From Within: Sahara Lin

Dress: Molly Goddard, Boots: Stylist’s Own

Sahara Lin is having a moment. At just 20 years old, the model, artist and it-girl has commanded the attention of the fashion industry with her charm, humor and most famous accessory: a pair of braces she got removed at the beginning of last year. As fashion has continued to move towards a more inclusive space, with models of all sizes, ages and shapes gracing magazines and runways, Sahara’s rise to stardom represents a new era where everyday girls on Instagram have the power to revolutionize standards of beauty. In fact, if it was up to Sahara, she never even would’ve had that famous grill. “I didn’t even want braces,” she explains. “I loved my fucked up teeth.”

Bustier: Christopher John Rogers
Top: Dries Van Noten, Dress: Calvin Lo

Born in Wales, but raised between there and Brooklyn, the baby-faced model was first discovered by photographer Fumi Nagasaka online. Since then, she’s developed an impressive resume featuring brands like Milk Makeup, Calvin Klein and Kenzo, as well as a dedicated social media following who can’t get enough of her non-traditional look. Part Chinese, part Welsh and part black, Sahara grew up feeling like she never quite fit in, something she harnessed as her strength, even from a young age. “My mom named me Sahara Lin, and Lin means Lotus flower in Chinese,” she says. “Because lotuses live in water, a lotus that lives in the desert would be strong; surviving in its opposite habitat.”

Much like her name, Sahara herself has thrived in an environment built on putting down women of color. While other models are focused on portraying a curated cool persona on their Instagram profiles, she has long embraced her role as an outsider. Even in middle school, as her peers were busy trying to fit in at any cost, Sahara was more concerned with finding her own sense of self and style. “A lot of people thought me and my outfits were really weird,” she says, of her as a young teenager. “But I was just figuring out what I liked and that I could be myself. The shit that I liked was always cool to me.” And now it’s cool to everyone else, too. With over 30,000 online followers and cosigns from two of the industry’s biggest agencies, Elite and TESS model management, Sahara has cemented her place in pop culture.

Full Suit: Christopher John Rogers

True magic is what radiates through the young star as she enters the room, with an aura that glows as warmly as her cheeky grin. Sahara Lin is a no-fucks-given kind of girl, here to use her platform to inspire Generation Z to stand out rather than blend in. “Always remember your inner magic,” she says of her advice for the next generation. “It’s not your external beauty, it’s the energy you bring to people, life, and what you leave behind.” She pauses before adding: “Beauty is never about the fucking face,” she declares. “When I call people beautiful, it’s always about how they carry themselves and the type of person that they are. [Beauty] is about how someone makes you feel when you’re with them.”

Coat: Arthur Avellano, Bodysuit: Alix, Jewelry: Martine Ali
Earrings: Martine Ali
Top: Adam Selman