Press & Events
Asia Star Model Award 2016
Photo by Todd Anthony Tyler - Asia’s Next Top Model Episode 10 - Confidence in Motion
Asia’s Next Top Model Season 1
Sofia Wakabayashi
Representing Japan
Nationality: American
Ethnicity: Half Swedish, Half Japanese
“Sofia has been exceptionally tall since she was 12, and has not been comfortable with her height until modeling provided her with the means to gain financial independence. She paid her own way through college with part-time modeling jobs. It has taken her a while to find herself and what she wants to do because she has constantly battled between taking the conventional path to success (studies/career) and following her heart (modeling). But this overachiever has met with some career disappointments and is finally ready to give her passion a real chance.” - Asia’sNTM
By: Miguel Alomajan
(Click here to see the article)
REDRESS AMBASSADOR
“Sofia Wakabayashi is an international model based out of Singapore and Hong Kong. She kick-started her Asian modeling career as a contestant on the first cycle of Asia’s Next Top Model, and recently won the Asia Model Star Award 2016. Sofia has a political science degree from UCLA and previously worked in the tech industries.“ - Redress
“I couldn’t be more excited about my new Ambassador role for the Eco Chic Design Award! I modeled for the grand final last year where I was first introduced to Redress’ work. Since then, I have learned more about the impact the fashion industry is having on our world’s environment, economy, and devastatingly on fellow human lives. As a living and breathing poster girl for fashion, I feel the need to help spread awareness on these issues and use my voice for something bigger than myself, and the brands I work for. I’ve always believed that true change begins at an individual level. With me and with you - we are the voice of the generations to come.” - Sofia Wakabayashi
(Click here to see the article)
“Sofia Wakabayashi is the ambassador for the "EcoChic Recycled Fashion Design" competition. She revealed that she will use Hong Kong as her work base. She has been in Hong Kong for a year and a half.” - ON.cc Limited
ZALORA Style Icon 2017:
Up Close and Personal with
Sofia Wakabayashi
“She is a woman who believes that style is confident, and you confident is your best look. She is also known as an elegant woman with a hint of edge. Her look is as timeless as Audrey Hepburn and Grace Kelly, as effortless as Miranda Kerr and Gisele Bündchen, and as contemporary as Blake Lively and Gigi Hadid. She is a very lucky girl who lives and breathes fashion — the one and only Sofia Wakabayashi.
More on Sofia’s thoughts on Zalora and everything fashion.
Zalora: What does ZALORA mean to you?
Sofia Wakabayashi: Zalora is a place where anyone with any style is welcome and loved equally. A place where everyone is treated as VIP shoppers at every single purchase.
Zalora: Your favorite style quote?
Sofia Wakabayashi: Elegance is the only beauty that never fades.
Zalora: If you could revive a trend, what trend would it be?
Sofia Wakabayashi: I don’t follow trends. Trends are something that comes and go, but classic and elegance never goes out of style. As the new Ambassador for Charity & NGO Redressed, I believe that not becoming a trend-follower is a more environmentally and socially sustainable approach to fashion! What could be more trendy than playing a part in protecting our planet & making the world a better place!
Zalora: Last, what fashion faux pas would you advise our readers to avoid?
Just don’t force a style on yourself that isn’t you! You should be confident in your skin with what you’re wearing!”
- Zalora
Which Models Take The Best Selfies?
Asia Next Top Model – Cycle 1, representing Japan, Sofia Wakabayashi documents her life as a fashion model, behind-the-scenes and more. Seen recently again at Fide Fashion Weeks 2013, Sofia is definitely an up & coming hot favorite by both brands and fans alike.
Guo Pei Stunned The Audience With Her Arabian 1002th Night Haute Couture Fashion Show At FIDé Fashion Week 2013
Last night, Guo Pei stunned the audience at FIDé Fashion Week 2013. Being the top notch Haute Couturier from China, she was the "National Treasure" and seeing her show last night, you would know her shows are not to be missed.
Social Star Awards 2013: Red Carpet Highlights
Asia's Next Top Model finalist Sofia Wakabayashi at Social Star Awards
Held at the Marina Bay Sands Theatres on May 23, a bevy of stars including Aerosmith, Psy, Carly Rae Jepsen, CeeLo Green and more performed at the Social Star Awards attended by stars like Jessica Alba and Jeremy Riven. Photos by Wesley Kow
From: herworld.com
Featured on Vogue: Sofia’s on the Runway and Rihanna at the Met Gala
Shut it down, Rihanna-style: Chinese couturier Guo Pei's canary yellow coat made of silk satin, fur, and appliqué sequins was worn by Rihanna on the red carpet at the 2015 Met Gala. The coat was from Guo Pei's 2010 A Thousand and Two Arabian Nights Collection.
