LUNA BIJL

Before all the glitz and glam of runway life and gracing the covers some of most famous fashion magazines in the world, Luna Bijl, from the small Dutch town of Strijen, was a not so unusual teenager who contrary to her future phenomenon status, enjoyed the carefree life, spending time with her father doing motocross and leading a normal life as a high schooler:

“I did motocross and was always playing outside. I never thought of myself as a pretty girl. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do after I finished high school and, as I got older, I also got much taller and people suggested that I give modeling a go.”

Although constantly approached by modeling scouts at an early age and egged on by others, Luna’s heart wasn’t really into the prospects of the fashion biz. “I didn’t like the whole modeling thing at all at first,” she admits. “I was a real tomboy and I didn’t find myself beautiful – quite the opposite, actually – and I just thought, I don’t think I want to do this.”

But Luna’s mind was changed when she viewed a Channel 4 Docuseries called The Model Agency of the famed Premier Model Management where cameras showed the unglamerous realities of models in the fashion industry. Although already signed with a local agency in Rotterdam, Luna and her father were so moved by the series that they decided to email co-founder of Premier, Carole White, in hopes of revitalizing Luna’s seemingly bleak modeling prospects:

Roman candles that burn in the night
Yeah, you are a shining light
You lit a torch in the infinite
Yeah, you are a shining light
Yeah, you light up my life

You have always been a thorn in their side
But to me you’re a shining light
You arrive and the night is alive
Yeah, you are a shining light
Yeah, you light up my life

“My father and I were so enthusiastic that we spontaneously decided to send her an email to sign up. It didn’t work out in Rotterdam – maybe in London.”

We made a connection
A full-on chemical reaction
Brought by dark divine intervention
Yeah, you are a shining light
A constellation once seen
Over Royal David’s city
An epiphany, you burn so pretty
Yeah, you are a shining light

That brave email would reach Premier and at just 15 years old, Luna would chart a course to stardom when she boarded a plane to London with her father to meet Carole. The famed founder immediately saw promise in Luna and took time to patiently develop the young talent. “Luna is a very special model,” says White. “I’d compare her to the classic ’90s supermodels in that she’s got a tremendously beautiful face and she looks fit and healthy – she’s not a stick.”

A calculated long game, Luna, her father, and Premier agreed to base her modeling around her studies, ensuring she could graduate high school and enjoy a teenage life. Around 17 years old, Luna relocated to New York where she shared an apartment with five other girls. With a 15 euro Primark bag, MetroCard, and wearing Nikes, Luna went from audition to audition in hopes of establishing herself.

That summer Luna began to reap the fruits of her labor, walking for major names like Polo Ralph Lauren, Alberta Ferretti, Etro, Philosophy, Dolce & Gabbana, Isabel Marant, Trussardi, and Vivienne Westwood. The following year, Luna would make a grand debut, doing some of her first major editorial work for Vogue Australia, Vogue Netherlands, and Vogue España.

You are a force, you are a constant source
Yeah, you are a shining light
Incandescent in the darkest night
Yeah, you are a shining light
My mortal blood I would sacrifice
For you are a shining light
Sovereign bride of the infinite
Yeah, you are a shining light
Yeah, you light up my life

That same year, Luna became the face of mega Italian luxury brand Emporio Armani, second brand of of the Armani family, photographed by none other than Lachlan Bailey. She also did advertising work for AllSaints, Express, Zara, and Mango. Even with that level of success the best was yet to come, when Luna became the first model ever to land two VOGUE PARIS COVERS IN THE SAME YEAR for the August and October 2016 issues, both photographed by David Sims!

Luna ended her prolific year in fashion, walking for colossal brands like Jean Paul Gaultier Michael Kors, Fendi, Moschino, Alexander Wang, Chloe, Chanel, Stella McCartney, John Galliano, Miu Miu, Louis Vuitton, even closing for Redemption. With Luna finally having brand recognition, she could go as far as her ambition and love for the job would take her. “My name is now established. Now it is the art of staying at the top for as long as possible.”

Today Luna is one of the most in demand top models around, having over 20 fashion covers, 17 alone being for Vogue magazine. She’s walked in hundreds of shows, opening and closing for the late Karl Lagerfeld’s Chanel, while dazzling in ads for Philosophy, Michael Kors, Chanel Eyewear, Tom Ford ‘Eau de Soleil Blanc’ Fragrance, H&M, and Hugo Boss!

We made a connection
A full-on chemical reaction
Brought by dark divine intervention
Yeah, you are a shining light
A constellation once seen
Over Royal David’s city
An epiphany, you burn so pretty
Yeah, you are a shining light

Along with working with industry leading photographers like Cass Bird, Lachlan Bailey, David Sims, Mario Sorrenti, Liz Collins, Chris Colls, Carlijn Jacobs, Luigi & Lango, and Nathanial Goldbeg, Luna Bijl had the honor of working with the late Peter Lindbergh for the star studded Vogue Germany July 2019 issue featuring Luna, Vittoria Ceretti, and best friend, Birgit Kos!

When it comes to the world of high fashion modeling, I don’t think there’s anyone else quite like Luna Bijl. She has a classic ’90s supermodel feel like a Cindy Crawford, Claudia Schiffer with natural talent bordering on Linda Evangelista level of depth. Luna is probably one of the most photogenic models I have ever seen. Even without having knowledge of her impressive portfolio, with a Google image search, any casual modeling fan can see how phenomenal of a talent Luna is.

Luna has incredible range. She can be sultry but in a sophisticated, mature way. She can emote exceptionally well; no one shows a smile or laugh the way Luna can. She can be as innovative and avant-garde as anyone like her own fashionably buoyant van Gogh:

These are the days you often say
There’s nothing that we cannot do
Beneath a canopy of stars
I’d shed blood for you
The north star in the firmament
You shine the most bright
I’ve seen you draped in a electric veil
Shrouded in celestial light

“I never expected it, but I really like shooting photographs. The moment I get in front of the subject, I am in a different world. I love creating a picture that people will look at for hours and which will make them think. I would never allow myself to not do my best at a shoot because I really care about what I do. If people put their trust in me I don’t want them to regret it!”

And when it comes to professionalism and work ethic, Luna Bijl undoubtedly ranks at the top of the list. Even Carole White praises Luna level of commitment, using the word “stoicism” when describing Luna: “Even if she’s tired from traveling, she’ll give her absolute best, and I’ve never – not once – heard her complain about another model. Which is rare, I can tell you!”

When Luna isn’t lighting up the runways or setting fire to the covers of Vogue, she’s no doubt chillin’ somewhere in a leather jacket, practically living in her favorite sweatpants, kickin’ it in a pair of Nike’s which she will readily admit she has too many pairs to count. Luna is also hilariously clumsy, famously cracking a bathtub in a fancy Amsterdam hotel. She can be unorganized as well, comically remarking, “Life of Luna” in her mishaps.

From the roaring engines lacing the brake fluid, gasoline, and dirt tracks of her motocross haven, to a lone MetroCard, going to auditions in her Nike’s in hopes of a dream, to being Karl Lagerfeld’s favorite model, Luna Bijl is a bright and tremendous force in the world of fashion. Like some effervescent cosmic body, Luna can’t help but enamor others with her candor and creative force. An imperfect, perfect model, haphazardly walking to her own tune, drowning out all the gloom, leaving love and all that’s bright in her wake, Luna Bijl; named like the celestial moon.