A long, hard look at the pressures of modeling reveals that even though a diversity of body types are accepted, extreme dieting and unrealistic standards are still rampant. Add society’s general lack of prioritizing mental health, and you have real-life consequences and a mental health reckoning that cannot continue to go unaddressed. Model Steph Shiu knows these pressures all too well, having recently made a splash this runway season since her debut back in 2007. “Earlier in my career, I let myself go to the other end of the spectrum from “straight size” modeling to “plus-sized modeling,” Shiu recalls. “The feedback I received from clients was I didn’t look large enough. The industry didn’t seem ready for a plus-sized Asian girl.” Since her debut on the cover of Vogue China, she’s since evolved as muse to the now-ubiquitous Peter Do, appearing in campaigns and lookbooks for the brand, along with lookbooks for Philip Lim and the runways of Fendi, Balmain, Telfar, and Eckhaus Latta. She credits manifestation, building up her spiritual practice, and a supportive team as the core of her recent successes and mending an estranged relationship with her mother. As Models.com highlights models speaking out to de-stigmatize mental health in fashion, we spoke to Shiu about her past runway season, healing trauma, and how reclaiming her mental and physical health took her to the next level.
How were you first scouted?
I was scouted at a shopping mall in Vancouver, BC. It was funny because it was a chance encounter in a forgotten corner of the mall hidden behind a Pet Habitat where nobody but the most hardcore shoppers ventured.
When you started, I read that your agents at the time were insisting you lose weight to book more jobs, and unfortunately, that’s a lot of pressure that many models go through. What led you to decide to put your health and wellness first, and how did you go about it?
To be honest, it’s still a lot of pressure but I’ve learned it doesn’t have to be a struggle. Earlier in my career, I let myself go to the other end of the spectrum from “straight size” modeling to “plus-sized modeling.” At the time, I thought “plus-sized” meant “healthy,” so I worked out for a curvier body, being mindful of the macro-nutrients I was consuming. In a couple of months, I was a US size 12. Yet, the feedback I received from clients was I didn’t look large enough (regardless of my measurements). Also, the industry didn’t seem ready for a plus-sized Asian girl. Eventually, eating enough to maintain a size 12 was unsustainable, so I decided to let my body be where it wanted to be naturally, which was a size 4 and focus on feeling good. This was when I learned that taking care of my health and well-being meant taking care of my spiritual and emotional health. It’s interesting when you choose to love and accept yourself; being more in tune with what your body wants and needs, you also learn to be more empathetic. Our bodies know how we feel about them and will return how we make them feel, just like our world.
I’ve come to find that extreme dieting and the constant “pushing” was never sustainable, but finding out what works for my body, mind, and spirit, and learning to love myself, was what made things finally work. That said, what works for me might not work for anyone else as each body has its own secret rhythm, but being patient and compassionate with yourself is key. Right now, I’m learning to be honest with myself and trust that. Doing the things I love (music, cooking, anime, crafting healing art objects, shopping for archival fashion), eating for my blood type (most of the time), cultivating a kind and supportive community, healing relationships, moderate exercise (yin yoga and workouts with Mato Novak), meditating with my Kadampa community and taking care of my mental health.
You cut your hair in 2019; what inspired the big chop?
As a personal year 3 (numerology), I broke free from the limitations of my mind and entered creation mode. Growing up, my brother, Faye Wong, and Mulan were my heroes and I never thought I could have their hair because of how feminine my mother (and society at large) conditioned me to be. During a brief break from modeling, I spent time developing my personal art practice and I was able to become more in tune with who I wanted to be. It was during this time I also met Ricky, my beloved mother agent who really supported me and helped me realize these societal conditions are shifting and I can really be true to myself. He also inspired me that you don’t only have to be good at one thing in life.
You’ve become a muse of Peter Do, opening his shows two times and being featured in the S/S ’22 campaign. How do you find working with him and his team?
Peter and I have this synergy that surprises me every time we’re together, he feels like a true kindred spirit, and hopefully, he feels the same way. I consider the Peter Do team to be family — we support each other unconditionally, growing together and exercising new and old ideas through a clearer perspective. It feels like we’ve known each other for lifetimes and are here to create meaningful narratives from our shared cultural backgrounds.
You had a busy F/W 22 show season and walked for Fendi, Telfar, and Balmain for the first time. How would you describe this past season and what do you think changed for you?
The experience has felt genuinely surreal. As an industry, fashion can make people feel like outsiders sometimes, yet if you know what you believe in you can also find the most supportive and healing community in fashion. My agent Sandra Sperka at Elite NYC changed things for me—she believed in me, cared for me, and gave me the best pep talks. Then, Taylor Avery and Ricky worked really hard to introduce me to my entire team at Why Not Milan, Silent Paris, Select London, and Elite LA. I felt more empowered than ever to be more open and honest about my values, beliefs, and creativity.
Then, the magic sauce comes from a combination of my spirituality and my trainer, Mato Novak. He is an amazing listener throughout our training sessions and delivers a regime tailored to get my body runway ready. His workouts helped me learn more about what I was eating, which ultimately benefited my body and mind. I could not have achieved such a wonderful season without all of the above parts being in my life.
