Lilly Goument Discusses Her Start and the New-Found Trials of Modelling

Lilly Goument, a fresh face this season, is capturing the attention of numerous individuals. The 20-year-old Brighton native has been modelling for a mere 7 months and has already caught the attention of major magazines such as Vogue and photographers like Rankin. Currently, she is gearing up to tackle her first fashion month, with her debut set to happen in London this week. I caught up with the model to see how life has changed for her since entering the industry.

Sat in a little meeting room downstairs at her mother agency, Goument is across from me, a smile on her face, but she is clearly nervous – this is her first interview. She begins by telling me how she got her start at Premier Model Management. ‘My friends kept bugging me to get into the agencies.  I was going to be in London anyway and so I thought why not!’ Having already gotten rejected by 2 agencies, she didn’t let that dampen her spirits and was offered a contract by Premier within minutes of walking in the door. ‘It’s, like,  one of my favourite places to go now’ she laughs, clearly finding it strange that a place she hadn’t heard of 8 months ago is now like a home.

As Goument approaches her first show season, set to cast for JW Anderson and Simone Rocha to name a few, she only feels excitement; he worries have dissipated. ‘I’m very excited! I was just too late for last season, so I’ve kind of been waiting for this month for a while!’ Despite her excitement, she has an air of stoicism as she says she has no expectations. ‘I’ve heard from other [models] it’s not always so quick. If I don’t get anything I’m not gonna be upset about it you know.’ A mature stance for one so young, but it is no shock when you hear how she has had to manage her personal life since starting to model.

‘I’ve lost quite a few friends and distanced myself from a lot as well.’ It is here her nerves cut back. Her leg starts bouncing and she begins to pick at her cuticles – this is not a comfortable topic for her. She talks of how people have tried to take advantage of her opportunity. Those she has barely spoken to are suddenly messaging, wanting to spend time with her. She recounts how one such, who had an interest in photography, had even wanted to accompany her to London one day – ‘almost like he could get some kind of credit from it, and like a step in the door. Like this is really a good way of secretly knowing who your true friends are.’