It’s official: 2015 was the Year of the Social Supermodel — thanks to stars like Kendall and Gigi, whose rise to fame was tied partly to their beauty but also to their following on Instagram. But that’s exactly why Aussie model Fernanda Ly’s meteoric ascent in the fashion world has proved to be such an anomaly: She walked in just one show before she booked her first international Vogue cover. Even though she is only five feet eight inches tall (short by modeling standards) and until recently was barely discoverable on social media, the pink-haired 20-year-old had everyone in Paris talking.

The verdict was in, and she was It. All of this is pretty ironic, given the fact that Fernanda got into modeling reluctantly at best. She was scouted while at a shopping mall with her mom and considered the possibility with a nonchalance that’s easily become her most distinguishing feature: “I was like, ‘This sounds nice. I’m just going to send in my photos and see,’” she recalls. All of a sudden, the enigmatic honors student who had spent her lunch periods in the art room started to pick up major steam on the Australian fashion scene. “It sort of messed up my [performance] on my exams during my last year of high school,” Fernanda shares. “I thought I’d go to uni for a bit to see what would happen, but then I got more and more gigs.”

After juggling university schoolwork and local jobs — before she’d left her homeland for big shoots in New York — modeling’s fairy godmother came calling. Ashley Brokaw, a world-famous casting director who’s been dubbed “fashion’s most unlikely power player” by T: The New York Times Style Magazine, e-mailed Fernanda’s agent, Doll Wright. “I thought she was so unique,” Ashley says. “Here’s a girl with confidence who doesn’t look like anyone else.”

Having Ashley’s approval led to a major change of heart for Fernanda, who had initially signed her modeling contracts with much more modest goals. “She came into the agency and burst into tears,” Doll states. “She said, ‘I want to try this out. I want to defer university and really give this a go.’” For many, a college degree is essential for a professional career. But for Fernanda, who’d grown up under the expectations of what she calls her “typical Asian” (read: traditional) parents, modeling offered an enticing form of escape. “There was a lot of pressure, the discipline of studying, and the routine — she went straight from high school to university,” Doll explains. “This was her chance.”