Derry Township teen breaks into fashion as runway model

In kindergarten, when Cierra Skye's teacher asked her class to draw what they wanted to be when they grew up, Smith drew runway models.

“Everyone would be like, ‘Oh, OK,' ” Skye, 18, said. “They would be like, ‘Oh, you're never going to do that.' ”

Despite others telling Skye to pick a more realistic career, the Derry Township resident is following her ambition, and she's barely out of high school.

Skye, 18, is an up-and-coming model who has walked the runway during New York and Milan fashion weeks. The fresh-faced teen will be featured in Vogue Italia this month. “I love the adventure,” Skye said of her budding career. “I'm an Aries, so I'm like so adventurous and I love meeting new people.”

As a child, Skye was always watching America's Next Top Model, reading her mother's fashion magazines and clipping pictures of models to hang on her bedroom walls for inspiration.

“Vogue is like my Bible,” she said.

Growing up, Calvin Klein, Marc Jacobs and Yves St. Laurent were among her favorite designers. She looked up to models Kate Moss and Gemma Ward.

“Kate Moss is my idol,” she said. “She's the queen.”

Skye's break happened when she was 14 and she was scouted at a convention at the Doubletree Hotel in Monroeville. She later signed with Muse Management in New York.

As Skye pursued her modeling dream, she faced bullying at school.

“People would always think I was so weird because I dress differently and I just always did my own thing,” she said.

Her fellow students called her weird and compared her to an alien.

“I would just be kind of like a loner,” she said. “I would just pretend like I didn't really care, but I mean, I did care.”

As Skye's schedule filled up with castings and test photo shoots in New York and elsewhere, she decided to transfer to cyber school.

In 2012, Skye went to her first New York Fashion Week. She couldn't walk the runway because of her age, but she went to numerous castings to gain experience. She met with several small New York-based designers, and Calvin Klein casting directors asked to see her.

Later, Skye signed with One Management in New York and PhotoGenics in Los Angeles.

She has walked in three runway shows: Marc Jacobs for New York Fashion Week, Bottega Veneta for Milan Fashion Week and for Hood by Air in New York.

Learning she had been cast in the Marc Jacobs show earlier this year was a dream come true for Skye.

As she strutted down the runway, Skye realized her passion for modeling.

“I was just thinking in my head, ‘Oh my God, this is what I want to do for the rest of my life,' ” she said.

Skye has appeared in many foreign magazines, including Marie Claire China.

She said the most challenging part of modeling is bringing someone else's ideas to life.

“You're expected to be exactly what these people want you to be, but you don't really know what that is,” she said. “You really have to think about it and figure out what this look means to you and find inspiration.”

Skye often travels by herself these days, but she loves when her mother, Cher Smith, 43, joins her.

“She's my ‘momager,' ” Skye said. “She's my Kris Jenner.”

Smith said she feels blessed to be a part of her daughter's journey into the modeling industry.

A proud moment for Smith came when she watched her daughter walk the runway for Marc Jacobs along with Lanny Zenga, who scouted Skye when she was 14.

“That was probably the best moment of my life,” she said.

She hopes Skye's success teachers others that, “No matter what people say about you, no matter what happens to you, you can do whatever you want to do.”

“Anything is possible, and people need to think outside of the box,” she said. “She's not traditional super model beauty. She looks different than other people, and people always think that you have to be buxom beauty to be in the fashion world, but you don't. There's a place for everybody.”

When she graduates in June, Skye plans to explore all of her career options and avoid rushing into higher education.

“I don't want to get too into another career, because this one is just really starting to take off,” she said.

Skye hopes to dismiss the misconception that modeling is a dangerous career path to travel. “There's actually really good people in the industry, and they can really teach you a lot about yourself and how to deal with people,” she said.

“I've had to become like a rock inside because of the industry,” she said. “I don't ever pay attention to what people say about me anymore.”

For young people who have experienced bullying, Skye has a similar message.

“You can't let other people bring you down,” she said. “As long as you're happy with yourself, that's the only thing that matters. Just do whatever makes you happy.”

Nicole Chynoweth is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. She can be reached at 724-850-2862 or nchynoweth@tribweb.com.