Victoria’s secret is out: Meet Australian supermodel Victoria Lee, the face of David Jones

The Australian women have plenty in common – both were born and raised in the country and rose to prominence as Victoria’s Secret models, with Lee sharing the lingerie brand’s catwalk with Bella Hadid last year in Shanghai.

There’s also a hint of the girl-next-door about them, and cheekbones that could hold up the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

Born in Narrandera in the Riverina region of rural NSW, Lee wears her country heart on her sleeve.

Her down-to-earth demeanour is what keeps her grounded in a business that is so competitive – especially when you call New York home.

Perhaps it’s the fact she never set out to make it as a model that makes her appear less business-like and more in it for the wonderment.

Making the move from NSW to New York six years ago wasn’t an easy step for a girl who was always home for family dinners and regularly visited her Nan (who still has Victoria’s childhood artworks hanging in her home).

But, when the opportunity to start modelling nine years ago presented itself, Lee was up for the challenge and deferred a university degree in dietetics to try her luck in the Big Apple.

“Where I’m from, people usually go straight to university after school or get a job, and nobody really pursues anything creative,” says Lee, who made her David Jones runway debut for the spring/summer 2018 show in Sydney a few weeks ago.

“I was scared to leave my country life to be honest,” she recalls.

“I come from a close-knit family who do everything together. I had to put all my eggs in the one basket if I seriously wanted to pursue modelling and that meant going abroad. Everyone would ask me, ‘So what is your Plan B?’ I was like, ‘I am just hoping that Plan A works out’.”

Lee, who has a younger brother Alex, never aspired to be a model but was always told as a young teen that she looked like one. When the opportunity came knocking, she initially agreed to do it to raise some pocket money, but it’s become a huge earner now.

She’s walked in plenty of Australian Fashion Weeks, done a campaign for Seafolly and made the cover of the Rising Stars issue for Elle Australia. One of her first editorial shoots at Harper’s Bazaar also starred fellow DJs ambassador and model Jessica Gomes.

On the day we meet in Woolharra, in Sydney, Lee is thrilled her parents Chris and Jackie have also made the journey to see her. Among the conga line of agents, minders, models and make-up artists buzzing around the large Victorian mansion preparing for various shoots, her country folk look like they’ve just come in from a corner store. They sit in a corner in conversation with another Hadid, Anwar, who is in Australia for his first DJ’s gig.

“I haven’t seen my dad in seven months, it’s so exciting to have them here,” she says.

“Mum’s time is a little more flexible and can come and see me in Sydney at short notice, I saw her two weeks ago. She’s been an amazing supporter of mine and very encouraging.”

Home for Lee is now in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, where she shares an apartment with her art director boyfriend Matt McDonald. “I don’t think my mum would like the idea of losing me to the States forever. I will always call Australia home,” she says.

At 175 centimetres, Lee works hard to keep fit. She looks up to supermodels like Elle MacPherson and Megan Gale, and counts Cate Blanchett as style inspiration.

“You have to be totally committed to the process,” she says of her figure.

“Health and fitness is a lifestyle choice and I make a conscious decision every day to look after myself. I also want to live a long life. I go to the gym and eat well, but I don’t beat myself up if I want pancakes, I just make sure I balance it.”

Lee, who says she has never felt shy in front of the camera, knows she owes a lot to being one of the lucky 55 models cast by Victoria’s Secret last year.

Only a handful of Australian supermodels can say the same, including Kelly Gale and Bridget Malcolm.

“I had a lot of nervous energy to burn in the day leading up to finding out whether I had been cast or not,” she recalls.

“I was in the bathroom scrubbing my tiles frantically, trying to distract myself.

“I was so engrossed that I missed seeing an email saying they wanted me in the show. If you asked me 10 years ago would I have ever imagined being a model, I would have just laughed.

“It’s been a dream come true and I know the sort of doors a show like that can open for a model and I am ever grateful.”