Biography
Alamela Rowan, born November 5th, 1990 in Melbourne, is an Australian model working internationally since 2008. Homeschooled by her father for eight years in Byron Bay, New South Wales, Alamela has been an avid traveller since childhood. The poverty and homelessness of the countries she visited made a strong impression on young Alamela. Seeing people, animals and habitats in need drives her to do all she can to make the world a better place.
Through her travels around the world, Alamela worked with animals, including endangered Orangutans in Indonesia. During her time in Egypt she became involved in rescuing street animals which led her to become a vegetarian. As she told Australian Teens Against Animal Cruelty (ATAAC) in a recent interview, “It made no sense to eat the same animals I was saving.” Eight years later, Alamela is still a vegetarian and actively promoting the protection of animals and their habitats.
Alamela was introduced to the world as a contestant on season 4 of 'Australia's Next Top Model'. The soft spoken and fiercely intelligent 17 year old wowed judges with her presence and her winning attitude. In a fitness test, Alamela impressed the judges with her physical and mental strength, holding the plank position for several minutes with no visible strain. Her secret? She remembered her travels to Egypt and imagined herself there instead. On a fashion challenge, Alamela harnessed the spirit of her favourite designer Coco Chanel, displaying confidence, grace and classic style.
During her time on 'Australia's Next Top Model', Alamela also endured the taunts of the so-called ‘bitchketeers’, a group of girls in the model house set on tormenting her with pranks and insults. Footage of the bullying swept across the media, and the scandal brought much media attention to Alamela and her family. The girls were reprimanded for their behaviour, and Alamela was eliminated from the show, partially to her relief. Commenting to the press that she enjoyed the experience of being on the show enormously, “It was disappointing to be eliminated, but at the same time, I was so glad to get away from all the house dramas. It was bittersweet.”
Since leaving 'Australia's Next Top Model', Alamela has received overwhelming support from the media, fans and judges on the show, including the editor of Vogue Australia Kirstie Clements, who received a landslide of public feedback regarding the bullying that took place during the competition. Alamela has since used her experience to help others, presenting an antibullying program for the NSW Department of Education.
Immediately after completing high school, Alamela continued her dream and began her international modeling journey flying to Korea for her first contract a week after graduation. She continued to work throughout Asia for the following year. She has been contracted to model in the Philippines, including underwater modeling requiring a competent scuba diver such as Alamela. She has also been offered a teaching position at the Byron Bay Model Academy, opening this year. She rocked the catwalk at Byron Bay Fashion Week and Australian HairExpo 2008, modeling the work of Angelo Seminara, awarded British Hairdresser of the Year.
Alamela is now modeling full-time, studying at university part-time and pursuing her moral activism at every opportunity. To date, Alamela has modeled for clients such as Goldwell, Angelo Seminara, Miss Unkon, Lipton Tea, Reebonz, Moshi Moshi, Ruby Sky, Romain Jerome, Levi's, Sogo, Harry Winston, Asus, Breitling, Tom and Tash Annis, Alldressedup, Tom Foreman and Amanda Lim.