GORDANA SIMUNOVIC

by Sherif Awad

A Bosnian-born, Gordana Simunovic moved to Switzerland with her parents when she was four years old. She was discovered across the Swiss streets at the age of thirteen by a representative of a modeling agency then again by Riccardo Gay in Milan and also by Next Models in New York City. This did not prevent her from studying her Bachelor of Business Administration in Switzerland and running for Miss Switzerland the Beauty Pageant. She also participated in the Miss Bosnia Herzegovina Beauty Pageant and won. Since then, she became a familiar face in fashion magazines, brand commercials, fashion campaigns, music videos and even TV and film appearances, most recently in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

In a long a career that spawn more than two decades, Gordana notices many changes in the Fashion industry. “Right now, it’s much easier to become a model”, laughs Gordana who is now based in California. “Back in the days, there were not as many modeling agencies and the rules were stricter. It was about being a classic beauty where you could possible work for any company or brand, while these days it’s more contemporary and fitted to the individual. The online world has made this job become more accessible to anyone. The competition has grown but the quality has not necessarily. The beauty is in the eye of the beholder and it seems that the trend went more towards either the extremely unusual or the regular every day type. But I feel and I hope that it will go back to where the people appreciate the true and timeless beauty again like in the era of the top models.
Even after 25 years of working as a model and going trough many changes, I still love my job and I enjoy it more with every day going by.”

Look for Gordana Simunovic in the upcoming issue of Vanity Fair