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Alessandro Trincone - Runway - February 2019 - New York Fashion Week: The Shows

Source: Yuchen Liao / (Photo by Yuchen Liao/Getty Images for NYFW: The Shows)

Name: Taylor Davis

IG: @_tayloradavis

Agency: Major Models New York 

Claim to Fame: Davis has appeared in ads for major beauty brands including Nars and Maybelline. She has also walked the runway at New York Fashion Week for designers including Naeem Khan. 

Most pregame sessions result in Alka Seltzer and Gatorade. Taylor Davis turned hers into a modeling deal. 

She was headed to a party in a spaghetti strapped dress and “hair pulled back in a low ponytail,” combination that clearly said ‘off duty model,’ with her good friend Raelia Lewis when their live caught the attention of someone connected. 

“I was scouted for my mother agency on Instagram live,” she told HelloBeautiful. She always had an interest in modeling but like many industry hopefuls, “I just didn’t know how to start.” 

Her mother agency promoted her to larger agencies  and “By the end of the 2020 major models wanted to sign me.” 

Shortly after Davis went from palling around to pounding the pavement towards modeling castings. “I don’t like driving to New York. So I take the Mega Bus there and back,” she said. 

Alessandro Trincone - Runway - February 2019 - New York Fashion Week: The Shows

Source: Yuchen Liao / (Photo by Yuchen Liao/Getty Images for NYFW: The Shows)

She remained confident during those rides even when the road was rough. “Modeling is definitely a hard job and I know it’s harder for us Black girls at times, especially because it’s all different types of Black girls. And sometimes they’re just looking for one type,” she said. 

“I went through, I went through a lot of nos, nos, nos nos in the beginning. And then I was just always wondering like what do they want from me? But at the end of the day, I had to really come to the conclusion that it’s just, they want what they want is not always you,” she admitted. 

“I’m confident in myself, but of course it knocked me down a little bit.”

Davis had exactly what Maybelline wanted and she booked a major gig with them without having to make drastic changes to her appearance. “I was very excited because I wear their makeup, so for me to be taking  on a job for them, it was very, very, very exciting.”

She appeared in a deconstructed presentation hosted by Naeem Khan, who has dressed celebrities including Michelle Obama, Beyoncé and Naomie Harris. 

“Of course it was nerve-wracking but it was great,” she said about the experience in “a different atmosphere.” 

“I was nervous because the way that we had to walk was in-between the crowd,” she revealed. 

When facing unique experiences, it helped to have a friend like Raelia who continued to support her even as they worked in the same industry. 

“She did give me a lot of input,” she said. “You have to always just be yourself and be confident. And that’s just what I do to get by.” 

Naeem Khan - Runway - Spring/Summer 2022 New York Fashion Week

Source: (Photo by Victor VIRGILE/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images) / (Photo by Victor VIRGILE/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)

She hopes the work she is doing will inspire confidence in other Black girls. “I just want them to feel just always confident in themselves, no matter what the job the director is looking for, whether they get turned down or not. I just want them to always feel confident.” 

Davis previously balanced pursuing her modeling career with her day job. “Monday through Friday I was working at AAA,” she said. “I was working as a claims adjuster in New Jersey for about three years. I went to college first and then after I finished college, I got my bachelor’s degree and I went and worked at AAA.” 

Today she is an entrepreneur who owns a hair salon in the Brewery neighborhood of Philadelphia where her clients applaud her professional progress except when they “get mad when I have to cancel their appointments to go to New York.” 

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Model Monday: Taylor Davis Snagged A Modeling Contract On Instagram Live  was originally published on hellobeautiful.com