There is one model who walked in more fashion shows than any other in 2023.
Yilan Hua is from China. She stands 5-foot-11, with a sweep of shoulder-length jet black hair, full lips and pointed nose and appeared on a staggering 89 runways last year, according to the fashion search engine Tagwalk, outpacing her nearest rivals, América González of Venezuela and Victoria Fawole of Nigeria. She was cast in the shows of some of the biggest names in the industry, including Chanel, Fendi, Michael Kors, Stella McCartney and Christian Dior. She was photographed on the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival and appeared in fashion features and advertising campaigns in Vogue and other glossy magazines.
Ms. Hua, 24, is the leading face of a new generation of popular Chinese models that includes He Cong, Chu Wong and Ying Ouyang — despite a family death this season that kept her off the runway for much of Paris Fashion Week. So why is the industry so taken with her, and what does her ascent reflect about the importance of China to luxury fashion?
According to Margaret Zhang, the editor in chief of Vogue China, Ms. Hua is part of a group of models who don’t have the classical Han Chinese features that defined beauty standards in China for centuries.
“Yilan doesn’t necessarily embody the traditional beauty standards revered by Chinese audiences,” Ms. Zhang wrote in an email. “What’s different about her is that she is a real chameleon. Any photographer or designer can see in her a version of a woman they’re looking to convey in their work, and as a result she hasn’t been pigeonholed into one aesthetic or one category of shows.”
Julia Lange, a casting director who has booked Ms. Hua since 2019 for clients like Simone Rocha and Mugler, pointed to her instincts and formidable work ethic.
“You can throw Yilan into the worlds of Simone Rocha and Mugler, which could not be more opposite, and she fits perfectly into both because she knows exactly how to mold her face or walk while still retaining her distinctive personality and sense of humor,” Ms. Lange said.
Ms. Hua was born in Hangzhou, a city of more than 10 million people known for being the home of the Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba. Growing up, she was a high school athlete with a tall, muscular build. She had never considered life as a model, she said, until she watched a Victoria’s Secret show in 2015. She also wanted to travel. After moving to Shanghai in 2018 for college, she started applying to local modeling agencies. She was quickly scouted by Western firms who asked her to travel to Paris.
“It was only ever meant to be a quick trip for fashion weeks during my college holidays,” Ms. Hua said in London last month. “My first show was a Schiaparelli couture show in 2019.” She quickly became a breakout face at a time when the Western luxury market’s reliance on China for sales was greater than ever.
Swaddled in a giant pastel puffer coat, she was smiling and funny. She said she had picked up the backstage nickname the Television because she was “always talking, always on.”
“I thought I’d just go back to China,” she said. “But I ended up booking a global exclusive with Bottega Veneta, and before I knew it, I had moved to Paris full time.” She still lives there with twin roommates who are also models.
“I was learning so much so fast,” she said, “and working with so many huge names, which is why after the outbreak of the pandemic in 2020, I stayed in Europe, even though it kept me from being able to go home to my family and friends.”
The onset of Covid-19 prompted many Chinese models to race back to China, where severe lockdowns and travel restrictions meant that many would not be able to travel internationally for work for several years. And today Chinese models face increasingly prohibitive travel visa restrictions. As one of a handful who stayed in the West — and one with a better command of English than many peers — Ms. Hua remained accessible to Western fashion houses as the world opened up again.
“Right now, I am focusing on my international career, but whether Chinese models can increase their value and allure at home is dependent on their profile on the runways of Milan and Paris,” she said. Luckily, she added, despite the nonstop travel, exhaustion and hair-raising moped commutes between shows, she loves being a model and still feels a rush every time she steps on a runway.
Lately, she and her management team have become more selective in the brands she works with as she considers her next steps. Age ranges may have broadened a bit in recent years, but being a runway model is still a short-lived gig. Those who endure, like Liu Wen, China’s first bona fide supermodel, are few.
“It’s about a move from quantity to quality,” said John Bruce, Ms. Hua’s London agent. “We may have done the inside pages, but we really need a Vogue cover. I know her Paris team has ideas to work on acting.”
This season Ms. Hua’s father died suddenly at the height of the show schedule. After walking at Fendi in Milan, she missed 10 days of shows to be at home with her family. After her return to Paris, she walked at Hermès, Stella McCartney, Mugler and Chanel.
Speaking in London days before her father’s death, Ms. Hua, an only child, recalled her parents’ support. “My mum, she saw it as an opportunity to experience life in different countries and observe different cultures, almost like studying abroad,” she said. “But my dad? My dad has never really understood the fashion industry or what I do. It’s just so far from his world.”
“But I know they are both proud,” she said. “To be able to give them that, especially when I am often far away, is a gift.”
