Ilays
Who:
Ilays Raghe, 179 cm / 5’10.5″, German/Somalian, born September 27th.
Where:
Munich Models (mother agency)
— Who is your favorite entertainer?
That is for sure Frank Ocean. He is extremely personal. Which makes it somehow really relatable. His voice is surreal and whatever song it is, it feels very intricate and beautiful. He is definitely also extremely talented in his lyrical style.
— The most interesting thing about your family?
I have very open-minded parents whose loving acceptance is maybe also the reason why my three siblings and I are that incredibly different. This is why endless discussions at the dinner table about everything you could possibly think about are not uncommon for us.
— What are three interesting facts about you?
1. I sleep the best when I have read before.
2. I move the furniture in my room far too often.
3. I love meditating.
Lajos
Who:
Lajos Botos, 186 cm / 6’1″, Dutch, born December 7th.
Where:
New Generation Model Management (Amsterdam – mother agency)
— The most interesting thing about your family?
I have one big sister, she has been modeling since childhood and I have always been secretly jealous of her. She is the main reason why I enjoy modeling so much.
— What are three interesting facts about you?
1. I am right-handed but play football left-handed.
2. My music list is very personal and tells a lot about myself as a person.
3. I love the sound of rain.
— What is something you wish you knew more about?
The universe. There are so many questions but so few answers.
Itu
Who:
Itu Nuola, 180 cm / 5’11”, Dutch, born January 16th.
Where:
Models Rock Agency (Heerlen – mother agency), IMG Paris (), Wonderwall Management (Milan), Linden Staub (London), Sight Management Studio (Barcelona), MGM Models (Hamburg)
— The most interesting thing about your family?
When I was 4 years old my parents decided to move us all—myself, my 2 older sisters and my younger brother—to Nigeria. They were missionaries there for 7/8 years, so I pretty much grew up there. My father is a pastor and during the years we lived in Nigeria my parents lead a church in Lagos next to also having a rehabilitation center, ‘men and women empowerment’ gatherings and a foundation for the in-need. Growing up in Nigeria things were quite different than The Netherlands, where I was born. Yes, the obvious difference like the lack of stable electricity and water supply made life a bit tiring sometimes but growing up there, especially now that I can look back, life was full of LIFE, full of passion, a sense of community and family, collectiveness. It never truly lacked what life is really about and what we all truly need in the end. Growing up I was involved in the church a lot, I also remember a lot of events where we all whole stay up the night before wrapping up food packages to hand out at an event where thousands of people would show up to. A lot of these things made me into the woman I am today. My parents are the people I look up to and they have inspired me to make a TRUE difference in the world we live in because in the end that is the only thing that can bring any sort of happiness, satisfaction and/or fulfillment.
— Something you are self-conscious about:
Everything! Lol, not a lot of people know but since I can remember I have struggled with anxiety and I still do. This year I decided to open up about it to some people close to me and it helped a lot, I decided I wanted to start talking about it more with people and what it actually is, what it’s like and how to cope with it. Not only has that helped me a lot already but also the people around me and others that struggle with the same things.
— What are three interesting facts about you?
1. I danced ballet for 5 years growing up.
2. I’ve always loved to sing and when I was younger I would write my own poems and songs/raps. (Which were actually quite good looking at it now!).
3. I first attended a Lebanese community school in Lagos for about 4 years and then we were homeschooled for about 3/4 years. We had American homeschooling.
Pivot
Who:
Pivot Aurel, 185 cm / 6’1″, Burundian, born April 12th.
Where:
20 Model Management (Cape Town – mother agency), Soul Artist Management (New York), Kult London (), Francina Models (Barcelona), Kult Hamburg ()
— One thing people may be surprised to find out about you:
People may be surprised to find out that I’m a dancer.
— The most interesting thing about your family? Do you have siblings?
The most interesting thing about my family is that both my parents are basketball players. I have one sister and two younger brothers.
— What are three interesting facts about you?
1. I love to dance especially to Afro beats.
2. I like playing soccer and basketball.
3. I enjoy reading books.
Lucia
Who:
Lucia Pons, 175 cm / 5’9″, Spanish, born January 24th.
Where:
Carmen Duran Agency (Valencia – mother agency), M4 Models (Hamburg)
— Something you are self-conscious about:
A while ago I would tell you my body because I had complexes, but little by little over time they have gone away.
— What are three interesting facts about you?
1. I’m full of positivity and I am very affectionate.
2. Because of my way of seeing things and living them, I’m not afraid of anything.
3. I always want to learn something new related to this world of fashion that fascinates me, but also a bit of everything in general.
— One thing people may be surprised to find out about you:
People may be surprised about my way of being and my character. I don’t know why but so many times from my first impression people seem to think that I’m conceited, but that’s not true.
Toyoshi
Who:
Toyoshi Lew Wolf, 188 cm / 6’2″, German, born March 30th.
Where:
DSM Management (Hamburg – mother agency), Linden Staub (London)
— The best and worst aspects of your personality:
I feel like one aspect of my personality is both good and bad at the same time: I am very self-critical and a perfectionist. On the one hand, this puts me sometimes under a lot of pressure even though it might be unnecessary, but on the other hand, this self-criticism and perfectionism leads to better results, because I work on something until I am pleased with it.
— One thing people may be surprised to find out about you:
Definitely my roots. I have very mixed origins. I am French, Cameroonian, German and Japanese, one quarter each.
— Among your friends or family, what are you famous for?
For singing. I always sing, no matter what I do and no matter how I am feeling. When I am in a bad mood it helps me cope with the bad emotions and when I am feeling good it is my expression of happiness.