Where did Melania Knauss begin her modeling in Slovenia?

1. How her career began — a photographer on a fence

Contemporary profiles and photo features trace Melania’s start to a single recruiting moment in Slovenia: a young Melanija sitting on a fence waiting for a friend after a fashion show when Slovenian photographer Stane Jerko invited her to a studio trial shoot; images from that 1987–1988 period became her first portfolio and launched paid modeling assignments in Slovenia ^{[1] [2]}.

2. The local assignments that mattered

After the Jerko sessions, reporting says Melania returned for another shoot to model garments produced by a Slovenian textile factory; those early commercial and editorial assignments made up the body of work that established her as a professional model in Slovenia before she sought work abroad ^{[1] [2]}.

3. From Ljubljana classrooms to Milan runways

Biographical sources say she attended the Secondary School of Design and Photography and then enrolled at the University of Ljubljana but left after one year to focus on modeling; she then pursued opportunities in the major European fashion centers — signing with an agency in Milan at 18 and working in Paris under the professional name Melania Knauss ^{[5] [3]}.

4. Contests and visibility: the Jana connection

Some research summaries and agency-style biographies credit a national modeling contest — Jana magazine’s Look of the Year — as a turning point: in those accounts she placed in the contest in the early 1990s, which earned contracts across Europe and helped propel her from Slovenian shoots into the Milan circuit ^[4]. Not all summaries emphasize the exact year or placement the same way; sources vary on whether the contest was her definitive break or one among several early moves abroad ^[4].

5. How different outlets frame the timeline

News photo galleries and encyclopedic entries focus on the Jerko discovery and the 16-year-old portfolio shoots ^{[1] [2]}. Reference works such as Britannica and some biographical compendia emphasize the university-to-modeling pivot and subsequent success in Milan and Paris ^[3]. Research-starter briefings and databases highlight the Jana contest as a concrete milestone leading to European contracts ^[4]. These are complementary rather than mutually exclusive accounts but underscore different moments as the “beginning.”

6. What the sources do not say or disagree about

Available sources do not provide a single, fully detailed timeline that nails down every date, agency contract, or the precise sequence of every first assignment in Slovenia; some pieces put the discovery at 16 (mid‑1980s), others underscore a public contest in 1992 as the major break ^{[1] [4]}. Sources disagree on emphasis: photo features prioritize the Jerko shoots, while biographies stress contest success and the move to Milan ^{[1] [4] [3]}.

7. Why the origin story matters politically and culturally

Profiles that highlight a modest Slovenian start — local textile shoots and a photography-school background — shape the narrative of a working model who parlayed regional visibility into an international career ^{[1] [2] [3]}. Other framings that emphasize contest placements and agency signings make her rise look more competitive and industry‑driven ^[4]. Readers should note outlets’ different agendas: photo galleries aim to illustrate a glamorous origin, encyclopedias to summarize milestones, and tabloids to dramatize transformation.

8. Bottom line for your question

In short: Melania Knauss began modeling in Slovenia after being scouted by photographer Stane Jerko as a teenager; her earliest professional work consisted of studio shoots and campaigns for Slovenian textile firms in Ljubljana and nearby, after which she left university and moved on to Milan and Paris to build an international modeling career ^{[1] [2] [3]}.