Face of Allure: Lotus Van Heddegem
MANILA, Philippines - Early in life. Lothyssia Crystalie “Lotus” Van Heddegem learned that when you love what you’re doing, it would love you back. Lotus took this lesson very seriously and the result is a long list of ramp, print and TV modeling stints to boast of. At 22, the half-Belgian, half-Filipino model says she is happy at where she is right now. The 5’9”-tall Lotus credits her mentor Jonas Gaffud of Mercator who saw a potential high fashion model in her and asked her to join his modeling company after her stint in the Mutya ng Pilipinas pageant in 2006. “In this job, I know that I have to always look good whether I am in a modeling assignment or even when I’m just out with my friends,” she asserts.
Lotus, the daughter of businessmen Eric George Ive Nicolas and Julie Toribio Van Heddegem, shares that growing up in Belgium and then transferring to the Philippines was hard for her. “I experienced studying in both countries and found it hard to grow up in two different cultures. Of course, after some time, I just got used to it,” she narrates. “When we got to the Philippines, we didn’t understand and speak Tagalog so my sister and I were using sign language.” Lotus smiles at the mention of her younger sister, whom she considers her best friend. “When we were younger, we would always fight even on the pettiest of things. Our relationship is better now because we’ve already matured. As the older one, I give her pieces of advice and share my experiences. We even go out on dates with our mom.”
Lotus finished Tourism at the Centro Escolar University and enjoyed her Tour Guiding and Hotel Management classes. She says juggling her studies and modeling stints was a difficult task. “I enjoyed modeling so much that I also couldn’t give it up. So I had to balance school and modeling both at the same time,” she muses.
But Lotus also doesn’t want her degree to be put to waste. She reveals that she is planning to start a career as a flight attendant this year. She also wants to study to become a co-pilot. Because of the many things she still wants to do, Lotus shares that her New Year’s resolution is to be more focused on her endeavors. — Jerni May H. Camposano
