I said it was always the international flavour of that career that drove me, and now I’m working for an international company. There’s definitely a trend there, and that’s good enough for me.
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