YOU ARE ENOUGH. SUZANNE FATTA

BY NICOLE HEROUX WILLIAMS I PHOTOS BY NSP STUDIO

Our latest cover woman for Rochester Woman Online is a woman of many talents. An accomplished and internationally know opera singer, a plus size model, a female entrepreneur and so much more!

After talking with her for a few months about another idea for the magazine that we were planning (that is actually featured in this edition after her cover story), I said, “WOW you are so inspiring to so many... and the perfect choice for our cover, what do you think?” She graciously agreed, and here we are.

I hope you find her back story as inspiring and empowering as I did. And get ready, because she will be performing LIVE with us for our April Influential Woman Expo and then hitting our runway on July 29th for our Diamonds in the Rough Fashion Show to fight human trafficking.

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your background. Who is Suzanne Fatta vs. Carmina Suzanne?

Well they are definitely both me! When I started modeling in London around 14 years ago I was in a PhD program and I chose a stage name to keep my careers separate. But here in WNY, everyone knows everyone, so most people understand me as both. But Carmina is my model name, and everything else I do is as Suzanne.

What does the word “Influential” mean to you?

It’s an interesting word because it can be both passive and active. Just by being myself, by posting photos of a happy, thriving, disabled plus model, I have been blessed to indirectly, or secretly I guess, inspire people all over the world who hate their bodies in some way. I also actively Influence house full of opera, jazz, classical and rock. I really have been singing my whole life; I started studying classical voice as a young teenager, and my university degrees are from music conservatories. Contralto is a type of Female opera singer, the lowest and most rare. Most people think of super high Sopranos, but my voice type is the lowest you can find and there is very little written for us - there is a LOT of prejudice in the classical world against low female voices. I fight the same fight for body acceptance as a plus model as I do as a female Baritone! This is the way I was made, and I will not apologize for my voice, my body or my size. And true opera singing is vigorous and athletic, people have no idea the stamina it takes. Sometimes when I don’t have a full tank of gas (Multiple Sclerosis gives horrible fatigue) I pivot towards jazz, which is way less physically taxing. others through my advocacy work; my Times Square billboards, the international BodyLove campaigns, highlighting Rare Disease Day and so forth.

What is a Contralto Opera singer and how did you get started?

As my Dad always says I came out of the womb singing, and I grew up in a

So you are a very talented Opera singer, but also a wellknown Plus Model and owner of MODAL Productions. How did you get into the modeling industry?

I modeled in college but many health problems took me out of the game for years. Then when I was in London in my 30s for my opera career, I decided to give modeling one more go. I studied and trained really hard, and single-handedly turned myself into one of the top plus models in England within a year. I was very lucky to work in London and Paris at the start of my career.

Since then I have been signed in the UK, USA, Canada, France, Italy, Germany and Chile; and walked major fashion weeks including Paris Plus Fashion Week. I was even Serena Williams’ fit model at Burberry in London!

Rebranding myself as Curvy Confident Carmina was based on advice from my PR agent. It gets right to the point - I am curvy, and I am selling confidence!

Tell us one thing not many people know about you.

I love love love the Rocky/ Creed movies! I’m not a boxing fan at all but I go bonkers for Rocky!

I am also a HUGE trivia nerd, usually we play four people against me and I still win (unless the final question is about sports). I was even on Jeopardy in 2001!

What do you

Feel Is

the real key to women empowering other women?

We need to realize that when one of us rises, we all rise. This is not a zerosum game. Friendly competition is a good thing, but when it crosses the line to opportunism, that’s unethical and yucky. There are enough slices of the pie to go around so I am not fighting with other women over crumbs. So the best way we can empower each other is by straightening the crown of the queen next to you.

Tell us about your business MODAL clients are models. I also scout directly for a number of agencies around the world. My models have been placed in top agencies in NYC and Miami, and in mother agencies in Italy! My girls also walk NYFW (the real one) every year too.

Tell us about some of your goals and dreams for you personally and professionally. It’s really hard to imagine a future one way or the other when you have chronic illnesses. In addition to MS, I have two rare and severe neurological disorders, three endocrine diseases, and a few more to boot. So a lot depends on my health. That being said, my goal is to keep modeling as long as I book paying work with quality clients. At 47 years old there is no ceiling in sight! I have walked all major fashion weeks but Milano, so my Italian mother agent and I are working on that. My husband and I are starting an arts complex in Buffalo with an instrument museum, a concert space, education classes especially for immigrant and refugee children, workshops and more. And I plan to form an official organization for all the choirs I direct, to put them under

What are some of the pros and cons of being a plus size model, especially in such a competitive industry. What do you feel sets you apart from others?

The main con is being in Buffalo. When I moved back here in 2012 after 5 years in the UK, it was like walking 2 decades into the past in terms of diversity. There were NO plus models and I got treated quite terribly by designers, photographers and even design schools even though

I had achieved major international status. Buffalo does fantastic with racial diversity in fashion, but they pat themselves on the back and stop there. This is why I mainly work in NYC, as much as I would love to be able to model in my home town. Being a plus model in London, I never had to justify my body, my career or my place in the industry. Another reason I usually get on a plane to work. But there are amazing local designers here who do promote size diversity, and I’m so proud to work for them. What sets me apart is my natural Euro look in the American market! I make most of my money shooting for my European clients here in The States. So I have also rebranded myself “Your Favorite Euro Plus Model in NY.” My 13 years’ experience as a Model, Scout, Booker, Agency Director, Event Manager, PR Executive, Media Producer, Author/ Writer, Magazine Editor, Stylist, Creative Director and Photographer also sets me apart from other models. I am a fashion industry professional, not just a model.

