Melanie Gaydos

ZouZou

Super Star
Sep 11, 2018
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The term "model" mainly makes us think of tall, slender, beautiful and perfect women: just think of the supermodels of the 90s, icons of style and beauty with stellar compensations.
A closed sector, with precise rules and requirements based on weight, height, measures.

In recent years, however, these rigid standards have changed a lot, bringing the beauty of diversity to the fore.

This is witnessed by Melanie Gaydos, 28-year-old American model, suffering from a rare genetic disorder: ectodermal dysplasia. This pathology causes the lack of development of teeth, nails, cartilage and bones, also causing, as in the case of Melanie, a partial blindness and alopecia.

She entered the world of fashion in a completely casual way: while studying art at the Pratt Institute in New York she was noticed by a photographer and invited to pose for a service.
Since then she has established herself on the catwalks, working with Tim Walker, Eugenio Recuenco, in the Rammstein video of Mein Herz Brennt as Sandman and recently also as a highly appreciated actress.

Above all Melanie talks about herself through a life story made of difficulties but also of great tenacity, sending a revolutionary message:

"Accepting who we are allows us to change the social rules of today. So take the time to really understand who you are, what you like and what you don't like. There is no need to be who you are not, to be where you don't want to be or to do what you don't want to do. Don't be afraid to embrace change. unknown often holds us back, but there are so many things out there waiting for us. We can't miss them."

I personally highly dislike the politically correctness movement and therefore that was not the reason I posted this thread, I genuinely think she looks beautiful and elegant and I’m happy she’s bringing her class into the model world! :flower:

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To be honest, "beautiful" wouldn't be the first word jumping into my mind when thinking about this girl but there is definitely something special about her. Being called "beautiful" doesn't mean much anyway. It's cheesy but beauty fades - she is way more than that! She's fascinating and captivating, I like that. One of a kind.

Body-wise - far from perfect but I understand that when suffering from disorders or diseases it is important to put your health first. She is too interesting to focus on her body, though. I bet all the photographers want to shoot her face as closely as possible. Look at the photo with a kitten. Siiick.

Yes, I enjoy looking at her.
 
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I am so excited you made this thread. I’ve been meaning to for months but couldn’t decide if it was the right move or not.

I love Melanie. Her drive, her extensive body of work, and her unique look come together to make a fascinating and very artistic (but alternative) package. At times, on her instagram, she can post corny style photos that can look almost like low-level sex work ads. They are pretty standard insta-thot photos but the production quality is low so they sort of miss the mark (not my favorite mark regardless, however). I believe she also has the comments turned off on all her photos. I assume, but don’t know, that this is because of abuse on the topic of her condition/appearance.

But her editorial work is always beyond striking.
 
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To be honest, "beautiful" wouldn't be the first word jumping into my mind when thinking about this girl but there is definitely something special about her. Being called "beautiful" doesn't mean much anyway. It's cheesy but beauty fades - she is way more than that! She's fascinating and captivating, I like that. One of a kind.

Body-wise - far from perfect but I understand that when suffering from disorders or diseases it is important to put your health first. She is too interesting to focus on her body, though. I bet all the photographers want to shoot her face as closely as possible. Look at the photo with a kitten. Siiick.

Yes, I enjoy looking at her.

Honestly, I think beauty, in the conventional sense, can be overrated. Sure, Vlada and Freja and Anna are gorgeous, but I feel like there can be a trade-off between being classically beautiful and being distinctive/elegant. Melanie has an ethereal, elfin quality to her, and although I don't think she's conventionally pretty, I think that works in her advantage.

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For example, here she looks like a graceful mythical goddess.

Eccentricity is something that can capture an audience; a lot of the time, photographers will intentionally try and make models look less conventionally beautiful. I don't think you can call Hanne Gaby Odiele or Molly Bair "pretty" or "beautiful" in these pictures. But there is something otherworldly that comes from precisely that.
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Honestly, I think beauty, in the conventional sense, can be overrated. Sure, Vlada and Freja and Anna are gorgeous, but I feel like there can be a trade-off between being classically beautiful and being distinctive/elegant. Melanie has an ethereal, elfin quality to her, and although I don't think she's conventionally pretty, I think that works in her advantage.

e582951bc649f80bd5626a098362dbea.jpg
Melanie-Gaydos-3.jpg

For example, here she looks like a graceful mythical goddess.

Eccentricity is something that can capture an audience; a lot of the time, photographers will intentionally try and make models look less conventionally beautiful. I don't think you can call Hanne Gaby Odiele or Molly Bair "pretty" or "beautiful" in these pictures. But there is something otherworldly that comes from precisely that.
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I’m sorry but the photo of her in white with the horns? She looks like a stand up comedian who’s half way through a joke. I would not describe her as ethereal or elegant in that photo. That being said, in most of the other photos I can get what you’re saying about her and I can understand why some people like her. Personally though can’t say I’m a fan. She’s a bit too unusual for my tastes.
 
