Model Nora Vai is 'forever 18' and in love: with her favourite place in the world, New York City.
You've modelled all around the world, how are the cities different?
Hong Kong is fun, and very hectic. It's perfect when you're young, have lots of energy and need no sleep. It's an amazing base to travel and see Asia. I would do London when I'm older, have family and money. I enjoyed it, but was always broke and spend half of my time in a subway. I love British men though, the humor, accent, style. Paris is beautiful, very stylish and of course so romantic. I'm always happy to go there, enjoy the wine and food. People watching there is the best. New York is the love of my life, I want to be based here forever. It's something about it so amazing, that you could never express in a postcard. You have to be here and, as cheesy as it may sound, miracles will happen.What would be your dream job?
Building a strong website where I play with my outfits and document my life, favourite products, places, events in New York and other cities, collaborating with brands on creative direction, maybe even having my own line. That was a bit long... [Laughs]
At what age do you see yourself achieving everything you dream of?
Never, I always want more.Anything that might slow you down?
I'm quite impatient and indecisive.How important is networking in what you do?
I guess it's always very important in this industry, but I believe it only works if it's real and not forced. The most valuable part for me in networking is seeing how other people live, getting ideas, being inspired. It is quite easy to get stuck in your bubble world if you don't get out there and meet people. Especially in New York—you never know who's sitting next to you.
You've had your signature look for years, have you ever thought about a different style?
Yeah! I want to get a little pastel pink/peach shade. I was also thinking about a very short fringe. That would make my work a bit limiting though. It's quite a lot you can do with a cut I have now, come up with a lot of different styles. I'll keep it the way it is for now. I'm not bored yet, get enough excitement seeing all the transformations hair stylists can do during shoots.High school Giedre vs current Nora?
Giedre was more influenced by other people. Nora is feeling much more confident, calmer, more comfortable with herself. Both of them always knew what they want though and followed their heart in making decisions. Also both of them still stress out about little things.
How did you end up in New York City?
It is actually a very long and dramatic story—that not many people know of. At first I came here as a tourist and fell in love with the city from the first second. I went back to Hong Kong, packed all my life and decided to move here. My plan was to sign with an agency and 'make it' here. So i flew all the way with my most precious outfits and big dreams. After 15 hours flight, I got stopped at the border, was kept at the airport cell for 24 hours and sent back to Hong Kong and given a 10-year ban from the US. I still don't really understand the reason, but I guess I wasn't allowed to even be looking for work with a tourist visa. It was all very dramatic, but made me want to be here even more. I went through quite a lot, but finally still managed to get a visa. They will not get me out of here now. [Laughs]Where can we follow your journey?
www.noravai.com, my instagram is @noravai, and my snapchat stories are here #noravai.
Photographed by Aimee Han
Nora is represented by Muse NYC
