Podbit · Jon Mallia Podcast
Modelling is often misunderstood. Jacqui started at 16 in Malta and quickly learned the unwritten rules: follow directions, wear the outfit, hold the pose — and for premium brands, absolutely do not smile. Seriousness sells luxury.
Where this was said
At 46:00 · chapter starts 45:47
Jacqui was 16 when she entered her first modelling contest in Malta, beginning a parallel career that would run alongside her ballet training and later her television work [1] — Jacqui Losco "Most expensive brands = less smiling in modelling: Jacqui observed that in the modelling world, the more premium the brand, the less a mode…" 49:33 . She describes the professional side of modelling with characteristic directness: it is transactional and straightforward — a brief, a look, a pose. Hair and makeup, wear the clothes, hit the marks. What she found interesting was the aesthetic logic of the industry, particularly the luxury end: the more premium the brand, the less warmth is required. No smiling. Seriousness signals exclusivity. Jacqui found this fascinating rather than alienating, seeing it as a kind of performance in itself — the opposite of ballet's expressiveness but equally governed by precise rules. She also reflects on how modelling connected to broader questions of identity and image, themes she would later navigate more publicly as a television presenter and social media figure.
Jacqui entered her first modelling contest in Malta at age 16, starting with El Pink magazine.
Jacqui observed that in the modelling world, the more premium the brand, the less a model is expected to smile — seriousness signals luxury.
Jacqui refuses to pretend she is comfortable with ageing. She hates it — but she also knows it is universal and unstoppable. Her position is one of pragmatic resignation: get old together or get obsessed alone.
Jacqui said she hates ageing but accepts it as inevitable, viewing it pragmatically rather than with dread.
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