Luiza Scandelari is a 20-year-old model from Brazil who is of both Italian and German descent. Her childhood in the South of Brazil was freckled with good food, happiness, sport and dance, loud laughter and a whole lot of love. If you were passing by her home country, she’d first take you to the North East coast to cop their insanely beautiful tropical beaches, and then to experience the colonial part of the South—a more traditional slice of Brazil that is home to amazing restaurants and cafes (from the best chocolate to the best wines, fruits, cakes and breads from our farms). *Books the next flight.*
The coolest thing she’s learned recently is that “we can’t control the occurrence of a problem, but it is in our hands how to work it out.” This idea was especially relevant when she broke her arm ice-skating at Central Park last year, which resulted in surgery and five months off working. In the beginning she was really upset and angry, but then found that she was able to do everything by herself with one hand, discovering that she was “really strong” along the way. Time spent indoors lead her to pour all her energy into her channel again, gaining followers and confidence in her talent along the way. Inspiring!
Lu believes one of the biggest misconceptions regarding models is that they don’t eat. “Yes, sadly there’s girls with eating disorders, but it’s not something specific to models,” she says. “People need to understand that anorexia and bulimia are more than just ‘being thin’, they’re real and dangerous diseases… Some of us are curvy, some are skinny.” Another fallacy, she believes, is that modelling is all glitz ‘n’ glam, saying instead that “it’s a lot of hard work, but if you love what you do, then you got it.”
And love her job, she does. She particularly vibes with travelling to cool places, making weird poses and shooting without stopping, like a dance (“maybe it’s the ballet inside of me”). Her favourite shoot so far was in Australia. Her and the “amazing team” she worked with travelled outside Sydney for four days by car, where she saw koalas on the road and the most beautiful stars in the middle of nowhere. While on the road, they also stopped into a “really cool” ice skating rink to make a film. It was an absolute blast, and fortunately she didn’t break her arm this time around. Bless up!
While she thinks that each and every model has their own unique beauty, and shouldn’t compare themselves with anyone else, her fave model from history is Gisele. “I love how she has been herself since the beginning,” she explains. “She does an incredible job and still keeps her humility.” When it comes to making new friends, she values funny, smart and curious people above all else. Love, family and happiness are the three most important things to her in life, and in the next 10 years she hopes that herself and everyone around her are happy. “Happiness lets you be focus on what is really important to you, meaning you can live life to the fullest,” she continues.
“I hope people will love more. Love can change lives. Love is the key for everything!”
To her, being cool is about being yourself. Amen, girl!
Words: Maddy Woon Images: Asia Typek Fashion: Cat Pope
Luiza is represented by Ford Models
Shot on location in New York
