Monika 'Jac' Jagaciak

As 2010 is the year when Monika Jagaciak turns 16, the scandals surrounding her early debut in the business should at last start to fade away, leaving the young Polish model to calmly pursue her already impressive career. Since her arrival on the modeling scene, this slender adolescent has continually attracted the attention of photographers, journalists, and designers.

Before becoming sought after by the international fashion intelligentsia, Jagaciak (as innocent as she may be) was the center of a scandal that the fashion industry would have preferred to do without. It is true that for some time, the weight and age of the fashion models, usually far from the common mortal idea of what is normal, healthy or decent, have become sensitive subjects. As a direct consequence of this apparent negligence by the modeling industry, more and more organizations are refusing to allow pre-adolescents and underweight girls on the catwalks.

So it was that in 2008, while she was preparing to walk during Sydney's fashion week, that Jac found herself suddenly forbidden to go on stage. The organizers had succumbed to the general indignation over her age. At only 14, she had became the target of the Australian journalists (who were a bit late to react, as it had already been more than one year since Jagaciak had started modeling).

Jagaciak was, in fact, very young when she decided, on the advice of her sister, to try for a casting organized in a shopping mall not far from her home. Her height (1m75/5'7") was immediately noticed and she soon signed with IMG.

Despite being 13, Jagaciak received her parents' blessing and began working doing photo shoots. She posed for the cover of Jalouse, Elle, and Harper's Bazaar Singapore, and landed contracts including being one of the faces of Hermès 2007.

Aware of her potential, the IMG agency did everything possible to make her famous, including giving her the nickname "Jac," presumably easier to identify with and more bankable than "Monika Jagaciak."

This was when the Australian scandal broke, barring her temporarily from the western hemisphere catwalks. Although she may have had the attention of the casting agents, they all preferred to avoid scandal. She waited until she turned 15 to walk for the New York fashion week. By closing for Calvin Klein, she officially became a new face to follow, and this even though her career was only beginning and was marred by several unfortunate incidents.

Jac walked next for some of the biggest houses, from Marc by Marc Jacobs to Prada to Dolce & Gabbana. After Milan, she could not walk in Paris, as the rules concerning the models' age are more severe here in France than in other countries.

This did not prevent her career from taking off, however. In 2009, she signed an exclusive contract with Calvin Klein and posed for Vogue Paris, Numéro, Vogue Italy and even W. She was also more present on the catwalks, with the exception of Paris. In 2010, finally of legal working age, she shone during the Paris fashion week (Givenchy, Valentino, Dior).

Jac may now be one of the stars of the new generation of young models, yet this adolescent has somehow succeeds in maintaining a seemingly normal life. When she returns to Poland and her native city, she avoids all extraneous publicity and gives up "Jac" for Monika, does not follow any special diets (with the exception of a vitamin cocktail that prevents her from becoming too tired), and studies seriously.

Her youth permits her to maintain an enthusiasm for everything that modeling can offer her. She has reveled that she loves becoming someone else in front of the camera, meeting designers and other models, as well as spending several days with her mother in Malaysia while there for work.

If she should have to stop tomorrow, Jac sees herself following her sister's footsteps and becoming a track and field athlete. Given her popularity in the fashion system, this will not happen for a long time yet.