SORA CHOI
Icons are no longer virtual beings that are seen through a screen. To us, Sora Choi is a supermodel whose runway photos and edgy, intimidating off duty looks are plastered across every fashion magazine, website and Instagram feed. To those in her inner circle, she is the warmest, loveliest and most understated person you will ever meet. Through the lens of her husband, we are invited to see a different side, a nuance that can only be captured by her confidante and biggest supporter. Here, we are given a rare insight into the icon that Sora is in her personal life.
dress LEEEUIJIN,
inner top and biket shorts KIMMYJ,
shoes SUNWOO,
ear cuff GLOSS & MATT
PHOTOGRAPHER KOVE LEE
STYLIST WOO LEE
jacket KUSIKOHC,
ear cuff PORTRAIT REPORT
MORE SORA, MORE LOVE
INTERVIEWER ELAINE YJ LEE
Sora Choi’s path to fashion model superstardom started with a chance encounter. What kicked off a life-changing, lifelong career was an unlikely combination of free time and courtesy. “A friend asked me to tag along with her to a model casting because she was nervous,” Choi says. Choi was a sophomore in high school, a quiet student who just liked to draw. Modeling wasn’t in her plan, and she simply went for support. We don’t know what happened to the friend after casting, but we do know what happened to Sora Choi.
The casting director took a liking to Choi, and soon, she was put on her first runway at a graduate collection show. “As soon as I stepped on the catwalk, I saw all the cameras flashing and could feel the beat of the music. I got goosebumps and a rush of adrenaline,” Choi would later say. After a couple of years, Choi entered and won the third season of Korea’s Next Top Model – the Korean version of America’s Next Top Model – and the young newbie was instantly propelled into a world of fame.
“I can’t forget my first show, both in Korea and abroad,” Choi tells me, the latter referring to her international debut with Louis Vuitton. In 2016, she became the first South Korean model to ever be chosen as the brand’s city exclusive for Paris Fashion Week, handpicked by Nicolas Ghesquiere himself. “I couldn’t believe it until I actually stepped on the runway,” she says, looking back. “At the time, I didn’t know I was their first Korean exclusive. I didn’t even post about it!” Choi would go on as Louis Vuitton’s city exclusive for two years, starring in the brand’s advertising campaign six times.
dress and shoes SUNWOO,
necklace PORTRAIT REPORT,
ear cuff VOKCHOI
While Choi’s trajectory toward success seemed quick and smooth, there were more obstacles to overcome than she let on. Being on Korea’s Next Top Model granted Choi both public recognition and baseless disapproval at the start of her career. “People’s criticisms and doubts about me only serve as motivation to become stronger,” she says. “I think when it comes to work, I become more passionate at the toughest times.”
Real hardship followed soon after. Choi has publicly spoken about her health issues, specifically the pressure to maintain her weight in an industry with unrealistic beauty standards. “One time, I was cancelled the day before a runway because the brand thought ‘I looked too swollen,’” she says. “I was the global exclusive for that brand that season, and it was the last show of all of the four big Fashion Weeks. That meant that I had wasted that whole season. I was totally shocked.” That shock pushed Choi to the extreme. She has spoken in multiple interviews about how she has gone as much as five weeks without food, just living on water to prepare herself for Fashion Week. “The nature of my work makes it difficult to find a balance,” she continues. “But I’m definitely healthier now than I was before.”
shirt and skirt KANGHYUK,
ear cuff and earring PORTRAIT REPORT,
necklace VOKCHOI,
shoes ASICS SPORTSTYLE
Perseverance and hard work have landed Choi on the most-wanted list for virtually every namable brand: she has walked the runways and/or starred in the campaigns for Dior, Prada, Gucci, Burberry, Celine, Hermes, Givenchy, Marc Jacobs, and dozens more. In 2019, she was in a staggering 89 runways and broke the record for walking the most shows that year. “When you do the same job repetitively, some people might experience ennui or fall into a kind of mannerism,” she tells me. “But for me, it gets more fun the more shows I do. I once told my husband that I would die on the runway.”
That same year she walked 89 shows, Choi married Kove Lee, a Korean photographer and artist she’d met in New York. She wore a black custom Prada dress at a small wedding in Bali. “We wanted a ceremony just for ourselves. Black is my favorite color, so I asked the guests to wear white instead.” Choi’s little black wedding ensemble was a combination of two different pieces from Prada’s Fall/Winter 2019 collection. “I had mentioned to Miuccia that I wanted a black wedding dress, and she offered to make one for me. I had her on one side and Olivier [Rizzo] on the other, and the three of us cherry-picked what would go into the dress. I was so grateful.”
Knitwear MINA CHUNG,
inner top and trousers KIJUN,
necklace VOKCHOI,
shoes ASICS SPORTSTYLE
At the time of our interview, Choi is on vacation, just having celebrated her second wedding anniversary. “Because of the pandemic, we were in a relatively quiet area on Jeju Island,” she says. When asked what she loves about her husband, her answer is curt. “I get that question a lot, but I don’t understand it. You don’t love someone because of something.”
“Since getting married, I often hear from people that I no longer have this hostility in my eyes. I guess before, I must have looked angry all the time, or maybe too passionate,” Choi says. “But neither getting married nor approaching thirty has really changed my perspective on life. I’m going to live on as I am now. I just want to work more, and love more.”
“When you do the same job repetitively, some people might experience ennui or fall into a kind of mannerism. But for me, it gets more fun the more shows I do. I once told my husband that I would die on the runway.”
sleeveless jacket and trousers CHA MYUNG,
ear cuff VOKCHOI necklace,
ring and bracelet AVECTHING,
shoes ASICS SPORTSTYLE
This cover story was published in our The WOW N° 5.
Issue5 available now.
MODEL: SORA CHOI @GOST
PHOTOGRAPHER: KOVE LEE @ GOST
STYLIST: WOO LEE
HAIR: WOOJUN KIM
MAKE-UP: GAYOUNG OH @ AGENCY TOUCH
PHOTOGRAPHY ASSISTANTS: JIMIN SON & JIHUN HAN
STYLIST ASSISTANTS: SUNYOUNG KO & YOUNG SHIN
MAKE-UP ASSISTANT: JEONGIN LIM
HAIR ASSISTANT: YENA LEE