“Then when I was in London in my 30s for my OPERA CAREER, I decided to give modeling one more go. I studied and trained really hard, and SINGLEHANDEDLY turned myself into one of the top plus models in England within a year. I was VERY LUCKY to work in London and Paris at the start of my career.

If you could do one thing you have never done, what would it be and why?

I would to run away to a tropical island for a month to relax, reconnect and regulate. I have always been fascinated by The Seychelles, Mauritius and the islands of Indonesia. I wish I had the power of teleportation so the trip would be easier!

What is your favorite opera to perform and why?

I specialize in Baroque opera, so that’s opera from the 17th and 18th centuries.

My favorite rôle is Farnace from an opera by Vivaldi. No one wrote dramatic fire music like him! I can really chew the scenery in my native language Italian when I sing Vivaldi.

What is one piece of advice you have been given that you have never forgotten?

Two from my Dad: Your career will happen to you, not the other way around. And; When someone messes up or treats you badly, assume incompetence before you assume malfeasance.

From my Mom? The right thing to do may not feel good, but it will always feel right.

If you had to pick one that you have worked with that has been your absolute favorite to work with, who would it be and why?

Silvana Denker, one of my best friends and the recent winner of Best Plus Photographer at the Full Figure Industry Awards, is my favorite to work with! She’s an incredibly talented photographer and just as good a model; we’ve shot all over NYC and LA together, many times. She’s well known for her BodyLove by Silvana Denker campaign, we even got a Times

Square Billboard! I also love shooting with the great Velvet D’Amour, the world-famous (Rochester-born!!) plus model and photographer who walked Paris Fashion Week at a size 28 in the 1990s for John Galliano and Jean-Paul Gaultier, and debuted at Cannes. I write for and have been published in her cutting edge, avant-garde and radically pro-diversity magazine Volup2. Velvet is still a Rochester girl who loves her Bills, even though she’s been in Paris for decades.

What’s the most important risk you ever taken? How did it play out for you?

Actually, jumping into the modeling game in my mid-30s as a plus, disabled, and not super tall model in the top fashion city in the world was a major risk! I left my PhD program and threw all my attention, energy and finances towards building my book. It paid off for sure, but at a cost.

What is your vision for the future? Where do you see yourself in the next 3 years? What about 5 years?

We are happily staying in Buffalo for the time being as my parents are getting older and ill, and it’s also such a beautiful, friendly, easy place to live. But my hubby, step-son and I would like to move to New England or Hudson Valley someday. My longterm goal is to be accepted for who and what I am, and what my body can do. I don’t ever want to explain or justify my health, age, ability level, size, shape or voice type ever again.

Why are you passionate about being a champion for MS and helping to raise awareness?

We live in the MS capital of North America, so sadly I have a captive audience. Many Models and Opera singers with similar autoimmune or chronic illnesses hide it for fear of being fired or ostracized. This is why I speak up even louder! I only know one other professional agency model who openly speaks about having MS, and just a few more in the opera world. I do not like that.

What do you think helped you the most to make a career as a model?

My own passion. I did not have much mentoring, and many people told me I would never make it. So my own passion, drive, talent, intelligence and development helped me the most. Also, I learned from closely watching the fashion professionals around me. I spent the first few years soaking up everything like a sponge. Coming from the world of academia - I have an MA from Harvard - I studied modeling like I would an academic subject.

After that, the art and creativity comes in…

What do you think is the biggest problem facing young models, especially in the industry today? Instagram. It’s given new life to the to do their advertising -- for free -because they bought 30K followers. Now everyone with an iPhone is a photographer, and anyone who got their photo taken is a model. Heck no! I built one website once, I don’t get to call myself a web designer. First year med students cannot say they are doctors. How is modeling any different? Real models are signed to an agency, get hired over and over, and are paid money. Modeling is a job, career and industry in addition to being a skill and a craft, and the most successful models realize that. Modeling is a craft that takes years to develop, being pretty means nothing without the talent and the work. industry, but it’s also destroyed it. My industry has been diluted with mediocracy and it makes me so sad. Now people with no talent, no idea how to pose, and no photogeneity are being picked up by companies

If you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would that be?

Stop trying to sing Soprano! That’s a joke but true. Honestly? I would say worry about your health and not your looks. Also, I used to hate my crooked front teeth but now I get booked because of them! “Imperfections” like that are actually quite editorial. It’s Flawsome!

What is your favorite form of social media and why?

I use Facebook the most, many of my friends are scattered around the world and it makes us all feel closer. Also it’s the best way to promote the choirs I direct and the events I produce.

Would you say you are an “influencer”?

In the sense of being an Instagram Influencer/Content Creator? No. And I chose not to. I have no interest in that; I decided during the Pandemic not to dilute my brand of excellence by shooting at home. But as a high profile activist for disabilities, diversity in fashion, and demanding more respect for low voiced women? Absolutely I am an Influencer!

Where will we see you next?

I produce a monthly opera cabaret series at The Bittersweet Piano Lounge in Buffalo, so you can always find me there. I sing in chamber choirs and often give solo lecture-recitals. See you at The Influential Woman’s Expo on April 22! For modeling, I am walking in 6 shows in Buffalo and Rochester through the fall, but of course all of it is gearing up for NYFW in September when I have some major international contracts as a model, and press passes for Fashion Maniac Magazine. And of course, I will be shooting every day for my German, Austrian and French employers!

BY SUZANNE FATTA I PHOTOS BY GLASER STUDIOS & MADE BY ANATOMY