Marija Vukasina will represent Croatia at the Beauty of the World pageant to be held in Beijing, China from September 14th to October 6th, 2024.
Let’s cheer for her and enjoy this interview
1. You’ve been a beauty queen and a fashion model, so how have your experiences in pageantry been beneficial for your career? And, on the flip side, what would you say about modeling in regard to personal growth?
The experience of being in pageantry has taught me one of the most important things I have learned in life: consistency—how I can accept every failure as a chance to improve on myself. Modeling has given me both the discipline on how to express myself and be professional at every set. There are some of the shootings that even take a period of 12 hours, it becomes tiresome. But staying motivated is the key to success. That is my dream, my goal, and I’m ready to work much harder to be a successful model and beauty queen.
2. Please describe how you became a representative of Croatia at the Miss Tourism World competition. What kind of difficulties did you come across on your way?
It all started in 2019. At 17 years old, I was sent by one of the scouters of Miss World Croatia to compete in their regional pageant, «Miss Zadarske zupanije». Being a minor at that time, my parents needed to approve my participation first. They supported me, and my first beauty competition was conducted.
Then, I did not know anything about pageants, but now, when I look at my photos and videos at that time, I am really proud to have taken that first step. I did not win anything at the time, but I was scauted by designer Ela Dušević for a TV commercial and fashion show. Afterward, having been called by the various agencies and pageants, I became a part of almost all the major pageants in Croatia, except the Miss Universe. I am the first runner-up Miss Earth Croatia 2022, Miss Photogenic Croatia, Miss Supranational Catwalk Croatia 2023, and so many others, but my ultimate dream was representing Croatia in a world pageant.
That’s the period when I started feeling really sad, being that I had put so much effort but never received the main crown. In a few months, I had been contacted on the social media platform Instagram by the Chinese organizers of Miss Tourism World. They said that they needed a representative from Croatia and that I fit the requirements. And at the very end of 2023, I was in China representing my lovely Croatia! Now, I do a collaboration with Chinese organizations for a new pageant, «Miss Beauty of the World,» which will be held in Beijing, China, dated from 14th September to October. What I want to let young ladies reading this know is that God has a plan for you. Keep pushing and believing because your time will come!
3. You said you’re currently preparing for Beauty of the World pageant in Beijing. How do you prepare for this kind of competition, both physically and mentally?
I am currently working on my catwalk, posing, and language improvement. I also focus a lot on promoting Tourism in Croatia by traveling to many destinations here and filming for National Video. I study Law and finance, and my schedule is quite busy, so I have a schedule for every day to make the most of the work. I did a lot of commercials and fashion shows as well, which was truly very important for placing in China.
4. Reflecting on your start back in 2019 with Miss Zadarske Zupanije, what lessons did you learn from not winning that pageant and how did it spur you forward to keep competing in pageantry?
It was the lesson that God has a plan for me, and no matter what how back of punches by life, later on will be okay. The only thing is you must just keep working and improving yourself every day. Actually, my favorite Quote comes from Catriona Gray, Miss Universe 2018. It is „On your journey you are never denied, only redirected.»
5. In your journey through national and international pageants, what have been some of the most memorable experiences or milestones that have shaped you as a model and beauty queen?
My favorite experience was the World Pageant in China, representing the National Costume.
For sure, a lot of nice people from China will find out about Croatia and our Football team. I used to hear Croatian names a lot, for example, ‘Luka Modrić’, and that made me extremely proud. Croatia is a small country with approximately 4 million citizens, but it has really hardworking people that produce results globally. I am from Croatia, and my pride of our football team knows no bounds.
6. You want to be an inspiration to young women. What advice would you give for those who have aspirations to enter pageants or modeling ventures?
I would say, never give up to them! This industry takes a lot more than just a pretty face. You have to put in 100% of yourself to get results. Sometimes it really does take a few years to finally achieve some success and recognition, but it shall be worth it!
7. Apart from your successful modeling and pageantry career, you are currently studying Law and Finance. How do you balance these two very challenging fields, and what lies behind your effort toward the two?
I believe that education is the key to every woman. My mother always told me: «People can take everything from you, but they can never take your knowledge.»
I know my goals, and I can always bring up the inner motivation to get to a better place a few years from now. Modeling is my first love, but Law and Economics are my second loves. I believe that this information will also be helpful or useful for me when I grow up and I become a manager or lawyer in the future. I also have my interest in Real Estate and Politics.
8. In the end, you became a Businesswoman and a Lawyer. How did the current experiences in the field of pageantry and modeling help you attain this long-term objective?
It taught me consistency, contacts, and finding the right opportunity. Today, if things don’t turn out the way I want them to, I find a way to make the best of it. That is the spirit one needs at every job, to put in all energies of thoughts to look for the answer, and most importantly, I put everything in God’s hands. It has to be very necessary to stay grateful from everything he has given to us.
9. Modeling has taken you to a number of countries, such as Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia, and China. How have these diverse cultural working environments overseas influenced your perspective of the industry?
Well, being in a different culture teaches you to be that person who could value diversity and accept every culture. I believe we learn a lot from each other.
Balkan markets are almost the same. The biggest cultural difference, for me, was the Asian markets, but I really fell in love with their culture and food!
You have to adapt your model work to every market you go to.
10. In what ways do you intertwine your hobbies, such as dancing and pilates, in preparations for pageants and to help maintain your well-being?
These go into part of everyday’s training for me to get in shape for the next pageant! They help me a lot to get my dream body and give me relaxation at the same time. You just need to listen to your body, and you have to find that perfect training for yourself.
11. As a beauty blogger, how do you use your platform to connect with your audience, and what are the key messages you aim to share with them?
I love to show my style and personality through my fashion/beauty blogs. I also give my audience the chance to choose the topic of my next post.
Sometimes, I even get them to share their opinions on outfits or beauty products so that we can all share our experiences!
12. How does fashion affect you in life aside from modeling? Do you plan to pursue a career more in-depth in the fashion world, maybe styling or designing?
Fashion is my first love. Right now, I am getting into similar kinds of industries, such as the movie industry. In April, I was shooting an online Croatian TV drama. I can’t of course reveal more details at the moment, but the film will be awesome, for sure. It was, in fact, my first project in the movie industry.
I also work as a manager at the modeling agency Royal Models in Croatia, where we prepare models for international beauty content like Noel Erman. It’s really nice to give new things a try and explore talents!
13. With each competition, there needs to be high resilience. Could you share an example of when you have needed to overcome a significant setback, and how that experience might affect your future competitions?
Sometimes the pageant directors don’t see potential in every girl because of the huge number of girls they deal with in competition. My height, being only 172 cm, made it so difficult for me to achieve my dreams; they placed me on the side so many times. That didn’t stop me, though, from trying to pursue my dream, because I do believe height, age, and other things do not define our capability in our success.
14. Looking ahead to the Beauty of the World pageant in Beijing, what do you hope to achieve, both personally and professionally, from this experience?
I hope to reach the final! This is when I want that Croatia finally is noticed in pageant industry. Also, I can inspire and intrigue the modeling world to the fullest and show that everything is possible! I don’t have a big agency or the manager who stands behind me. All these are the results of hard work and help from the close group of friends
15. You have mainly participated in international pageants held in China, are you planning in the future to participate in a pageant held in another country?
Yes definitely, I would love to compete in Miss Universe one day! This year Miss Universe takes place in Mexico, which is definitely on my wishlist to visit. I also wish all the best to Zrink, our representative on Miss Universe.