You are also a musician and jewelry designer. What inspired you to start your crystal-based jewelry line, H(OUR) Objects, and what is your connection to crystals and their described healing properties?
I feel the term ‘talispersons’ is more suitable for my practice as the joy of creating these pieces comes from channeling the wearer’s spiritual guides with their astrological birth chart and manifesting aspirations throughout the process. Building up my spiritual practice through meditation and crystal healing has been such a major source of strength for me — especially when dealing with my own struggles with mental health. It also helped repair my relationship with my mother.
For years, my mother and I had drifted apart and it wasn’t until our mutual discovery of Buddhist meditation that we could begin healing together. She shared with me her practice of Buddhist energy healing, which was a major turning point in my life and our relationship. I felt a deep sense of community with the practice and began pursuing my own meditation studies, in turn, deepening my connection with my Mother. She gifted me a fire opal necklace and Burmese Jade choker which had a major effect when I first held it. I felt purified in a physical and spiritual way, I felt rejuvenated. This moment introduced me to a passion for gemstones and crystal healing, something that has augmented my life in a poignant way. Throughout, my mother was always there with me, growing with me as a family and as a spiritual being.
“Building up my spiritual practice through meditation and crystal healing has been such a major source of strength for me — especially when dealing with my own struggles with mental health. It also helped repair my relationship with my mother.”
How did you learn to play music and how have you incorporated it into your life?
I have always been fascinated with the rhythm section and reveled in how these notes moved me, even with a simple bass line in a Jay Chou ballad. I remember moments like tapping my foot in the back of my cousin’s pink convertible to the beat of East-Asian R&B ballads until she told me to knock it off. Throughout my elementary and high school years, I learned different instruments like the violin and acoustic guitar until, eventually, I committed to being a classical and jazz percussionist in my high school band. As a teenager struggling with depression, the band gave me a real sense of community and helped me work through feelings of alienation and cultural dissonance.
After the sudden loss of my father at a young age, my mother struggled to hold the family together. The inevitable stresses and anxieties of being a single immigrant mother were passed on to me. Like many second-generation Asian women, I dealt (often silently) with the burdens of what seemed like foreign tradition conflicting with the aspirations of a western upbringing. Healing was complicated and often seemed out of reach. When I could grasp it, it came with moments of introspection and creativity, which often came through music. Music was one of the few things I could hold onto throughout my life and helped me navigate the confusion, frustration, and sadness that came from my upbringing. Working through my creative process as a musician allowed me to channel and unpack repressed memories and emotions in a way that was impossible anywhere else. Music as a medium taught me how to release, it also drove me to seek healing with my mother and to let go of the anger of the past.
For most of my life, much of my music practice was a creative balm for myself in private. It wasn’t until deep into my adult years that I started sending my sketches to trusted friends for feedback. Little did I know that a few sketches shared with friends would turn into major commissions for UNIQLO, SSENSE, Vogue, Peter Do, and PUBLIC Hotels. It was such an honor and blessing to be working with creatives I so dearly respect, whom I never thought existed before, let alone being accepted and allowed to exist as a catalyst for such exciting projects. When I look back, the self I wanted to be rid of as a young teenager wouldn’t believe they would be living beyond their dreams one day. As a musician, I feel that this is a message I want to share: That healing is possible, that family trauma can end with us, and that hope is real.
What’s one of the biggest challenges you’ve faced in your career, and how did you move past it?
Struggling with depression has fed me a lot of difficult internal voices throughout my career—feeling like I’m not good enough, that I even matter, and feeling like a failure—much of it was amplified by the less forgiving parts of the fashion industry. It took being mindful and loving others to accept myself for being human. I feel that as a topic, mental health has always been something rarely talked about and often misdiagnosed as a weakness (something many East Asians are familiar with). The beauty of the healing process is that it has no limit or end goal; patiently learning to love to participate in the process, especially when the going gets tough, is what human life is about. Our human lives are so precious because we each only have one, and we are so infinitely unique and similar at the same time that we can’t afford to squander this chance we have.
You’ve mentioned that your spiritual practice is Kadampa Buddhism. How have you used the practices of Kadampa Buddhism in your everyday life?
I would say my spiritual practice is to love loving others. As a multidisciplinary artist, I am greatly inspired by Tibetan Buddhism and the philosophy behind gesamtkunstwerk, which is when a work of art makes use of all or many art forms. With my practice, I channel the meditation practices of core Tibetan Buddhist principles of Lamrim, Lojong, and Mahamudra through the mediums of music, sculpture, and modeling. I practice my spirituality by setting a loving intention for every activity and being mindful along the way. I imagine every living being across all worlds practicing with me, reaping the benefits of my practice and holding them with love in my mind.
For example, as I wake up each morning and open my eyes, I hold each living being in my mind at the level of my heart, surrounding us with enlightenment, love, inspiration, fun, and prosperity. Then I visualize that everyone has the best day of our lives. As I brush my teeth in the shower, I intend that all my negativity and obstacles be purified. I try my best to be without limitations and be creative with my meditations. I’ve learned to know I have the power to course-correct the trajectory of my life at any given mindful moment.
