Agency signs Lahache 

Daisy Lahache was seriously considering giving up on her modelling career when she got a call worth waiting for from The Rocky Mountain Agency.

“It really took me by surprise,” Lahache said. “I’d started to feel discouraged, but this has really pulled me right back in.”

The 22-year-old is the latest talent to be scouted by the Montana-based modelling agency, which boasts a diverse roster of models that have since signed on to international acting and modelling opportunities.

For Lahache, whose partner lives in Montana, the agency is shaping up to be an excellent fit. Despite not being based out of Kahnawake, she’ll still be able to walk in local shows, something important to her that other contracts she’s come across have discouraged.

“That was one of the things I made sure of,” Lahache said. “I need to still be able to participate in the shows that are at home, and benefit from those local opportunities.”

Prioritizing local gigs is important to Lahache because it’s what got her to where she is today. She first started modelling at local shows in 2018, walking for Kahnawake’s own Karoniénhawe Diabo, who owns She Holds The Sky Designs. From there, she started getting involved in more Indigenous fashion spaces and ended up working closely with Akwesasne-based designer Tisha Thompson on a number of appearances.

“I’m just most passionate about Indigenous shows, they’ll always be my favourite. There’s just nothing that compares to it,” Lahache said.

Nowadays, even the big-city shows are feeling like a local affair. Designers from Kahnawake, Akwesasne, and beyond have been flocking to New York Fashion Week for years now – the very place that Lahache truly fell in love with modeling back in 2023, when she traveled to the city with 20 other models walking for She Holds The Sky Designs.

“I just felt so comforted having so many of our community out there at the same time, and I realized, ‘Wow, I could do this again someday, and there could be somebody from home out here in these big cities, so I won’t feel like I’m by myself,’” she said. “I knew from then on, there was no stopping me.”

Thompson, who is one of the organizers of the Akwesasne Indigenous Fashion Show, said that Lahache’s signing with Rocky Mountain is another sign that Indigenous models are finally getting the recognition they deserve in the fashion world.

“For me, seeing Indigenous models being signed gives me a great sense of pride. I’m glad these agencies are seeing what I see and taking notice,” she said. “I think with models and designers reaching their goals, it paves the way for the future generation.”

Thompson said she has no doubts that Lahache will excel with her new agency.

“I truly believe she needs to be in these spaces. I remember one of our first shoots together, all I could think was that she needs to be modeling at a higher level,” Thompson said. “She’s a standout model, not only for her beauty, but she’s a pleasure to work with, always kind and respectful.”

The future looks bright for Lahache, who said that she hopes other Onkwehón:we models will see her success as something they can do too.

Her biggest piece of advice? Don’t get burned out before you’ve even begun.

“Don’t be afraid to take a break. Just because you’re not booking a bunch of shows consistently doesn’t mean you won’t get scouted or receive the opportunities you’re striving for,” she said.

“Everybody’s journey comes at their own pace, and you’ll never know what it looks like unless you try.”

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