The new CHIMI campaign star gets real about her biggest fears, famous family, and a missing dress that could've cost her the Met
Amelia Gray is not a fan of sand. Despite being born and raised on the sunny shores of California, the 22-year-old model would rather stay as far away from the stuff as humanly possible. “I cannot tell you the last time I went to the beach,” she tells me at the beginning of our 20-minute phone call. “Sand is like glitter, but in the worst way,” she continues. “Sand is that thing that nobody wants, but it’s just everywhere.” It was surely a stroke of terrible luck, then, that for its latest campaign, Swedish label CHIMI decided to slather her in the stuff for its “homage to the timeless dance of the natural elements.” The Thibaut Grevet-helmed shoot saw Gray snap on a pair of aerodynamic ‘One’ sunglasses and stand under a rain machine, get blasted by a wind machine, then covered in a layer of the gritty rock residue (we assume insurance for the fire element was just a bit too high).
Gray’s subsequent declaration that “sand is my biggest fear” is admittedly quite eccentric, but makes sense once we get talking. At two separate points in our short conversation, the model makes it known she’s a fan of self-determination, revealing she’s a “big control freak,” and that it’s “hard to not always be in control.” At the risk of getting a bit too Freudian, maybe there’s something about the persistent nature of sand that gets on her nerves, the thought of its sticky texture tarnishing everything it touches no matter how hard you brush it off. Just maybe, its sheer everywhereness is too much for this self-confessed control freak to control. Or maybe she just hates the way it feels.
The fact that a woman like Gray would seek to have control over her career makes sense when you consider her stratospheric rise. The daughter of reality TV royalty Lisa Rinna, Gray traded the beachy waves of Beverly Hills for a much stronger succubus chic look in late 2022, and her nascent modelling career hit the big time. Now a mainstay on catwalks, covers and campaigns, Gray’s rise to the top was a masterclass not only in cool-girl marketing, but genuine charisma and charm. And fresh off the heels of her first ever Met Gala (which very nearly didn’t happen), Gray is continuing to stake a claim on a piece of her own fashion legacy.
Below, we catch up with Gray about her elemental campaign, obsessing over Crumbl Cookies, and the Met Gala dress that got lost in the post.
Hi Amelia! First of all, I’m sure you’re inundated with offers and campaigns – why did CHIMI feel like the one?
Amelia Gray: That’s a funny question actually. I love when my relationships with brands are organic. I’ve been involved in the CHIMI family for almost three years now. One of my first seasons, I was in Paris and they had invited me to one of their dinners. I will just never forget the energy and how much fun we had at this dinner. I go to a lot of fashion dinners, but when you connect to the energy and you actually like the people as well as the brand, it’s just very special. Not to mention I’m so particular with my glasses that I wear. If it’s not gas station glasses that I’m wearing, it’s a CHIMI pair of glasses.
What is it that gas station sunnies and a CHIMI pair have in common that you gravitate towards?
Amelia Gray: I’m such a big gas station glasses girlie. I like them because they’re lightweight, they’re easy, they’re durable. It’s the same thing with the CHIMI ones, but they’re just a bit more fashion. They’re a bit cooler, a bit nicer, made for so many different occasions. I wore my CHIMI ones to a wedding last week instead of my gas station ones because it’s just a bit more respectful, you know? CHIMI is for when I’m feeling a little bit on the dressier side.
“I’m always getting down and dirty on set, and I love to do it. It’s kind of like my alter ego” – Amelia Gray
What was it like to shoot the campaign? There was water and sand everywhere.
Amelia Gray: That was crazy, actually. The sand that covered my body was wild. It’s so funny because when I’m at work, and I’m Amelia-the-model, there’s not anything that I wouldn’t do. But when I’m Amelia-the-human-being it’s so different because sand is my biggest fear. So many things I do for my job are my biggest fears, but I think that that’s why I love it so much, because it really pushes me outside of my comfort zone. I had to stand on this tall stilt-like thing for the big photo with the long black dress, and I’m terrified of heights. Heights and sand – miss me with those two things. It’s always a bit of a challenge when a fear is brought up on set, but it happens all the time for me. Being dirty, I hate being dirty, but I’m always getting down and dirty on set, and I love to do it. It’s kind of like my alter ego. But I definitely had sand with me for a couple days after.
