This is Linda Byrne. Her face and name may not be familiar to you right now but they will be very soon. Over the past six months, her career has gone from standstill to over-drive and it shows no sign of slowing down. If the current pace keeps up, before the end of this year she will be Ireland's most successful model. From Belfast, Byrne is 22 and only started modelling professionally last summer. Her first job was with D'Side magazine, for which she was required to pose naked except for body stencils. "She was just jaw-droppingly good," says stylist Sonya Lennon who worked with Byrne on that shoot and two others subsequently. "She's so natural and easy and has no trouble doing anything she is asked." "She's a very pleasant girl, very unassuming," concurs the model's Dublin agent, Rebecca Morgan, who believes "a lot of her success has to do with the right attitude".
Any photographer with whom Linda Byrne as worked says the same thing. "When she came to see Rebecca in the agency, I demanded to use her for a shoot," comments Peter Evers who took the pictures shown here today. "The first time she stepped in front of the camera, I knew she was the best model I'd ever worked with. She's just so totally relaxed and natural. I've never seen anyone more comfortable. By the end of the shoot, I was begging to work with her again." Evers has had four assignments with Byrne, but needed to move fast because last autumn, Paris agency Viva came on a scouting mission to Dublin, spotted the new model and expressed keen interest. As a result, she has spent the past few months working in France. She will be seen in the February edition of Paris Vogue photographed by Eric Trauer who has since done a second shoot with her. In addition, she has been photographed by Jean-Batiste Mondino and Neil Kirk and worked on editorials for Joyce, Italian Marie Claire, MaxMixte and Dune. Photographer Juergen Teller is very interested in working with her and Australian Vogue wants to use the Irish model just as soon as her schedule permits.
Part of Linda Byrne's appeal - aside from her relaxed attitude in front of the camera - lies in her slightly quirky appearance. She is not classically beautiful and, at five foot, 10 inches tall, qualifies as only marginally above average height. Byrne shares certain characteristics with Karen Elson, the Manchester model who became a favourite last year with many designers; she won contracts with Versace and Chanel among others.
Red-haired Elson is definitely not a traditional beauty, but she has a distinctive and powerful presence, works readily and hard and is unafraid of fresh challenges. All of this is true of Byrne as well and ought to mean she does equally well. As for the model herself, she remains decidedly underwhelmed by all the current attention. "I just want to get on with the job," she says. "I don't want any fuss, I just put my head down and work."