Lulu Wood has been enamored by the world of fashion since she was a young girl. Back then, she spent afternoons sitting in her childhood home in Perth, eyes glued to the television, watching FF, an Australian fashion channel. Fast forward a decade later, and the little girl who once fantasized about a life only seen on TV is living the dream, walking runways in London, Milan, Paris, and New York. It all happened, as Wood recounts, thanks to one chance encounter with Sarah Doukas, the woman who famously discovered Kate Moss at an airport.

“One day after school, I was walking around the mall with my friends,” Wood remembers, “and then Sarah walked up to me. I couldn’t believe it. I was so excited because, obviously, I knew who she was. I immediately told my family, and we called her the next day. My life changed after that one moment.”

A few weeks later, she signed with Doukas’s agency, Storm Management. A week after that, she was in Milan, making her runway debut at Versace’s Fall/Winter 2022/23 show. Since then, the 22-year-old has not stopped walking, strutting down a handful of runways last year and already in 2023, besting her personal record of runways walked. When we meet for our interview on a Friday evening, she is in her Airbnb in Stockholm. It’s been just two days since her last gig, and soon she’ll board another plane to London.

“I’ve always loved traveling,” she elaborates, giddy with the energy of someone who is living their dream. “I feel so fortunate that I have a job that allows me to see all sorts of places and meet new people. I never thought I’d be where I am now. It’s so insane to think about that. I have to pinch myself every day.”

Wood, who recently moved to New York’s Lower East Side, has already amassed an enviable repertoire. Last year, she graced the cover of Vogue Japan and walked for Givenchy and Giambattista Valli. But her favorite moment to date is when she shot with renowned fashion photographer Stephen Meisel for Swarovski’s latest “Metamorphosis” campaign alongside models Hunter Pifer, Avanti Nagrath, and Heather Diamond Strongarm: “I can’t even put words to that moment. He’s an industry icon, and his work is so timeless. It’s an honor to be a part of his archive.”

After the whirlwind that was Wood’s past year, what could possibly be next for the Aussie? Wood laughs and shrugs, “The world is my oyster.” For now, she’s just taking it day by day, accepting each new opportunity that comes her way, and giving it her all. If there’s one thing we know about Wood, it’s that she’ll take it all in stride.

This feature appears inside the pages of V144: now available for purchase!

Photography Petros Kouiouris

Fashion Altorrin 

Makeup Kevin Cheah (Kramer + Kramer)

Hair Chika Nishiyama (87 Artists)

Model Lulu Wood (The Society)

Manicure Stephanie Hernandez

Photo assistants Ricardo Lara, Leiber Alvarez

Stylist assistants Roderick Reyes, Sionán Murtagh

Makeup assistant Joshua Hilario

Hair assistant Aya Yamashita

Location Loupe Studios