Coco Rocha: Canada’s Supermodel
By Sarah Stefanson April 15, 2009
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Famously discovered at an Irish dancing competition at the age of 14, Coco Rocha was initially hesitant to give the modelling profession a chance. It took her a year from when she was first asked if she had ever considered modelling to actually try it out. Growing up in Vancouver, BC, Rocha had never contemplated a career as a fashion model. She had been devoted to Irish dance since the age of 7 or 8, when the Riverdance phenomenon first appeared. After she began dancing she became more interested in her Irish roots and culture (she also has Russian and Welsh background).
Her parents both worked in the travel industry. Her mother was a flight attendant and her father a ticket agent. Rocha was able to travel extensively as a child because of her parents’ careers and this may have contributed to her outgoing personality and maturity at a young age.
When Rocha finally agreed to try modelling, she poured all of her dedication and concentration into her career. The devotion has paid off, as she has quickly become one of the most famous faces in modelling.
In February 2006, she appeared on the cover of Vogue Italia. Shortly after she stormed the runways, appearing in shows for world famous designers including Anna Sui, Balenciaga, Bottega, Burberry, Dior, Hermes, Lanvin, Gucci, Marc Jacobs, Narciso, Proenza, Rag & Bone, Rodarte, Thakoon, Valentino, Versace, Victor & Rolf, YSL and Zac Posen.
In a defining moment of her career, Rocha was asked by Jean Paul Gaultier to Irish dance down the runway to open and close his Scottish Highlands-inspired Fall/Winter 2007 show. Vogue dubbed the incident one of the signs of the return of the supermodel. In 2007, she was featured with fellow models Doutzen Kroes, Caroline Trentini, Raquel Zimmermann, Sasha Pivovarova, Agyness Deyn, Jessica Stam, Hilary Rhoda, Chanel Iman and Lily Donaldson on a Vogue cover declaring that the group represented the new rise of the supermodel.
Rocha has been featured on the covers of a plethora of top fashion magazines including Vogue, Flare, Fashion, W, Harper’s Bazaar and i-D. Her unique face has graced ad campaigns for the likes of Americana Manhasset, Balenciaga, Chanel, Dior, Dolce & Gabbana, Lanvin, The Gap, Tommy Hilfiger and Yves Saint Laurent. Photographers, designers and other important figures throughout the industry say they love to work with Rocha because of her irrepressible personality and positive attitude. She has been called a chameleon and her dance background has been credited for allowing her to move her body in exceptional ways. Rocha is represented by ModelQuest (mother agency), Elite Model Management (New York), Storm Model Management (London), Marylin Agency (Paris) and Why Not Model Agency (Milan).
As she climbs the ranks of model royalty (she is number three on the models.com ranking of the Top 50 models in the world), Rocha makes a point of using her fame and influence to speak out about a subject that she is passionate about: body image and eating disorders. After gaining 10 pounds during a trip to Singapore, she sent an email to the Associated Press saying, “I’ll never forget the piece of advice I got from people in the industry when they saw my new body…They said, ‘You need to lose more weight. The look this year is anorexia. We don’t want you to be anorexic, but that’s what we want you to look like.’” In addition to drawing attention to the dangers of eating disorders, Rocha also devotes time to working with the Children’s Aid Society, a charity that supports children from low income families.
The young model, only 20 at the time of this writing, has already left an indelible mark on the modelling world and she shows no signs of stopping any time soon. Though she has considered acting in the future, she is presently completely devoted to modelling. Judging from the praise she receives from industry figures the world over, she’ll have no shortage of opportunities to appear on magazines covers and runways for many years to come.
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Submitted on April 15, 2009 in Celebrity Fashion.
Sarah is our Western Canadian correspondent. She recently left a long-standing position as editor and writer for TheSoko.com, DriverSense.com & LiveDress.com to focus on book and novel writing. Sarah continues contribute weekly articles to AskMen.ca and Models & Moguls. Sarah thinks she might have been a model if it weren’t for the blessing of Slavic hips and thighs.
Sarah Stefanson has contributed 64 articles to Models & Moguls.
