Sabrina Sikora
You’ve probably seen Sabrina Sikora’s lips and hands all over town. They’ve appeared in ads for Maybelline and Tom Ford, and on the cover of Harper’s Bazaar. She tells Yannie Chan about her career as a parts model.
HK Magazine: So, what’s a parts model?
Sabrina Sikora: If you’re modeling your parts, you’ll be split into several products: Hands, lips, face, eyes, arms and legs. It can be difficult, because when models get nervous, it usually shows through her hands or lips. Lip modeling looks weird from the outside. It’s just a model sitting there and moving their lips: lips closed, lips parted, chin up, chin down. It looks ridiculous when you do it, but that’s what the clients want.
HK: What lips do clients look for?
SS: Symmetrical ones. No moles or spots or pimples around your lips, so there’s no need for too much photoshopping. Retouching can be expensive.
HK: What’s it like going from regular modeling to parts modeling?
SS: It was exciting to know that you don’t have to be a size 2 to be a lip model. When I was 19, I was a size 4, and that’s a big issue for regular models. It’s just nice to know that you can eat carbs. They don’t care what my hip measurements are, and I don’t have to fit into a pair of pants. That’s really liberating. You have to be conscious about kissing the day before a job, though.
HK: Do you parts-double for celebrities?
SS: Usually in a commercial, the closeup shots of the model’s lips and hands are done with a parts model. I acted as Erin Wasson’s lips and hands in close-ups for Maybelline. She was much more tanned, so I had to apply fake tan all over my face.
HK: Are you sad people may know your lips, but not your name?
SS: It’s great that you can remain anonymous. There’s no pressure of paparazzi. I like it because you have this really weird job that’s also kind of cool, and can get you on a huge billboard. If my doorman in Hong Kong sees a commercial with a model that looks like me, he’ll save the magazine, and ask if it’s me.
HK: How does it feel to have your parts constantly evaluated?
SS: You get used to it. You almost detach from your body a bit because it becomes a product. When people comment on your lips, poke them, or pinch them and say it’s not going to work, you just have to shake it off.