Dolce & Gabbana's First Show Out of Italy from Vogue
Held in the dramatically Italian-ified lobby of the Peninsula hotel in Hong Kong, Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana marked a double of firsts for the fashion house they founded 31 years ago: They held their first ever coed show, and that show was their first ever outside Italy.
The show featured 58 women’s looks and 47 men’s on an all-Chinese cast of models.
By: Luke Leitch
Sofia as a Guest on TV Show Hitam Putih in Indonesia
2015 Red Carpet Interview Hennessy Artistry Hongkong
Zalora x Topshop & Topman Launch Party
JRunway Chooses Its First Singapore JStar Brand Ambassadors
Japanese models from top agency Bark In Style showed the finalists how it’s done: Taku, Kenji Kureyama, Sofia Wakabayashi, Hiroshi Fuji and Yukihide (left to right). Image: Wesley Kow
Since opening in Singapore late in 2012, the Japanese fashion-focused JRunway store has become the “go to” place for lovers of Japanese streetwear and kawai’i labels. Searching for a Singapore “JStar”, or brand ambassador, the store sifted through more than 300 entries to whittle the list down to 20 contestants who walked the runway on May 15, 2013.
These 20 were further narrowed down to ten, round two, finalists who were chosen by top Japanese fashionistas including Mr Ken Soda, the CEO of top Japanese model agency Bark In Style, Qiu Qiu, a popular Singaporean fashion blogger, popular Japanese SCawaii model Natsuko Togo and Mr Kenji Chigira, CEO of JRunway’s owner Apparel-web Inc.
From: herworld.com
Tissot Hong Kong Flagship Store Opening
Sofia Wakabayashi's evening dress skirt is printed with Tissot watches in 1907, compared with old and new photos of the watch factory in Le Locle, Switzerland, showing the technological achievements of Tissot watches for more than 160 years.
From: carnews.com / fgblog.fashionguide.com
Global image ambassador Huang Xiaoming and Korean star Lee Sung-min happily present the latest couple watch series.
Hong Kong Tissot Ambasssadors, 3rd from left Sofia Wakabayashi along with other local Celebrities.
AMBER LOUNGE SINGAPORE 2018 | Asia’s Most Exhilarating F1 VIP Party Destination
The exotic island of Singapore, home to Formula 1’s first ever night race is one of Amber Lounge’s most provocative and glamorous destinations. A celebrity and F1 driver hotspot, Amber Lounge Singapore, established since the first ever Singapore Grand Prix, has proven to be the chicest nightlife destination in the Asia. It merges the euphoric party spirit of the West with the splendour of the Orient.
From: luxuryasiainsider.com
Burberry Galaxy Macau Store Opening Event
The Book of Daniel
MACAU - SEPTEMBER 11: (L-R) Cara G, Sofia W and Sean Lee Davies at the Burberry Galaxy Macau Store Opening Event on September 11, 2015 in Taipa, Macau. (Photo by Victor Fraile/Getty Images for Burberry) From:gettyimages.ie
Singapore fashion legend Daniel Boey, dubbed the Godfather of fashion in Singapore and Asia’s Next Top Model Cycle 1 Judge published his book “The Book of Daniel Boey”. As a long-time mentor to Sofia, Daniel asked her to write a foreword for his book.
“With the enjoyment of the audience in mind, the fashion director invited two model proteges, Vivian Ong Patenaude and Sofia Wakabayashi, to share the stage with him mid-way through the session, to offer the audience a view of himself through fresh eyes.”
A Musical Night Of Fashion At Audi Red Carpet Night 2014
Rubin Singer and the finale look from his bridal line worn by Asia’s Next Top Model alumni Sofia Wakabayashi. Image: Wesley Kow for herworldPLUS
Singer, who is in Singapore for the first time, presented highlights from his Spring Summer 2014, Fall Winter 2014 and Bridal 2014 collections, wowing invited guests with his red carpet-worthy gowns.
The American designer, who has created bespoke pieces for stars including Beyoncé, Alicia Keys, Heidi Klum showed Spring Summer 2014 looks glinting with touches of gold and silver, bringing to mind the sight of ancient gilded inscriptions. Instead of all-out decadent glitter, Singer’s Egyptian-inspired vision featured burnished metallic accents, along sleek lines on his gowns; all draped to flatter and hug womanly curves.
From: herworld.com
Tradebook Charity Day 2016: Sofia Wakabayashi in Hong Kong
Stars To Take Part In Bloomberg Tradebook Charity Day
Bloomberg Tradebook’s annual Charity Day, brought together employees and celebrity guests on October 27, 2016 to raise funds in support of charitable causes around the globe. The Nature Conservancy – Model, Sofia Wakabayashi
Sofia Wakabayashi moved to Hong Kong
“Sofia Wakabayashi revealed that she officially came to Hong Kong in June to develop,and has been working as a model in Singapore for the past three years.” - ON.cc Limited
Digital Fashion Week 2014 Thomas Wee Brings The Opera To The Fashion Scene
The show began with Asia's Next Top Model finalist - Sofia Wakabayashi clad in silk organza top, culottes and a Japanese inspired belt, choreography for the show was as interesting as Thomas' outfits as the models walked back and forth, with an uncanny interaction, as though we were all watching a fashion opera.
