Model Citizen: Fernanda Ly
Australian Fernanda Ly is the international fashion star you have probably never heard of. This 20 year old model from Sydney has taken the fashion industry by storm, completely stealing the Louis Vuitton fashion show. She’s been featured on the cover of Vogue in three countries. She’s most known for strutting down the Louis Vuitton show spotting something rarely seen in big name fashion shows- the eye-catching, bright pink hair.
Fernanda Ly was just finishing high school in Sydney when she was discovered by a modeling scout while shopping with her mom. That one scout has landed her in runways all over the world, including New York and Paris. Ly, whos parents, are Chinese, was a high honor student and very focused in the art world. She planned on studying the arts after high school, and was actually reluctant when a scout asked if she was interested in modeling. ‘I was like, ‘this sounds nice. I’m just going to send in my photos and see’,’ she said.
In the following year, Ms Ly began was balancing work across Australia with university when one of the industry’s top casting agents, Ashley Brokaw, offered her the opportunity of a lifetime. Within a few days of speaking to Ms. Brokaw, Ly was meeting with he artistic director of Louis Vuitton, Nicolas Ghesquière, and was booked in her first runway show in the fashion brand’s fall 2015 show. She packed a bag and left Sydney for Europe for an eight-week trip that soon turned into a six-month long fashion excursion. “‘The whole time I was there, I was thinking this is so weird – what is going on? And then everything worked out really well.” She has since been featured on the covers of Vogue Italia, Vogue Japan, Vogue Australia and Teen Vogue, as well as numerous other features in international magazines and fashion campaigns.
But despite all the success that has come her way, Fernanda remains true to her most inner core. For one thing, she has a barely-there to almost nonexistent social media presence. This is something that is highly unusual in the fashion world, especially in a time like today where social media runs what news we hear and how fast we hear it.
Recently, she sat down with an online publication for an interview and pointed out ten little unknown facts about her. When asked what her favorite modeling gig was besides walking for Louis Vuitton, she responded by saying “Shooting with Nastygal! Everyone was so fun to work with and they let me take really good cookies home. I wish I knew where they were from.” She also stated that the pink her that made her famous today actually started when she was fifteen years old. She tried to go blonde only to end up a coppery orange shade. When she was 17 was the first time she had dyed her hair pink. As far as people she looks up to in terms of style and hair, she responded by saying Eva Cheung. During her time off, she enjoys indulging on sweet treats and playing Japanese video games.