Raica Oliveira

By Sara Templeton

Anyone who's familiar with my columns will probably know how much I love distinct and exotic names.

Such names are brilliant for whenever the conversation reaches a dry area, as you can just pluck something out of the air like "I love Natalia Vodianova's snooty attitude" or "Have you seen Manon Von Gerkan's new bob?"

Well, it's time to get excited again, as brown-skinned Brazilian bombshell Raica Oliveira peps up the world of modelling identities. Why, you may ask??

Well, here's the thing - her name may look like it says "Ray-Kah", but in a lovely Brazilian twist it's pronounced "Hi-kah". Just gorgeous!

Born on the 22nd of January in 1984, in the city of Niterói in Brazil, Raica is quoted as saying "I always wanted to be a model. I remember being 10 years old and saying to my mom, 'Mommy, I want to be a model!'"

And just five years after she uttered those words, Raica was well on the way to achieving her dream, when at the age of 15 she entered an Elite Model Look competition in Brazil.

Though the Elite Model Look contests are often difficult events to conquer - Raica was up against an astonishing 30,000 other hopefuls in Brazil - they are also a sure-fire way of moving into the world of international modeling.

178cm tall Raica ended up being judged the best candidate on the day in her home country and took out the winner's trophy, shortly after which she stepped up to the next level of competition by winging it to France. Not bad for a 15-year-old.

The French competition pitted a young Raica against the best models-in-waiting from around the world, and when all was said and done she came second overall, which is quite a feat indeed.

With a second place in the international finals of the modeling contest, Raica was quickly signed by the event's organisers, the Elite modeling agency, and before you could say 'Jean Paul Gaultier' she had been contracted to work with Christian Dior on a photo shoot.

Not a bad first effort, I think you'll agree.

Furthermore, rumour has it that Raica and two other promising young models turned up for the Dior shoot, but after the photographer got one glimpse of Raica he sent the others back to the agency. Ooh-la-la!

After her first job in professional modeling, Raica's profile went through the roof thanks to her unique beauty and impressive work ethic, and in less than a year she was in high demand.

In the year 2000 - her first full year as a fully fledged model - she did more than 60 ready-to-wear runway fashion shows right across Europe and the Americas.

She also landed many advertising campaigns, completing work for many big-name fashion houses, including the aforementioned Christian Dior, D&G and Ralph Lauren.

The fashion media (us included now!) had an insatiable appetite for the Brazilian babe too, and she graced the pages of mags such as Vogue, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Web Wombat and Marie Claire to name but a few.

Some reports allege that Raica's work ethic was so intense that she barely had time to eat, and that at one stage all she was able to eat during the day was dry biscuits between shoots.

That's pretty tough, sure, but I once ate two large pizzas in about 7 minutes working late at Web Wombat one wintery night, so I think I deserve a few plaudits too.

Spending much of her time in New York, living with her mother, Raica has plans to head back to university once she's retired at the ripe old age of 22.

In 2006, when her planned retirement will potentially commence, she wants to study philosophy, and I say good on her. After all, education provides knowledge, and as the 16th century English philosopher Francis Bacon once said: "Knowledge is power."

Source: Unknown Photography: Cliff Watts	Source: Unknown Photography: Cliff Watts