Altitude with attitude

This Asian beauty is literally setting the bar high - real high.

On Nov 1, Vietnamese model-entrepreneur Jessica Minh Anh will make the models involved in her J Autumn Fashion Show feel like they're on top of the world.

They will be strutting down the famed Grand Canyon Skywalk's circular glass platform bridge, which is 1,200m above the Colorado River in the US.

It's touted as the world's highest fashion show and is the latest part in her series of history-making catwalks at the most iconic venues worldwide.

Having organised extreme fashion shows on London's Tower Bridge (44m above the River Thames) in October 2011 and the Petronas Twin Towers' Skybridge (175m above street level in Kuala Lumpur) in March 2012, Anh is taking her concept to a new level with the Grand Canyon event.

Over the years, the 29-year-old has made a name for herself in the industry.

She was behind shows that were set on a 90m floating catwalk on Paris' River Seine and the Costa Atlantica cruise ship in Dubai. Anh is not the only Asian making a name for herself in the international modelling scene.

China supermodel Liu Wen recently became the first Asian model to crack Forbes' list of highest-earning supermodels when she came in fifth with a reported US$4.3 million (S$5.37 million) over the past year.

Anh, who is based in Paris, told The New Paper over the phone: "There is definitely a lot of exposure and recognition for Asian models in the Western market today."

She stressed that having a positive mindset is crucial in the modelling industry due to possible racial discrimination.

She said: "I've never considered myself a minority or experienced any sort of discrimination being an Asian model in the industry.

She has lived in Russia, Vietnam, Malaysia and Britain, but said she has never been categorised as the odd one out.

She said: "My parents moved to Russia after I was born. I studied there before moving back to Vietnam when I was nine. (In Russia), I was the only foreign kid in school, but didn't face any discrimination.

"I have always been a very happy and confident young girl. People treated me (according to) my ability when I moved to Malaysia to study and the (situation in the) UK was the same."

But that doesn't mean Anh didn't have to deal with rejection.

She said: "As a model, you get rejected if you are not right for the job, I never saw it as racism (though).

"Sometimes (modelling agents) prefer Europeans, but that's probably because they need to reach a certain target market that needs a Western face and that's completely okay with me.

"I'm a very open-minded person. I feel that you get more things done that way," said Anh, who has been modelling since she was 15. Well, this beauty with brains has achieved much.

When she was 18, she was reportedly one of five who were offered a scholarship by Malaysia's renowned oil and gas company Petronas after topping the compulsory tertiary entrance exam in Hanoi.

Anh proceeded to attend the Universiti Teknologi Petronas in Kuala Lumpur and graduated with a degree in business information systems.

After the four-year course, she moved to the UK and furthered her education at the University of Birmingham, graduating with a master's degree in marketing communications.

Started her company

A month after completing her studies, Anh founded J Model Management in 2008.

She said: "It started with me focusing on developing young models, but I realised that my expertise lie in organising fashion-focused events."

As for start-up capital, she claimed she had none initially.

Anh recounted: "We came up with a plan and informed potential clients to see if they were interested. The secret lies in a very good pitch.

"My first show was in Birmingham and we secured the Birmingham Town Hall, which hadn't held fashion shows before.

"And immediately, companies trusted us."

Her show at the Grand Canyon Skywalk is bound to bring her to even greater heights.

Anh said: "The shows that I've done before are all difficult to plan. But for me, the more challenging the hurdles, the more interesting it gets and I'm always going for something out of the box."

Get The New Paper for more stories.