We had the good fortune of connecting with STEFANIYA MAKAROVA and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi STEFANIYA, can you talk to us a bit about the social impact of your business?
I am a petite model and petite model advocate. I believe modeling is not about height, it’s about personality. I launched the PETITE movement. It’s an acronym and it stands for Personality Empowerment To Intelligence To Enlightenment. This movement is about self acceptance. Knowing how to accept ourselves, we know how to accept others. Thereby we can create a loving society and better world.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My height 5’4” never stopped me from pursuing a career as a model. I always had a passion for modeling and wanted to get on the runway. I knew I could walk on the runway and I couldn’t resist that feeling inside of me. So, I went to the castings but every modeling casting had strict height requirements. I knew they wouldn’t take me because I am not tall enough for them. I stopped going to castings, instead I was just going to the fashion shows on the day of the show and asked designers if they needed an extra model. It happens, models are humans too, they can get sick or get last minute emergencies. Most of the time I had a chance to walk on runway shows. I believe my confidence was a key to make it happen. And I did a good job. Some designers wanted to walk for them again. Modeling is not about height, it’s about your personality. And your personality consists of your beliefs, characteristics, and principles. Someone had an idea what modeling is about years before, but reality of modeling has changed these days. Reality starts with an idea. And it’s possible to bring your idea into existence. With a strong belief in myself, my vision and my idea, I am making my dream come true. I believe in the power of unity, so I decided to connect petite models together and create a community for petite models, it’s called petite and proud. This project is about advocating for the inclusion of petite models into the fashion industry which is being represented in our days as diverse and inclusive but petite models are still underrepresented. I will transform this community to model and talent management because I believe that petite models can have a place in the fashion industry. I interviewed petite stature people and all of them said that they have challenges finding the right size of clothes for themselves. The majority of people are not tall at all, and the fashion industry is missing the opportunity to dress up petite stature people. I hope that designers will realize that it’s a great advantage and start to hire petite models for their campaigns.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I am based in New York, it’s the best place to visit! I would take my friend to most iconic places such as Times Sq, Stature of Liberty, The Empire State Building, Charging Bull, Central Park and Broadway. And in between we can experience dining, cycling and walking in the streets of NYC because each area in the big apple is so different from each other.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I believe that teamwork brings success. It’s never about one person, it’s about the unity of people who have similar views, actions, and goals. I am surrounded by these like minded people in everything I do. Having a support and supporting others is an essential part to uplift each other and to have success as a result. I also believe there is always a positive aspect, if you choose to see, even if the experience connecting with some people wasn’t pleasant. So, I am grateful for everyone who I meet in my life and connect for some reason. And I am grateful for my parents for giving me this life.

Website: www.StefaniyaMakarova.com

Instagram: StefaniyaMakarova

Linkedin: Stefaniya Makarova

Facebook: Stefaniya Makarova

Youtube: Stefaniya Makarova

Other: https://petiteandproud.com/

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