Eileen Gu on fashion, fame and success – the Olympic idol opens up about discrimination, her Chinese roots, Instagram empowerment and modelling for Louis Vuitton and Tiffany & Co.

Sep 6 , 2023

Eileen Gu, shot for Style in New York, in April 2023. Photography: Mike Ruiz, Styling: Alison Hernon, Make-up: Chunnan Lee, Hair: Gonn Kinoshita at The Wall Group, Photography assistant: Felipe Zapata-Valencia, Styling assistant: Summer Safi, Outfits: Louis Vuitton, Jewellery: Tiffany & Co.

Eileen Gu is the definition of a multi-hyphenate: an Olympic skiing champion, Stanford student, luxury fashion model – and unarguably one of the most influential faces of her generation today

Here the 20-year-old Chinese-American athlete talks exclusively to Style about using her media profile for good, the intersections of sport and fashion, and why her mum Yan is still her real hero

Eileen Gu’s schedule would put a top CEO’s or seasoned politician’s to shame. The morning of her Style cover shoot, the freestyle skier and Olympic gold medallist arrived in New York, after catching a flight from Northern California, where she attends Stanford University. She had spent the previous day taking classes in subjects ranging from psychology to economics and quantum physics, diligently doing her homework, training at the gym and socialising with friends – all in a day’s work for a then-19-year-old student.

New York, however, was a completely different story. Gu – who turned 20 on September 3 – was in town to attend the star-studded opening of the Tiffany Landmark, the jeweller’s newly refurbished store on Fifth Avenue, and the Met Gala, the “East Coast Oscars” party celebrating the Costume Institute at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Eileen Gu, shot for Style in New York, in April. Photo: Mike Ruiz

From fittings to meetings and various social engagements, Gu’s only break was the time she spent in her hotel room with her glam team before the big night out. Ever the multitasker, Gu took advantage of her make-up and hair session to grab a bite, do some homework and record a speech for her high school back in California. She then let her guard down and caught up with friends at the Tiffany bash, which lasted until the wee hours and culminated in a performance by Katy Perry.

[China] has always been central to my life and I try to maintain that cultural fluency and being able to navigate different cultures

While her fellow partygoers, including yours truly, had by then called it a night, Gu stayed up later to finish a psychology paper that was due that day.

This didn’t keep her from showing up to the shoot bright and early, looking fresh and displaying none of the tetchy attitude you might expect from a celebrity dealing with sleep deprivation. Despite the prospect of a long day ahead starting with this interview, followed by another hair and make-up session, and then the photo shoot – all before 2pm.

Eileen Gu at Tiffany’s opening party at The Landmark, in April. Photo: BFA

But this is par for the course for Gu, who since the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics – where she competed for China and won gold medals in big air and half-pipe, and a silver medal in slopestyle – has turned into a phenomenon. Forbes listed her as the third-highest-paid female athlete in the world in 2022. It’s no exaggeration to describe her as a generation-defining role model in both her native US, and in China, where she has a rabid fan base.