Soo Joo jumps on the video call with ELLE Singapore, fresh from our cover shoot. It’s a casual setting, and the conversation quickly opens up as she reveals the layers beneath her public persona. “It was really good,” she says of the shoot, with an easy smile. “I haven’t been back in Korea for over a year, so it was nice to return for something like this and work with an amazing team.”

She’s relaxed, casually dressed, and entirely herself. Her words are measured but never forced, floating somewhere between wry reflection and quiet earnestness. She’s cool, but not detached; thoughtful, but never overly precious.

For someone who has walked the world’s most prestigious runways, including Miu Miu and Chanel, as well as fronted campaigns for L’Oréal, Tom Ford and Fendi, Soo Joo has always existed slightly outside the frame. Breaking out on the runways of the 2012 fashion week season, her blunt-cut, platinum-blonde hair made her impossible to forget in a sea of symmetry. Born in Seoul and raised in California, she became the first Asian-American global spokesmodel for L’Oréal Paris in 2015. It was a historic moment in beauty casting; the word “trailblazer” has often been used to describe her.

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But she’s never been one to rest on labels, and her interests have always stretched beyond fashion. She’s into photography, design, and most deeply, music. “I’ve always loved music,” she says. “Even as a kid, I was obsessed with the Mamas and the Papas, the Beach Boys. Then I got into Velvet Underground and Lou Reed. That rawness really stuck with me—it was like anti-everything I’d been fed.”

Her debut EP, No Ghost, was released earlier this year on Valentine’s Day. The five-track labour of love, which took three years to complete, is introspective and steeped in ’80s synth-pop, ambient electronica and dream-like melancholy. “It has a very nocturnal sound,” she says of the EP, which was written and produced in the quiet hours between shoots and flights.

But No Ghost isn’t just about aesthetics. Its conceptual centre is unexpectedly intellectual and rooted in the story of Annlee, a blue-haired manga character who was acquired and recontextualised by French artists Pierre Huyghe and Philippe Parreno. They purchased the rights for Annlee from a Japanese stock agency and turned her into an open-source project used by other artists. Then, in 2003, they “liberated” her by closing the source and restoring her autonomy.

That act of artistic emancipation resonated with Soo Joo. “It reminded me of what it feels like to be a model because I was always walking into someone else’s narrative and performing someone else’s idea of beauty or identity,” she explains. “Making music was my way of reclaiming authorship.”

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She reached out to the artists and received permission to use archival footage of Annlee in her “Kiss Me” music video. “I dyed my hair blue to become her,” she adds. “It was important to honour her story and to make her a metaphor for autonomy and transformation.”

This isn’t her first foray into music. She previously deejayed and released tracks under the name Ether, a moniker that evoked atmosphere and a sense of in-betweenness. But for her first official EP, she chose to release it under her own name. “I can’t help but be earnest in everything I do,” she says. “So if I’m going to share something this personal, it should be mine.”

It was clearly a project that resonated with like-minded souls who believed in the vision. No Ghost boasts an impressive roster of collaborators, including record producers Dave Sitek (of Yeah Yeah Yeahs fame), Rodaidh McDonald (The xx and Beck), Nosaj Thing (Kendrick Lamar and Kid Cudi), and Hudson Mohawke.

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When asked if there’s a lyric from this EP that feels like a personal thesis statement, she doesn’t hesitate to answer: “Take It Off”. With its darker edge, spoken-word verses and gritty synths, the track builds toward a hypnotic outro: “Shed the skin like a serpent’s molt… pop my top like a Russian doll…” It’s less a club anthem than a psychic purge. “It’s about removing everything that weighs you down,” she says. “The assumptions, the expectations, the burdens. Just take it all off and start again.” Much of the EP emerged from what she calls a “deep dive” into therapy and emotional unpacking. “I started to understand how many of my thoughts and decisions were shaped by things from childhood,” she says. “There’s a line in ‘Kiss Me’ that goes, ‘My heart is still just a child.’ That really sums it up.”

She still models, of course. But the pace is different now. “I’ve softened,” she reflects. “I look at things with rosier lenses. I’ve worked hard. I’ve had experiences I wouldn’t trade. Now I feel like I can step back and appreciate it more.”

Her fashion tastes have also become less showy. “I still love style and dressing up,” she says. “But now I’m more drawn to texture, quality, and practicality. I like good fabrics. Something versatile.”

Then she confesses, “I’m obsessed with Vibrams right now. You know the five-toe shoes? They’re unreal. Like walking barefoot.” She laughs when I tell her I wasn’t expecting that. “It’s comfort and chaos. I don’t even hike, and I have four pairs.”

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So if she’s not spending her time hiking, then what is she keeping herself busy with these days? Her second EP, which she says, is nearly complete. She is cautious of calling it done, though. “The last time I said that, it took another year and a half,” she says with a laugh. While she doesn’t go into much detail, she does reveal that the mood is deeper and darker. “If No Ghost was about introspection and reclaiming autonomy, this next album is about becoming invisible, like a vessel. And letting yourself absorb without needing to define.”

She’s still playing with track titles but throws out phrases like “Silver Lining” and “Pink Breath of Heaven”. The latter is inspired by a fragile flowering plant she tried to nurture during her LA nesting phase. “It’s tiny, beautiful. It didn’t last long,” she says with a smirk. “But I remember it.”

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The conversation then turns to AI, something she’s worked with. The music video for her 2023 track “W8ing 4 U” was created in collaboration with director Elliot Sellers using AI. “The technology is already here,” she says. “The best thing we can do is educate ourselves. Understand it. Then decide how we respond.” She’s wary of how it intersects with identity and likeness, particularly in the modelling industry. “If someone scans my image and uses it somewhere, I want control. But that’s not how it works yet.” While she isn’t opposed to tech, she wants better questions. “Who owns what? Who benefits? What’s the trade-off?”

I ask if she has any advice for someone who looks up to her. “You don’t have to,” she replies, without missing a beat. “No one’s perfect. Don’t seek approval. Learn to love and respect yourself. That’s it.”

Her biggest turn-on? “Empathy. And ambition.” And her biggest red flag? “Narcissism.” She pauses, then exhales. “That one,” she says, “I had to learn the hard way.”

 There’s a long, thoughtful silence that follows. Then, with a small grin, she shrugs: “Just… listen to my second EP.”

Make-up Artist JEONGHWAN PARK 
Hairstylist ENOC LEE
Executive Producer ESTHER KIM