From: huneyzworld.blogspot.com
Sharp Lines & Volume From Thomas Wee’s Latest Collection
Backstage At The DVF Show
Generally hailed as one of Singapore’s best fashion designers, Thomas Wee’s Special Presentation of demi-couture pieces for women and men as part of the Fide Fashion Weeks’ Couture shows 2012 was simply elegant and starkly stunning.
“We caught up with the models who were being prepped to mesmerise backstage at the Diane von Furstenberg’s Fall 2015 show for Singapore Fashion Week. Supermodel Sheila Sim of Singapore, Sheena Liam, winner of Asia’s Next Top Model Cycle 2, and Sofia Wakabayashi, contestant of Asia’s Next Top Model Cycle 1, were the epitome of cool as they were getting all dolled up.”
From: harpersbazaar.com
Interview by Fashion Wardrobe Trends
I hope for…….
Unicorns to be real. And a magical pill that can make my dog live as long as I do.
Nothing inspires me like…….
Laughing so much that I cry and my stomach hurts! It puts a reality check on things. that being purely happy is the best feeling in the world and to not lose sight of that while I’m chasing my dreams. To be happy is the point of it all.
Who’s That Hottie:
Sofia Wakabayashi
Sofia Wakabayashi is a perfect representative of the new breed of model, strong, gorgeous and blessed with that ‘something special’ factor, which has gained her much favor in this highly competitive, cut-throat industry.
With her incredible presence in front & off camera, her tireless work ethic, and super-glamorous fashion imagery, the exotic half-Samurai (Japanese), half-Viking (Swedish) sweetheart first gained a throng of fans from being on the TV show Asia’s Next Top Model in cycle One, representing Japan.
In an exclusive Q&A complete with a sultry photo series shot from a lade-back home setting by photographer Victor Yaw, and hair styled by Blow+Bar, Sofia, (Now Model Management) gives us a little peek into the charming young lady behind all the glitz and glamor.
What i love most about modeling…..
I love that every single day on my job is new, exciting, and fun! Each job is different from the next… new location, new team, new challenges.
I also get to work with so many amazing, creative, talented people that it is impossible not to enjoy every minute on the job.
I see myself in 3 years…….
I hope to finally be settled in one place that I can call a “base” and my home. I love traveling and I am so blessed that my job allows me to do that.
However, I can’t deny a sort of loneliness that comes with moving around every 2-3 months and having to start over each time in a new place.
The top 5 things on my bucket list are…...
Hot air balloon, sky dive, a roller-blade marathon in Cairo, Egypt and visit the pyramids while I am there, a Euro-trip, master a jump on the snowboard.
My favorite……
Book is The Alchemist. My copy is all kinds of beat up because I bring it with me everywhere. I read it whenever I feel lost, confused, lonely, or discouraged.
Fashion is…….
about being comfortable with who you are and feeling good. Whether that is dressing up in a dress or suit, or dressing down in sweats.
When i was……
Kuala Lumpur the other weekend for a music festival I got a severe allergic reaction to a poisonous hairy black caterpillar. Been suffering from it the last couple weeks and just felt like sharing because it is the weirdest allergic reaction I have ever heard of. Who gets poisoned by a caterpillar!?
Tell us something about yourself that most people don’t
know about you….
Being a model comes with a whole list of stereotypes that people automatically slap on to you before bothering to ask questions. For the people who do, they are always surprised to know that I am a big nerd. I completed my bachelor’s degree in political science and worked for Tech companies in the Silicon Valley.
Interview with C-Heads Magazine
Love from Hong Kong: Sofia Wakabayashi
Meet Sofia Wakabayshi. First things first, she’s bloody smart. After doing her political science degree at UCLA she worked in the tech industries for a while before starting to focus on modelling. Since then she was a contestant on the first cycle of Asia’s Next Top Model and won a model award. Literally beauty and brains.
Interview and photographs by Lauren Engel
Asia's Next Top Model's Contestants Unveiled
Sofia Wakabayashi does a perfect catwalk. (Yahoo! photo/ Deborah Choo)
24-year old Sofia Wakabayashi is probably one of the tallest contestants at 1.83m. She is half Swedish and half Japanese. (Yahoo! photo/ Deborah Choo)
The 14 contestants of reality television show "Asia's Next Top Model" made their appearances on Tuesday morning at Hotel Michael at Resorts World Sentosa. The TV series, which is its first Asian spin-off from "America's Next Top Model" created by international model Tyra Banks, is set to premiere in Singapore on Star World on Sunday, 25 November. (Yahoo! Singapore/ Deborah Choo)
