Supermodel Grace Yu rose to fame in the 70s as the first Asian face of Dior. A homegrown Hong Konger from Sham Shui Po, she tells June Ng the story of her journey from an impoverished local neighborhood to the international runway.

I returned recently to Sham Shui Po, but everything I remember has been bulldozed. It was quite upsetting.

My dad died when I was 15. But I was not devastated. Although I loved him very much, he was the source of conflict in my family. My parents argued everyday. And anyway, I was joining the modeling industry—no time for sorrow.

My father worked as a secretary in an embassy, and he was supposed to be great, but he preferred to dwell in misery and complain that he deserved better. My mom could have earned a lot too, but she chose to work only when our family had no money for food.

I quit school when I was 14. My first job was in a factory. I was fired pretty quickly, though. I was pretty incompetent at putting things together.

Being tall was awkward, especially in my neighborhood. People were intimidated by my height. They’d make fun of me. I felt odd, inferior and ugly. It was like being tall and slender was a sin. It was only after becoming a model that I began to feel grateful for my appearance.

I didn’t have the guts to sign up for a beauty pageant, but I ended up in a modeling contest thanks to my sister. It was organized by a big department store—we trained in the function room at The Peninsula. After that, I knew the career I wanted.

Not everyone can be a top model. It’s a snobbish business and you need to look perfect all the time. In my time, there were no hairdressers following you around—you had to be professional in taking care of yourself.

If you feel that you can’t fit in somewhere, start off pessimistically and don’t try to too hard to force yourself to fit in right away. You don’t want to look ambitious and intimidating.

My philosophy is go with the flow - I take everything with a calm state of mind. Even when I was picked as the first Asian face of Dior, I didn’t have any sort of strong reaction. I didn’t even plan to move to Paris. I just decided to try my luck there to see what happened. It worked. 

I believe in fate. If you’re destined to have something, you’ll have it. And if not, no matter how hard you try, you won’t get it. Some people have the potential to fly high and do great things, so why do they still end up so low?

I like the counseling of fortunetellers simply because I like to hear nice things about myself.

Boys are the only thing that can make me emotional.

The most heartbreaking experience I had was when I broke up with my boyfriend of four and a half years.

I always thought I would marry him. I was 29 at the time. I was really worried about my age, who would marry me when I was that old? It was quite a sudden shock.

If you have to fight to keep a person with you, then there is no point in dragging the relationship out.

Over the years, I have had more than 100 boyfriends. None of them lasted for longer than a year, and I always began the next relationship towards the end of the previous one.

Don’t be so shocked. Think of it this way: it’s like shopping for a handbag. If you see a better one, just go out and get it. Why be stuck with an inferior one?

Luxury brands have lost their luster. They’re getting too cheap. Twenty years ago, a dress would cost $18,000—today a similar item would be much cheaper. I’d rather they remain more expensive, so they can continue to be unique.

The major difficulty facing Hong Kong designers is that in order to get world recognition, you need to live in a fashion capital and mingle with the relevant people. How many people can afford to up and move to France?

Self-satisfaction is the biggest mistake a man can make. Men need to be picky about themselves and try to understand more about themselves. This is the only way you can become a better person.