Sora Choi (Korean: 최소라; born September 5, 1992) is a South Korean fashion model. She won the third cycle of the reality television show Korea's Next Top Model. She currently ranks on models.com's "Industry Icons" list.[2] Throughout her whole career Choi has walked 537 fashion shows.[1] Choi has appeared on 17 Vogue covers.[2]
Sora Choi | |
|---|---|
 Sora Choi modeling for Swiss Perfection in 2021 | |
| Born | 최소라 September 5, 1992 |
| Nationality | South Korean |
| Occupation | Model |
| Years active | 2012–present |
| Spouse | Kove Lee (m. 2019) |
| Modeling information | |
| Height | 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in) |
| Hair color | Black |
| Eye color | Brown |
| Agency | Gost (Seoul)[1]
The Lions (New York) Ford Models (Paris) Special Management (Milan) |
| Korean name | |
| Hangul | 최소라 |
| Revised Romanization | Choe So-ra |
| McCune–Reischauer | Ch'oe Sora |
Early life edit
Choi was born and raised in Bucheon, South Korea. She was scouted as a model when she was a junior in high school while accompanying a nervous friend to a casting at an agency.[3][4] Instead of her friend, she was the one who received an offer to be signed.[4] Choi studied modeling at Dongduk Women's University, one of the top schools for female fashion in South Korea.[3]
Career edit
Early work 2012-2017 edit
Choi was discovered when she was in high school and decided to accompany a friend to a model casting and never thought about modeling.[5]
Choi debuted through a fashion college graduation show.[3] She became a prominent young model in Korea's fashion scene as she won the third cycle of the television show Korea's Next Top Model in 2012.[3] Her first editorial and cover was for W Korea in the same year.[6]
Choi's first international runway appearance was opening Christopher Raeburn's spring 2014 fashion show in September 2013.[7] Early on, Choi mostly worked within Korea's fashion industry until she received a callback request from Louis Vuitton.[4] After the callback and casting, she made her official international runway debut at Louis Vuitton's cruise show in May 2014, which took place in Monaco.[8] In the following spring 2015 season, she became the first South Korean model to be chosen as Louis Vuitton's city exclusive for Paris Fashion Week, handpicked by Nicolas Ghesquiere himself.[9][10] In that season, she also walked for Alexander Wang, Fendi, Versace, and became the first asian model to walk the runway for Calvin Klein.[11][12] In October 2014, Models.com selected Choi as a "Top Newcomer."[13]
In the spring 2016 season, Choi became the first asian model to walk for Hedi Slimane’s Saint Laurent fashion show.[14] Choi was introduced in Vogue as “one of the most popular faces on the runways” in the fall 2016 season, walking over 50 different shows in New York, Paris, London, and Milan.[15] From 2016, she went on as Louis Vuitton's city exclusive for two years, starring in their advertising campaign six times.[10] In 2017, she was listed on Models.com's "Top 50 models" list.[2][16]
Rise to prominence 2018-present edit
Choi has since walked for brands such as Prada, Gucci, Miu Miu, Chanel, Hermès, Alexander McQueen, Givenchy, Lanvin, Dior, Celine, Moschino, Valentino, Proenza Schouler, Loewe, Michael Kors, Paco Rabanne, Marc Jacobs, Burberry, Balenciaga and many others.[2][17] In 2019, walking a total of 89 shows, she became the model that has been on the most shows that year.[18]
Choi has featured in over 100 international advertising campaigns for brands including Alexander McQueen, Louis Vuitton, Saint Laurent, Versace, Dolce and Gabbana, Marc Jacobs, Coach, Prada, Bottega Veneta, Tom Ford, Gucci, Valentino, Burberry, NARS, Dior, Salvatore Ferragamo, Hugo Boss, Fendi, Max Mara, Moschino, Michael kors, Mugler and more.[19]
Choi has appeared in editorials for magazines such as American, British, Italian, Chinese, Japanese, German and Korean editions of Vogue, V magazine, Interview, i-D, Dazed, Elle, New York Times Style Magazine and many others.[20] She has also appeared on the covers of Italian, Korean, Hong Kong, Spanish and Japanese editions of Vogue, American, Korean, and Kazakhstan editions of Harper's Bazaar, American and Korean editions of W, i-D, Dust, Document Journal, Perfect magazine, Numéro China, and more.[21]
In December 2020, Choi won Models.com's "Readers' Choice Model of the Year" award.[22] Since 2021, she has been ranked as an "Industry Icon."[2] In October 2021, she received the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Commendation at the Korean Popular Culture and Arts Awards.[23]
In October 2022, she joined The Business of Fashion’s "The BoF 500," a list of people that are considered most influential in shaping the global fashion industry.[24][25]
In January 2023, Choi appeared in her second Vogue Italia cover as a solo cover.[26] In April, she closed Louis Vuitton's first-ever pre-fall runway show, which took place on the Jamsu Bridge in Seoul.[27] In the following month, she opened Gucci's first-ever cruise collection show in Asia, presented in the Gyeongbokgung palace in Seoul.[28][29] In September, she appeared in Victoria’s Secret’s The Tour ’23 fashion show and advertising campaign.[30][31] In 2023, she featured in advertising campaigns for Fendi, Giorgio Armani, H&M x Mugler, Louis Vuitton, Valentino, Fendi x Marc Jacobs, Gucci, Alexander McQueen, Burberry, Zara x Steven Meisel, Victoria’s Secret, and Swarovski.[19]
Personal life edit
In August 2019, Choi married Korean photographer Kove Lee in Bali, Indonesia.[32] Her black wedding dress was a gift from Miuccia Prada.[18] Choi is known for her extreme ways of dieting during fashion month which sparked concern on social media. The model weights 99-100 lbs.[33] [34]
Filmography edit
| Year | Title | Artist | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | "Eyekiss" | Lovelybut | Girl at the cafe |
| 2013 | "Gentleman" | Psy | Yellow bikini girl |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Saint Laurent - Summer of '21[35] | Herself | Short film |
References edit
- ^ "Sora Choi - Model".
