Our latest up-and-comer shot to the model stratosphere last season with castings at Prada, Chanel (twice!), Hermès, Haider Ackermann, and Maison Martin Margiela. The Slavic beauty is just starting to make a splash in print, and we have no doubt that a bevy of photographers will be rushin’ for the Russian this season. We caught up with Zen—an abbreviation of her actual name, Zenia Sevastyanova, not a self-proclamation—and learned all about her hopes, her hands, and her most embarrassing casting moment…

What’s your favorite physical feature?
I don’t have one. It’s about overall balance and inner grace in a person. I do pay a lot of attention to hands though.

What’s the strangest compliment you’ve received about your looks?
You’re so attractive, you look like a boy.

What’s the best advice you’ve gotten from another model?
Never be late.

When you’re walking down the runway, what’s going through your mind?
Storm on the inside, peace on the outside.

What’s your diet during Fashion Week, and what do you eat immediately after?
Fish and greens, no carbs. Immediately after I eat something delicious, since it ends in Paris. Crepes with nutella and coconut.

If you weren’t modeling, what would you be doing?
Same as now. Painting, drawing, making clothes or the opposite, I would be a journalist or a chemist, or pursue architecture.

What’s the most embarrassing thing that’s ever happened to you at a casting?
I had an eye twitch while getting a snapshot.

What’s the best city to work in and why?
New York, for the creativity, the amount of talented people and never knowing what to expect.

What would you ask for if you were granted one wish?
I ask for wishes every day and they all came or will come true.

What’s your dream job in modeling?
Balmain campaign. Somewhere like Bali, the Maldives or other exotic place.