Last week she was a waitress, now she is hanging out with Kendall and Bella. Photo / Getty
Last week she was a waitress, now she is hanging out with Kendall and Bella. Photo / Getty
Sunday night's Miu Miu show in Paris may have starred mega-models like Bella Hadid, Kendall Jenner, Joan Smalls and Jourdan Dunn, but it also made for a stellar debut for newcomer Hanna Sylla.
Until last Thursday evening, Sylla, 22, worked as a waitress on the day shift at Paris's HotelTremoille. A chance meeting with Miu Miu casting director Anita Bitton - the woman behind supermodel runway lineups for Marc Jacobs, Mulberry and other top fashion brands - saw her catapulted onto the catwalk for the brand's Resort show.
"When Anita came into the studio and said she had scouted her waitress that morning at breakfast we all laughed, but the minute Hanna walked in you could tell she's a star," said Katie Grand, the LOVE magazine editor and stylist for the Miu Miu show. "Her skin is perfect, she has amazing bone structure and she's so elegant."
"Pat McGrath immediately spotted her backstage at the show and said, 'Oh my god, who is she?' She couldn't believe how beautiful she is and that she'd never modeled before. Miuccia [Prada, the Miu Miu designer] loved her too."
Hanna leads out the models for the finale. Photo / Getty
"She's the face of this season's Paris Haute Couture," leading makeup artist McGrath added of the Senegalese model, who befriended Jenner and Hadid backstage and posed for pictures in McGrath's makeup chair, reports the Telegraph.
The Miu Miu show, held in the Paris Automobile Club, featured a parade of abbreviated racing suits and patchworked faux-fur coats. Sylla wore a short, navy-blue boilersuit embellished with racing patches and a nametag that read 'Elisabeth'. Although her expression on the runway remained inscrutable, the next day she made it clear she was elated with her lucky break.
Hanna Sylla making her runway debut for Miu Miu. Photo / Getty
"OMG! Last night was just one of the best night[s] of my life," she wrote in an Instagram post, going on to thank casting director Bitton and fellow models Jenner, Hadid and Adwoa Aboah for their support.
Speaking exclusively to The Telegraph, Sylla said that she had never modelled professionally and had only been working at the Tremoille for six months when Bitton spotted her. "The show was amazing for me," she said. "All the people supported me and walking down the runway was incredible."
Miu Miu has a track record of launching modelling careers. Supermodel Arizona Muse opened and closed the show during her debut season, and Lindsey Wixson, the model known for her bee-stung lips, opened the show her first season on the scene.
Models who debut with Miu Miu each season often go on to appear alongside established names in the brand's campaigns, so watch this space - and welcome to the runway, Hanna.
