“In 2018, I cut my hair. I had it quite long. I highlight this fact because, from that change in appearance, I did very well in modeling. They started calling me more brands. I began to wonder if it happened because of my haircut. I decided to keep this cut until now.”
“I found out that I was pregnant a few months after participating in Bolivia Fashion Week. As much as I wanted to focus on my modeling career and take my work abroad, I decided that I was going to focus on this new phase of my life. When I was a few months pregnant, an agency wrote me to say that they wanted to hire me to model abroad. To this, and another one, I had to say no. When my daughter was already three months old, I won the Fall Winter 2019 LIF Week Model Award. Also, another agency wrote me to leave the country. I replied that if I could wait until my baby was at least six months old, I would be working with them. Since they couldn’t wait, it didn’t happen, but I didn’t despair. Some time later, when my little girl was already 10 months old, a modeling agency in Costa Rica contacted me to tell me that they were interested in my profile and that they wanted me to send them some photos to see the possibility of doing a casting for a European brand. They made an appointment for me, I attended and, two weeks later, they told me that another agency in Paris wanted to work with me. I signed and in 2020 I made my first trip to France.”
Patricia del Valle with her little daughter. Photo: Instagram
“I didn’t know any French and, with the little English I could speak, I couldn’t communicate. After two weeks, in which there was not a day that there was no audition, I understood that with my size (1.75 meters) I was one of the smallest. The rest were quite tall. That gave me mistrust, as well as the language. I couldn’t strike up any conversation or make any friends. Fortunately, I stayed for three shows in what would be my first Milan Fashion Week. After Paris I was going to go to London but the pandemic came and I had to go home.”
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Before the Coronavirus stopped her plans, Patricia became the protagonist of one of the most important fashion covers at the regional level. She was in Paris when she met Angela Kusen, a Peruvian stylist who was working in the same city. According to what Patricia says, Kusen had contacts with Vogue Mexico and Latin America, and that’s how the idea of collaborating together came about. Although at first it seemed that everything was going to get complicated, due to coordination issues between her ‘mother’ agency and the one that hosted her in France, everything ended up being a success. For Patricia, this is one of her greatest achievements as an international model and she fondly remembers this experience.
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Patricia del Valle on the Dolce & Gabbana parade: “I felt very comfortable”
Did you expect to achieve such recognition for walking the Dolce & Gabbana runway at the last Milan Fashion Week?
“I was nervous because all the models, from all over the world, were here (in Milan). I was excited to see that there were quite a few girls on the catwalks, as it was before the pandemic. The language was no longer a problem, she was studying English. My agency and the support they gave me was incredible, it helped me to be able to do my best. It is one of the best agencies that touched me, it encouraged me and reminded me of my daily agenda. The biggest show I ever participated in was Dolce & Gabbana. I felt very comfortable in Italy, I want to go back. I’m already making arrangements to go, I felt very good in Italy. I feel that it is a country in which I want to continue working. I am hoping to return in September.”
Patricia del Valle participated in the Dolce & Gabbana show at Milan Fashion Week 2022. Photo: Instagram
“Model life has no fixed place. Today I can be here and tomorrow in Europe. I love working with new designers because they are more willing to experiment with editorial photography.”
