VICTORIA LEE

After a decade in the notoriously cutthroat modelling industry, the newly crowned Victoria’s Secret superstar has hit her stride. Strong, smart and self-assured, she’s looking to life beyond the runway

Modelling was tough before, when making it in the industry required a combination of uncommon genetics, a strong hips-forward strut, charisma and luck. But it’s even tougher now. On top of all that, an elite model must also be a brand, entrepreneur, philanthropist, social-justice advocate, role model, social-media influencer and, ideally, part of an industry dynasty – a Hadid, a Kardashian, the next Cindy Crawford. The number of models currently on that roster? Thirty-five maybe. Fifty at most. And suddenly, Australian model Victoria Lee finds herself rising in the ranks, having made a career-defining walk on the Victoria’s Secret runway and scoring a David Jones ambassadorship that puts her in the league of Miranda Kerr.

Except, it’s never suddenly. In Lee’s case, it took 10 years of hard work and hustle, which started at age 18 (just a year after buying her first-ever fashion magazine) when she left her home town of Narrandera in rural NSW for Sydney, and then headed to New York two years later. Casting call to casting call, lugging her portfolio around unfamiliar cities, queuing with the hundred other girls waiting for their 30 seconds in front of bookers. “There were many, many times when I felt like I’d had enough,” Lee admits.

The glamorous moments are few and far between. Constant knock-backs and brutally honest feedback are just a few of the realities of a competitive industry vulnerable to unprofessionalism and the abuses of power that have always been an open secret among insiders but are only now coming to light.

“After a really long day, all you want to do is come home to your family, but they’re not there,” says the now-27-year-old. “In those moments, I would definitely question whether I was doing the right thing. But every time, it was like I’d hear a little voice telling me to keep going.” Hers is a steely kind of resilience that’s been key to surviving on the way up.

Initially, Lee says, she didn’t think of modelling as a long-term career option, more of a gap-year filler, which in a way must have been its own self-protective mechanism. But as momentum built and she began booking jobs for Armani, Ralph Lauren and DKNY, “My attitude had to change from ‘This is something I’m just doing now’ to ‘This is what I want to do’,” she says. “And once you really put yourself out there, almost admit it, it actually makes it tougher. You feel so much more vulnerable, and the rejection becomes harder.”

Ten years later, Lee is clear-eyed about the highs and lows. “The way I learnt to frame it in my mind is that with every job you go out for, they’ll have a picture of what they want and you’re either that or you’re not, and there’s nothing you can do about it. You have to be able to distinguish professional scrutiny from personal judgement. Whether you get the job or not is really just a business decision.”

Before landing her place on the Victoria’s Secret runway last year – her lifelong dream, as it is for most models – Lee had auditioned four previous years and been passed over. “One of those years, I didn’t even get a call back,” she says. “But every time, I took any feedback I could get and went away and worked on it.”

Being subjected to a whole new level of public, and professional, scrutiny can’t be easy – especially now that the expectation on models isn’t to have the lowest possible BMI via a diet of gum and cigarettes as it once was, but to develop the kind of superhuman physique that comes from Olympic-grade discipline and training. “You have to look after yourself from the inside out, because your body, your face, your skin is your business,” says Lee, who has studied nutrition. “Handling scrutiny and dealing with various opinions of what [constitutes] ‘beauty’ is much easier when the opinion you have of yourself is strong and positive. Maintaining that mindset helps me handle the tougher side of modelling.” The training itself, and taking a conscious approach to mental and physical wellness, is where that strength comes from, but she admits there are still times her selfconsciousness gets the better of her. “Am I feeling super-confident every day? No, I’m human.”

So now that she’s joined the ranks of the elite, what pressure does she feel to become an empire? “The idea of challenging yourself and stepping out of your comfort zone is something that inspires me,” she says, citing maternal health advocate and dedicated activist Christy Turlington Burns as a mentor. Lee is well aware of the platform that comes with a high-profile career and feels an obligation to use it. She’s passionate about protecting and preserving the environment, and already supports causes like Helping Rhinos and #Knotonmyplanet. “As you develop more of a name, it gives you a voice,” she says. “And if I’m able to use the position I’m in to help and give a voice to those less fortunate, or draw awareness to a cause I feel strongly about, I would love to help.”

At a time when no-one can ignore the groundshift taking place in the modelling industry, now that the underside of the business is being exposed via the #Myjobshouldnotincludeabuse campaign, Lee considers herself one of the lucky ones, with no firsthand experience of the exploitation many models have been subjected to. But she isn’t naive to darker realities. “If I ever feel unsure in a situation for some reason, a revealing shot or whatever it might be, I know it’s my choice to say, ‘I’m not comfortable,’” she says. “I know what I will and won’t stand for.”

Wherever she goes from here, Lee has maturity and experience on her side, and from that the ability to shape her own career. “I feel so fortunate to be where I am,” she says. “Having worked so hard from the beginning has made the current moment more rewarding and I just want to take it as far as I can.” Already, that looks like all the way.