- ^ a b c d "Sora Choi - Model". MODELS.com. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
- ^ a b c d "Asia's top model finds happiness on runway". The Korea Times. July 29, 2016. Retrieved June 8, 2021.
- ^ a b c "Sora Choi". The Fashionography. January 15, 2021. Retrieved June 8, 2021.
- ^ "Cover story with 최소라Sora Choi". The WOW Magazine. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
- ^ "Model Sora Choi's action-packed life, from New York Fashion Week to League of Legends". South China Morning Post. September 9, 2018.
- ^ Singer, Maya (September 13, 2013). "Raeburn Spring 2014 Ready-to-Wear Collection". Vogue. Retrieved December 19, 2023.
- ^ "Now Casting: Sora Choi". CR Fashion Book. May 2017.
- ^ "Louis Vuitton S/S 15 Show (Louis Vuitton)". MODELS.com. Retrieved March 4, 2022.
- ^ a b "Cover story with 최소라Sora Choi". The WOW Magazine. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
- ^ "Meet the Manga-Loving Gamer Girl Who Ruled the Fall Shows". Vogue. March 14, 2016.
- ^ "지난해 파리와 밀라노의 런웨이 장악한 최소라 |". topclass.chosun.com. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
- ^ "TOP NEWCOMERS S/S 2015". models.com. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
- ^ ELLE (December 4, 2015). "에디 슬리먼이 알아본 모델, 최소라". ELLE (in Korean). Retrieved October 7, 2023.
- ^ Janelle, Okwodu (March 14, 2016). "Meet the Manga-Loving Gamer Girl Who Ruled the Fall Shows". Vogue. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
- ^ "Wilhelmina Model Sora Choi Named to Models.com Top List, Hopper Penn Fendi Eyewear". GlobeNewswire. June 30, 2017. Retrieved March 16, 2023.
- ^ FashionModelDirectory.com, The FMD-. "So Ra Choi - Gallery with 360 fashion shows - Fashion Model | Models | The FMD | Page 1". The FMD - FashionModelDirectory.com. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
{{cite web}}:|last=has generic name (help) - ^ a b "HoYeon Jung, Sora Choi And Other Asian Models To Have On Your Radar". Vogue Hong Kong. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
- ^ a b "Model - Sora Choi - advertising". MODELS.com. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
- ^ "Model - Sora Choi - Editorial". Models.com.
- ^ "Model - Sora Choi - Magazine". Models.com.
- ^ "Model of the Year Awards 2020 | models.com MDX". MODELS.com. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
- ^ Lee, Gyu-lee (October 28, 2021). "Youn Yuh-jung receives Korea Popular Culture and Arts Awards' highest order of merit". The Korea Times. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
- ^ "Sora Choi is part of the BoF 500". The Business of Fashion. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
- ^ "AMERICA TOPS THE BOF 500". cfda.com. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
- ^ Vighi, Stefano (December 27, 2022). "E tu, che vibe indosserai l'anno prossimo? L'oroscopo 2023 ispirato ai look della storia di copertina di gennaio con protagonista la top model Sora Choi". Vogue Italia (in Italian). Retrieved December 30, 2022.
- ^ WW, FashionNetwork com. "Louis Vuitton dazzles luxury-seeking Seoul with first pre-fall show". FashionNetwork.com. Retrieved May 29, 2023.
- ^ YIM, SEUNG-HY (May 21, 2023). HONG, JI-YU (ed.). "Gucci's show at palace a testimony to perseverance". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved May 29, 2023.
- ^ Da-sol, Kim (May 17, 2023). "Gucci holds Asia's first cruise collection show at Seoul royal palace". The Korea Herald. Retrieved May 29, 2023.
- ^ Hurtado, Alexandra (September 6, 2023). "The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show Is Being Reimagined". Parade: Entertainment, Recipes, Health, Life, Holidays. Retrieved September 8, 2023.
- ^ "Victoria's Secret The Tour '23 (Victoria's Secret)". MODELS.com. Retrieved September 8, 2023.
- ^ "韓國超模Sora穿全黑婚紗出嫁超型格！辦夢幻海島婚禮、來賓全是超模！ | ELLE HK". ELLE HK. Retrieved June 24, 2021.
- ^ Reporter, Kpop (December 3, 2020). "Choi So Ra On Being A Top Model: 'My Body Was A Mess Yet They Call Me Pretty'". Kpop Reporter | K-pop breaking news and gossip. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
- ^ "Top Model Choi So Ra Starves Herself For Weeks At A Time To Lose Weight". Koreaboo. July 8, 2017. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
- ^ Walsh, Savannah (December 30, 2020). "Saint Laurent's New Short Film Will Transport You to Summer '21". ELLE. Retrieved September 26, 2021.