The victory of Vivian Hoorn: this wise lesson teaches us

If you ask me to name ten women I want to show as examples for my daughters, Vivian Hoorn is definitely on the list. And with a high ranking too. Her latest Instagram post made me want to share her ‘journey’ with you. When I got to know Viv, she was mainly a photographer, also for us. Every week she came to shoot our Look of the Days and every time it was a bit awkward because Viv was of course supposed to be in front of the camera, not me.

Fortunately, I got better at getting Viv in front of the camera. Eventually, she shot an amazing report of herself and her life in Cape Town for our print edition of AMAYZINE. Cape Town was already her favorite place on earth, but also the place where she just couldn't make it as a model. At least, that's how it seemed. At a certain point, Viv decided not to bend to the laws of the fashion world and to let everything go to have the right body. That didn't suit her. Viv embraced Viv in all her forms, excelled as a role model, even appeared on the cover of The Times magazine, and started her own clothing line Viveh.

She inherited her entrepreneurial spirit from her father. “His motto: don't complain. So that meant helping out at home every Saturday, removing cobwebs, cleaning the car, that kind of thing. My father insisted that I start my own business as soon as I finished school. Without him, I wouldn't have achieved this,” she told us in our magazine.

So here she is again. Eight years later, back in Cape Town. In every way a richer person, but if you ask her, the immaterial gain will be the most important to her.

Image: @vivianhoorn