From rural Newfoundland to the runways of Paris and Milan: Meet model Shauna Griffiths

When Shauna Griffiths was growing up in Ship Harbour in Placentia Bay, she never dreamed she'd be walking the runways of Paris and Milan.

But last fall, the model and designer crossed those two things off her bucket list.

And she has big plans for her life in the fashion industry.

Griffiths credits her time in pageants for giving her confidence. She has won numerous titles, including Miss Canada Globe 2018. (submitted/Shauna Griffiths)

Griffiths lives in Vancouver, a move she made in January 2020, when she started her studies in the fashion world.

But her journey into fashion started much earlier than that.

"At a young age, I was always fascinated by modelling and beauty pageants," says Griffiths, watching fashion shows and draw dresses to fuel her passion.

"When I was 18, I started to pursue it by taking weekly classes, with posing and different fundamentals of modelling."

She got more involved in pageants, including the Miss Canada Globe pageant, and credits the pageant world for giving her more confidence.

Griffiths wears many hats with her company SG Fashion House, including coaching others how to walk like a model. (submitted/Shauna Griffiths)

"We learned all about etiquette and mannerisms, how to walk, how to smile, how to drink," she said.

"What I took away the most from beauty pageants was how it really affected your personal growth ... you had a different appreciation for yourself and other women."

After finishing a kinesiology degree at Memorial University, Griffiths worked at a clothing store in the Avalon Mall for a while to learn more about business and styling.

She says all that experience helped her get to where she is today, as the owner of SG Fashion House.

Griffiths is focusing more on designing her own clothing under the SG Fashion House brand, with hopes to showcase her collections on the world stage. (submitted/Shauna Griffiths)

Griffiths is now a stylist for commercials and film, a model, a model coach, and a fashion designer.

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But walking in both Milan Fashion Week and Paris Fashion Week in September was certainly the highlight of last year.

She got the gig by applying to something called the Global Fashion Collective, which "allows international designers, models, and media to travel and showcase their collections or model internationally," she explains.

"Soon after that I got an email saying that I was accepted."

Griffiths says watching others walk the runways at Vancouver Fashion Week made her miss modelling. That inspired her to get back into it herself. (Arun Nevader/Getty Images)

With her sights on showcasing her work at fashion weeks in Vancouver and New York, Griffiths plans to balance her busy life while growing her fashion brand.

And a tattoo on her arm, Just Keep Going, helps remind her that the hard work is worth it.

"Businesses fail all the time, people don't have enough time or energy, or they're just sick of trying to keep going. So that's kind of a gentle reminder that you can keep going, you can achieve anything you you want to achieve."

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