PR worker went from seating guest at Australian Fashion Week to the Milan catwalk

HE’S the Aussie public relations worker who went from seating guests at Fashion Week in Sydney to walking the catwalk for Dolce & Gabbana in Milan.

Tom Farrelly grew up living at Western Sydney pet hotel with no aspirations to model.

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HE’S the Aussie public relations worker who went from seating guests at Fashion Week in Sydney to walking the catwalk for Dolce & Gabbana in Milan.

Tom Farrelly, 28, never had modelling aspirations growing up, but three years after quitting his Sydney PR job and falling into the fashion industry by accident, he’s twice walked for one of the biggest couture houses in the world and sat front row at their shows.

“It was one of the most surreal experiences of my life,” Farrelly, who is signed to Australian agency Kult, told Confidential.

Farrelly has sitting in the front row in Milan was a “pinch yourself” moment.

“It was on stage at the La Scala theatre in Milan and I sat front row and in my head all I could think about was ‘I used to do the seating plans for Fashion Week in Sydney and now I’m sitting at a couture show front row in Milan’.

“It was one of those pinch-yourself moments, I felt very lucky.”

Farrelly has walked the catwalk for Dolce and Gabbana in Milan.

Farrelly’s dad Peter was a model in the 1970s, walking for David Jones and fronting campaigns for Chesty Bonds and Old Spice.

“I never thought that was something that would happen to me,” Farrelly said.

“I hadn’t even dreamt of that.

“It wasn’t something that was even in my awareness or even remotely possible.”

Farrelly grew up living in a pet hotel — a dog kennel and a cattery — run by his parents in Camden, which gives him good stories to tell.

“I got to play with dogs growing up and I loved animals, so it was the best thing ever.”