Irina Shayk Just Revived the One Outfit Formula We Couldn’t Escape in 2018

Irina Shayk is the rare model who started in her 20s and transitioned from swimsuit and lingerie modeling to high-fashion pictorials to, nowadays, street style. In a recent interview with Elle, she recalled how her athletic frame and Eastern European looks (Shayk is a Russia native) were initially met with skepticism in the fashion world. “I had agents who said, ‘You have to cut your hair, lose 20 pounds, and become blonde,’” she told the magazine. “And I was like, ‘Absolutely fucking no.’” Correct call.

It was a journey to accept her body. Not because of its size, Shayk added, but because after her father died, she didn’t want to be girly; she felt like the man of the house. “I always thought I was born in the wrong body,” she revealed. “I hated being a girl. I remember fights with my mom; she wanted to dress me in something flowery. I wanted dark colors and something solid. It wasn’t that I wanted to be a boy, but I felt like, ‘I don’t belong to my body.’”

These days she’s in a much more confident place. Reflecting on tabloid rumors and speculation, Shayk doesn’t take it personally. “Not everybody is going to like you. And I don’t want everyone to like me. I am who I am. I’m not going to change because somebody who has nothing to do in their life is saying some bullshit about me or how I dress or how I’m parenting. No, get your life together.” Challenge accepted.