Kim Low has no regrets over career switch

MODELLING was not Kim Low’s first choice after she completed her degree in Food Science and Nutrition at the University of Queensland, Australia.

After graduating, Low spent eight months as a nutritionist before deciding it was not what she wanted.

She then moved on to be a senior sales executive but did not find it challenging enough.

At 25, Low thought, “If not now, when?” and decided to take the plunge into modelling, realising her childhood dreams.

Low’s father was initially skeptical, believing that if she were to make it big in modelling, she should have started younger.

Luckily, he soon came around when he started seeing Low’s pictures in magazines and papers.

“I think he caught on to the excitement, and he’s really encouraging me now,” said Low with a smile.

Low was the winner of the Miss Malaysia International Model of the Year title last year, one of her most recent achievements that she is proud of.

“I felt like it validated my choice to make the switch to modelling, even though nutrition was what I studied. It was good to have other people acknowledge my modelling abilities and see the fruits of my labour,” she said.

The leggy lass said that runway modelling jobs were her favourite because she found them more enjoyable than normal studio photo shoots.

“I love the feeling of strutting down the runway with cameras snapping all around,” she said.

In order to expand her horizons, she will be trying her hand at television commercials soon, with one for SenQ this month.

One of the challenges that Low faces as a model is her height.

Standing at 174cm, it can be a problem for some jobs, especially for haute couture shows.

Nevertheless, Low believes that if she does her job well, she will still be enlisted for jobs and uses high heels as much as possible to add the crucial extra inches.

“I don’t actually like wearing high heels, but I like how I look in heels,” Low confessed.

Her sense of style leans towards the simplistic, with natural looking make-up.

As such, she tries to avoid hair or make-up fashion shows because she feels like the volume of cosmetic products used was damaging to her face and hair.

In her free time, Low loves travelling to Asian countries, having been to Hong Kong, Taiwan and Thailand so far.

“I like going to Asian countries because I love Asian food — especially spicy food. When I travel, I like going places where I can shop and enjoy good local cuisine at the same time.”

When asked if she can cook, Low admitted that she was lazy most of the time, but she can cook pretty well if she has to.