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I’m sorry but the photo of her in white with the horns? She looks like a stand up comedian who’s half way through a joke. I would not describe her as ethereal or elegant in that photo. That being said, in most of the other photos I can get what you’re saying about her and I can understand why some people like her. Personally though can’t say I’m a fan. She’s a bit too unusual for my tastes.

I feel bad for using the "disagree" react - your opinion is completely valid and I can see how you can interpret that photo like that. I just don't agree. For me personally I feel like it gives off a theatrical Greek mythology kind of vibe and while her posture is a little awkward I can see where she's going with it. She's definetely a very polarising model - I completely understand why she's not everyone's cup of tea.
 
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i think shes so cool looking and im shocked there isnt a special agency just for people with genetic disorders yet. would be pretty cool to see a special agency that only hires people with vitiligo, albinism, amputations, birthmarks, large scars and other rare and unique disorders and flaws. Im here for it so long as theyre thin and tall.
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i respect that shes more fine art than high fashion. Very cool. She really found her niche. I think she definitely deserves a thread.
 
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I've run into her online a few years ago on youtube explaining about her modeling career. I just don't find most of these pictures compelling or attractive. The few which are striking, posted by failedsupermodel above, make me see the point that some of you are trying to make, that unconventional figures can make really nice and provocative art pieces. I honestly cannot imagine living with a genetic disorder, even a benign one like vitiligo. Seeing her model isn't inspiring to me for some reason. I love the artistic pictures, but I fail to understand why everyone needs to model these days. Even though this is skinny gossip, and we all spend a ton of time critiquing models, there are so many more important things than becoming a model or proving you can model. The fixation on that career by society to me represents a dissociated and superficial fixation on outer beauty, especially for and by women. I feel like some of us are truly not meant to model, and that should be totally ok, not a societal or personal moral failure.
 
I love the artistic pictures, but I fail to understand why everyone needs to model these days.

The definition of modelling as a fashion thing is fairly narrow. A big part of fashion is art and art has many more faces than beauty. Great art and great fashion have in common that they make people feel something. Here it’s discomfort, uncertainty, fragility and awe in my case. Not all modelling is made to make us buy stuff. I think the discomfort (for me) comes from not wanting it to be funny, or like a freak show. But Melanie Gaydos seems in control of what she does. But no, she is not “fashion”.
 
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Honestly, I think beauty, in the conventional sense, can be overrated. Sure, Vlada and Freja and Anna are gorgeous, but I feel like there can be a trade-off between being classically beautiful and being distinctive/elegant. Melanie has an ethereal, elfin quality to her, and although I don't think she's conventionally pretty, I think that works in her advantage.

e582951bc649f80bd5626a098362dbea.jpg
Melanie-Gaydos-3.jpg

For example, here she looks like a graceful mythical goddess.

Eccentricity is something that can capture an audience; a lot of the time, photographers will intentionally try and make models look less conventionally beautiful. I don't think you can call Hanne Gaby Odiele or Molly Bair "pretty" or "beautiful" in these pictures. But there is something otherworldly that comes from precisely that.
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As much as I am in support of models with genetic disorders, I also do not see the realistic effectiveness of Melanie Gardos as a model that could sell anything. From a realistic and practical standpoint, she is an art form or Instagram "model" at best (a tool used to garner following because people appreciate her uniqueness), but from a fashion model or even commercial model standpoint, she would never be able to sell anything.
Even if she were very tall, she is too oddball looking (excuse my words of expression) to be used as a runway model for the long run. Too much focus on her and too little focus on the item sold.
It is natural and human nature for people to want to buy items and clothing worn and used by models with conventional beauty, and even the "unique" models like Hanne Gaby Odiele or Molly Bair still resemble some degree of beauty (large eyes, small nose, petite mouth) and they are by no means at all "ugly".
 
As much as I am in support of models with genetic disorders, I also do not see the realistic effectiveness of Melanie Gardos as a model that could sell anything. From a realistic and practical standpoint, she is an art form or Instagram "model" at best (a tool used to garner following because people appreciate her uniqueness), but from a fashion model or even commercial model standpoint, she would never be able to sell anything.
Even if she were very tall, she is too oddball looking (excuse my words of expression) to be used as a runway model for the long run. Too much focus on her and too little focus on the item sold.
It is natural and human nature for people to want to buy items and clothing worn and used by models with conventional beauty, and even the "unique" models like Hanne Gaby Odiele or Molly Bair still resemble some degree of beauty (large eyes, small nose, petite mouth) and they are by no means at all "ugly".

As @FailedSupermodel said, she's more of a fine art model than a high fashion model. I agree that she perhaps isn't suited to runway, but IMO she does quite well in her niche. I'm a bit of an outsider to the modelling world, so take my opinion with a grain of salt, but I think that fine art models still to a degree count as "models" in the broader sense that commercial models also do. Hanne Gaby and Molly perhaps weren't the best examples; my point was more about how conventional beauty isn't always the focus of modelling.
 
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