I wore glasses, had braces, played chess, and brought a rubik’s cube to school with me, so I never envisioned becoming a model. I remember the day my teacher announced I was selected to walk at my school fashion show. I thought it was a joke or said in jest. Walking at a fashion show was the last thing I wanted. I didn’t want to do it. I was 14. I cried. I thought my friends would make fun of me.
My brother said If I model, I’d get to travel the world, meet beautiful girls and make great money. What is there to make fun of? The prize was a modeling contract with “Boss Models”, one of Cape Town’s top model agencies. To my surprise, that show changed the course of my life forever. Shortly after, I started attending castings and unexpectedly met a Parisian agency scouting for the fashion week. To be able to walk at Paris Fashion Week, I would need to write my mid year exams a month before the rest of the school. Luckily the principal agreed. Within a few weeks, I was on a plane.
Growing up in South Africa, the world beyond felt so far away. Unlike Europe, where a short train ride can take you to another country, leaving South Africa meant a minimum 10-hour flight. For me, that distance made every opportunity feel like a blessing. Modeling became my passport to the world, taking me to places I’d only dreamed of. It wasn’t just about seeing new places, it was about discovering myself and forging my own path.
Arriving to Paris felt like a movie. Back then, there were no smartphones or GPS. Instead, I was handed a map and a list of addresses for my castings. Every day, I’d sit down with that map, plotting my way through an unfamiliar city. Fashion week jump started my entire modeling career. I ended up walking the runway for “Dior” and “Kenzo” and shot for Japanese Vogue. Walking at the runway show for “Dior” was surreal! Celebrities like Usher and Karl Lagerfeld were sitting there in the front rows, and ahead of me was a wall of cameras. I kept thinking to myself whether all of this was real.
One of the most interesting shoots I’ve done took place on a rooftop in Barcelona. The concept was a massive rooftop party, with 30 crew members and 50+ extras. The models didn’t know all the details of the shoot until we arrived, which is very typical. It turned out we’d be diving into a pool, kissing underwater, and spinning as we emerged—all while being filmed by an underwater crew.
One of the things I love most about modeling is the people I’ve met along the way. It’s an industry full of surprises. You’d think it’s all about looks, but I’ve met models who were biomolecular engineers, musicians, teachers, artists, and even researchers working on cancer treatments. It’s a melting pot of backgrounds, and the diversity of experiences makes for some truly fascinating friendships. This industry isn’t just about beauty, it’s about connecting with people you’d never expect to meet.
If I could give one piece of advice to aspiring models, it would be this: relationships are everything. Your manager becomes your de facto parent, choose carefully. They are the one who picks up the phone when clients call with big-budget shoots and decide you’re the person for the job. Treat them well, with respect and kindness. The modeling world is smaller than it seems, and word travels fast. At the end of the day, it’s about more than just how you look—it’s about the energy you bring on set and the way you make people feel when you’re not around. Life isn’t as serious as it seems, and sometimes you just have to take a leap of faith. My brother’s words when I didn’t want to walk in the show, “Don’t look back and think what if,” was the push I needed. Looking back, I’m grateful for that nudge and for the journey that followed. It’s been an incredible ride—one I wouldn’t trade for anything!
The post Levi Lomey: From South Africa to High Fashion Runways appeared first on The Fashiongton Post.