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[1] and is known as being one of the most in-demand models of her generation.[2] As of 2024, Choi has walked in 537 fashion shows and has appeared on 17 Vogue covers throughout her career.[1]
Choi was scouted as a model when she was a junior in high school while accompanying a nervous friend to a casting at an agency.[4][5] Instead of her friend, it was Choi who received an offer to be signed.[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.[8] 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.[9] 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.[10][11] In that season, she also walked for Alexander Wang, Fendi, Versace, and became the first asian model to walk the runway for Calvin Klein.[12][13] In October 2014, Models.com selected Choi as a "Top Newcomer."[14]
In the spring 2016 season, Choi became the first asian model to walk for Hedi Slimane’s Saint Laurent fashion show.[15] 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.[16] From 2016, she went on as Louis Vuitton's city exclusive for two years, starring in their advertising campaign six times.[11] In 2017, she was listed on Models.com's "Top 50 models" list.[1][17]
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.[21] 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.[22]
In December 2020, Choi won Models.com's "Readers' Choice Model of the Year" award.[23] Since 2021, she has been ranked as an "Industry Icon."[1] In October 2021, she received the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Commendation at the Korean Popular Culture and Arts Awards.[24]
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.[25][26]
In January 2023, Choi appeared in her second Vogue Italia cover as a solo cover.[27] In April, she closed Louis Vuitton's first-ever pre-fall runway show, which took place on the Jamsu Bridge in Seoul.[28] In the following month, she opened Gucci's first-ever cruise collection show in Asia, presented in the Gyeongbokgung palace in Seoul.[29][30] In September, she appeared in Victoria’s Secret’s The Tour ’23 fashion show and advertising campaign.[31][32] 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.[20]
Personal life
In August 2019, Choi married Korean photographer Kove Lee in Bali, Indonesia.[33] Her black wedding dress was a gift from Miuccia Prada.[19]
