Last week, Prada revealed Yasmin Wijnaldum as the new face of its spring/summer 16 campaign alongside seasoned pros Sasha Pivovarova and fellow Prada campaign first-timer Natalia Vodianova — quite a feat for a 17-year-old who only walked in her first fashion week show six months ago. With her butter-wouldn’t-melt blue eyes, and a pout to rival Lindsey Wixson’s, the Dutch belle could be 90s supermodel Brandi Quinones’ little sister. No wonder she’s caught the all-seeing eye of Miuccia Prada — the eye that also spotted Linesiy Montero, Willow Hand, and Aya Jones, kickstarting their careers with a Prada campaign.
1. Yasmin would describe herself as…
“Caring, curious, crazy, fun, happy.”
2. She used to think she couldn’t be a model.
“Before I was signed with Elite I was scouted a few times but I was always like, ‘Me? I can’t be a model.’ And one day I was like, ‘OK, why not? Lets try it!’ So I participated in the Elite Model Look competition and they offered me a contract and that’s how everything started.”
3. She changed her mind when…
“…I was searching on the internet for information about what modeling was actually about and how it works. I was about 16 at the time.”
4. She can’t believe she scored Prada as her first campaign.
“It is unbelievable! When I started modeling, I dreamed of doing a Prada campaign because I always love the campaigns and it’s one of the biggest ones to do, and to do it with two supermodels is amazing. It just couldn’t be better!”
5. Her fave supermodel is Kate Moss.
“She is just gorgeous and an amazing icon in this industry!
6. The best advice she’s ever been given is:
“Be comfortable in your own shoes because you will walk in them for a long time.”
7. Her advice for aspiring models is:
“Just be yourself and don’t give up because it will take time!”
8. In a blockbuster of her life, this is who Yasmin would cast to play herself and her love interest…
“Nina Dobrev, because I just think she’s an amazing actress. My romantic interest would be the younger Leonardo DiCaprio. The soundtrack would be ‘Hands to Myself’ by Selena Gomez.”
9. If she could make a documentary about anything in the world, she would investigate the modeling industry.
“People often don’t know how it works and that it’s actually really hard working.”
10. Her New Year’s Resolution is to…
“Eat healthier!”
Credits
Text Felicity Kinsella
Main image Prada spring/summer 16 campaign
Catwalk photography Mitchell Sams