Ashley Smith, Model

We’re delighted that Ashley Smith’s love of music took her to the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas. If she hadn’t followed her passion, she wouldn’t have been spotted by Foreman Management, a local model agency. She decided that modelling might be better than “working in a grocery store”. So grocery’s loss is our gain.

Three months later, she was in New York. Since then, she’s taken to the catwalk for top designers such as Balenciaga, Dior, Altuzarra and Prada, and been involved with brands like Topshop, River Island, Forever 21, and Dutch label Scotch & Soda. She’s featured in ads for Diesel, Tommy Hilfiger Denim, Sisley, and T by Alexander Wang, and worked with top photographer Terry Richardson. So things are going well for the blond twenty-two-year-old brought up on a small plot in Austin with her mother, sister and grandparents.

She has posed for Marie Claire, Vs Magazine, and Russh Beauty, and appropriately for the California-born Ashley, has collaborated with West Coast skate and surf brand RVCA, following in the footsteps of supermodel Erin Wasson.

The love of music comes in handy on long trips for assignments, when she says: “I’ll just put on my headphones and dance to myself and feel out my body”. Art is another obsession, and she carries a sketchbook for everyday use. In fact, she reckons that if it wasn’t for her present career, she’d be at art college now. She’s always had these interests; when she was younger, she attended concerts or art exhibitions downtown, or for something completely different, she’d hang out at the local skate park.

Workouts for the Texan beauty consist of cardio and weights, with yoga helping her to keep lean. Frequent moisturising of her dry skin is a must, and she swears by a three dollar mask, which she insists is “the best”.

Ashley Smith’s personal look varies between girly fifties style and femme fatale – quite original! She confesses that her sister was her style icon when she was growing up, finding her band t-shirts and jeans cool. She has a larger bust size than many models, which can reduce job opportunities, but points out that “it’s part of me”, so she expects outfits to be adjusted to her size, rather than the other way around. We’re sure that lots of ordinary women out there will be grateful for her common sense view.

Ashley admits to being “a giant nerd” when it comes to comics and video games. She’s also a huge Harry Potter fan, having read all the books, and seen all the films on their opening days.

The gap in her teeth has become a sort of trademark. On top of that, it’s very attractive! Her friends have made her promise never to change it, and she says: “I won’t ever get it changed – it’s just part of me, and I embrace it”. It’s great that she has that confidence. But then, it’s what you might expect from a woman who puts down her success to “just being who I am”. That’s all right with us!

Model Ashley Smith By Photographer Jason Lee Parry for Foam Magazine

The featured photo and the one above is Model Ashley Smith By Photographer Jason Lee Parry for Foam Magazine

Ashley Smith Models Photography By Randall Mesdon for A Perfect Guide Spring/Summer 2011

Ashley Smith Photographed By Nico For Harper’s Bazaar Spain July 2011

Ashley Smith Modelling Photographed By Nico For Harper's Bazaar Spain July 2011

Ashley Smith Modelling Photographed By Nico For Harper’s Bazaar Spain July 2011

Ashley Smit Models Photography By Will Davidson for Russh #36, Austin 04

Ashley Smith By Will Davidson for Russh #36, Austin 04

Ashley Smith By Will Davidson for Russh #36, Austin 04

Ashley Smith Photographed By Joachim Mueller-Ruchholtz for Dansk S/S 2011

Ashley Smith Photographed By Joachim Mueller-Ruchholtz for Dansk S/S 2011

Ashley Smith Photographed By Ellen Von Unwerth For Galore Mag February 2014

Ashley Smith Photographed By Ellen Von Unwerth For Galore Mag February 2014