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During her first meeting with the Southlake Women’s Club, Hanis Hussey heard the group was looking for someone to coordinate an annual fashion show. She approached the president, Julie Walsh, and briefly shared her background and desire to volunteer. From there, she got right to work.
“I love training women and helping them walk better, look better and have more confidence,” Hanis says.
That love, particularly when united with fashion, comes from a lifetime of working in the industry. After being discovered at a fashion show in her home country, Singapore, Hanis moved to Paris at only 16 years old.
Soon after, she was handpicked by Yves Saint Laurent himself to work as an in-house model solely for the Yves Saint Laurent label. After her contract was up, she was hired by Givenchy, also as an in-house model. For years, she worked closely with these titans of high fashion.
“They were like father figures to me,” Hanis explains. “They saw me grow up. I worked with them exclusively for two years each, but then I worked with them as a free agent for the next 10 years."
To this day, she is recognized as the first Singaporean model to appear on the catwalk of Paris Fashion Week. Hanis worked with other labels such as Christian Dior and Lanvin, and has even been pictured on the cover of “TIME Magazine.”
After settling down to have a family – her children are 29, 25 and 21 – she taught at a modeling school in Singapore. In 2016, she served as the catwalk coach for the contestants of Miss Universe Singapore.
Two years ago, she and her husband moved to Texas. Drawn particularly to Trophy Club by its glimmering golf courses, they decided to call it home. But Hanis found another home in Southlake Women’s Club.
This will be her third year to organize the fashion show, and it has grown with her at the helm. For Hanis, it’s all about growing women’s confidence and giving back to the community.