Red Hot: Anna Bari

L’Officiel Arabia: How and when did you decide to be a model?

Anna Bari: I’ve been in love with fashion since I was a little girl. I loved to play dress-up. I’ve always been fascinated by glamorous pieces, and I’ve always loved the whole process of getting ready for an event, ever since I was a teenager. I like to take my time selecting my clothes, shoes and accessories, and of course doing my hair and makeup. I also always loved to watch Fashion TV and the Miss Universe pageant on television. My inspiration is the great feeling of confidence you get when you model and you wear an interesting outfit.

LOA: How has your home country Romania influenced your career?

AB: Modeling in Romania was challenging as there are more opportunities outside of the country, in Europe. So I found myself having to travel a lot. When I was 17, I was recruited by a modeling agency in my hometown, in Romania, and a few years later, I moved to Bucharest, and got signed with another agency. I feel my country, Romania, influenced my career in the sense that my style has always been influenced by Eastern European customs.

LOA: Tell us about your experience in Miss Europe 2021.

AB: I represented my beautiful country Romania in Miss Europe 2021, which took place in Lebanon. It was exciting to meet the models from all over Europe, who had participated. It was a lot of hard work: 10 full days of rehearsals, fittings and attending events, but I’m very honored and proud that I was chosen to participate and I won the first runner-up title in Miss Europe 2021. Also, it was an amazing experience to have become friends with ambitious, smart and beautiful ladies from all over the world.

Furthermore, this event made me develop a passion for competing in beauty pageants, that is why I also participated last year in Miss Elite World 2021 in Egypt. I am very grateful to have won Miss Elite Popularity 2021 with over 20.000 votes online. While Miss Elite World 2021 was selected by the jury, I was selected by the people. Of course, I was supported a lot by my followers on Instagram and I was the only influencer in the pageant with such a strong following. It was a wonderful experience that made me see beauty and femininity in a different light.

LOA: Are you associated with any charity groups?

AB: At the moment no, although there is an amazing charity foundation that supports children with disabilities or different diseases. In Romania I was doing charity work and developing different projects for students in the foundation “AIESEC Romania.” I was the Vice President of the organisation in the Bucharest division, and developed projects for students to go do internships and charity work in different countries.

LOA: We believe you have done some work in the UAE, how was your experience in the UAE overall?

AB: My experience as model in UAE has been very positive and I’m amazed to see how open-minded the modelling industry is nowadays and especially in the UAE. Models are not expected to be a size 0 anymore, and there is so much body positivity and encouragement to be your own individual self with your own style as model. I love working with UAE local designers and model for their collections, as I feel enriched by their culture and develop a better understanding of their uniqueness.