A 22-year-old Erin backstage at New York in 2000

This never-before visited city called London felt like a foreign land. Even though I spoke the same language I didn’t feel understood. I was given 60 quid a week (in advance of earnings) which seemed like a fortune: I was used to a pound an hour in my job as a weekend care assistant in a retirement home.

Memories of my first months in London include not being able to cook, realising the parents were no longer around to cook for me and the joy of junk food on demand. Sleeping arrangements were something of a revolving bed system. Sometimes I’d come home to find a strange girl in my bed, plus her fleeting acquaintance.

Regardless, I was hungry for success and prepared to graft my way towards self-sufficiency and independence. With a bit of luck and a lot of perseverance (aka beating down doors) I made my mark. I became known as the imperfect model – the antidote to the supermodel era – a more attainable beauty ideal.

I wanted to embody the spirit and ethos of a performer. To learn to lose myself on a Parisian runway was to directly challenge the defiantly timid girl within. I loved and still love the creative pulse that drives me: to feel the fear and do it anyway.

Ultimately, fashion isn’t the easiest of industries but it’s a rewarding one. I have made some noise concerning fair work practice and diversity to enable lively debate and, in some cases, positive and sustainable change. As for me, I’ve learnt to stand up straight and speak up when something needs to be said."

Erin O'Connor

Erin graced one of four covers for Stylist’s fashion issue in September 2010 (issue 45) alongside designer Hannah Marshall. She’s the co-founder of All Walks Beyond The Catwalk, which promotes diversity in the fashion industry.

Erin O'Connor: memory lane