You don’t like sand?! Where did that come from?
Amelia Gray: I hate sand. I hate sand.
Aren’t you from LA?
Amelia Gray: I cannot tell you the last time I went to the beach. Sand is like glitter, but in the worst way. Sand is just like that thing that nobody wants, but it’s just everywhere. I hate sand, and I had it all over me. But we got through it, and we persevered. You’ve got to be outside of your comfort zone, you know – it’s just a little sand. I’m gonna survive.
The campaign is described as ‘a tribute to nature’s elegance’. I was going to ask you if you’re more of a nature girl or city girl, but I think I might know the answer now…
Amelia Gray: You know, I really appreciate nature, and I grew up around so much of it. Being outside really is what grounds me the most – but last night, there was a really small spider in my room, and I started screaming, and my mom had to take care of it for me, because I’m just terrified. But I love nature, and I love being outside. But sand and spiders – I can’t. It’s just those little things.
Only a few things then.
Amelia Gray: Only every single bug, every single animal, and every single speck of sand – but other than that, everything's great!
So if you could gift the sunglasses to anyone, who would it be and why?
Amelia Gray: My mom, because the ‘One’ sunglasses that we did, those are just perfect for one of those days when you wake up and have a lot to do, but you don’t really want to get ready. You can just throw on these glasses and look super put together, and also kind of cunty while you’re doing it – and you can also just have this shield. I think glasses for me also serve as an anxiety shield. I have pretty bad social anxiety in some scenarios. I’m always in a social situation even though I’m scared of it, which is good – it’s good to be outside of your comfort zone. But having a pair of glasses on can sometimes make me feel protected, and I think that my mom also shares that with me, because she loves a big pair of glasses. I don’t know what it is, but it’s like you can just feel safe hiding behind them, and also look really cool while doing it.
“The dress was lost. We didn’t know where it was, if it was in Japan, if it was in Paris, if it was in New York. It was gone” – Amelia Gray
I guess your eyes give away a lot of emotion.
Amelia Gray: Exactly. Sometimes you don’t want to give that emotion to everyone, and you want to protect your energy. That’s where, in particular, these sunglasses can come in super handy, because you’re really protected under these. These are some bad boys.
You recently went to your first Met Gala and wore one of the terrarium dresses from Undercover SS24 – what was the process of putting that look together?
Amelia Gray: Well, you’re in for a really fun story! I actually found out that I was going to the Met in Undercover three days before. The Met’s on Monday and I got confirmed on the Friday. I was in LA for my Model of the Year award, and I got a call the day before that from my agent saying ‘hey, Vogue is interested in you wearing this dress for the Met Gala. They don’t know where it is in the world. You need to try it on before you leave for Marseille for the Chanel show. There’s deadlines and they have to check people off for the Met.’
Long story short, the dress was lost. We didn’t know where it was, if it was in Japan, if it was in Paris, if it was in New York. It was gone. Nowhere to be found. I just surrendered and thought ‘whatever is meant to be is meant to be.’ It was just this thing where – oh my god, I’m sorry, my mom is just screaming at me. One second. Mom, I’m on another interview! Thank you, have fun, safe flight, love you! Sorry [laughing]. She’s leaving town. Anyways, I just surrendered and was like if the dress shows up, it’ll work out. Whatever happens happens, but with my job I find it hard to not always be in control.
What happened next?
Amelia Gray: So anyways, I went to Marseille and did the Chanel show – that was on the Wednesday before the Met. Then I got to New York on Friday, I went straight to Vogue from the plane to try on the dress. The dress is not alterable – it’s a plastic art piece to be screwed on, you cannot make a change to it. So it was very much my own Cinderella moment of, ‘we’re proposing this dress to her, but if it doesn’t fit, then she’s not wearing the dress and she’s not going.’ So it was just meant to be I guess.
That Friday we realised the dress fit and we had to just get our shit together really quickly. Going to the Met has been something I’ve wanted to do since I was really little. It’s something that was in my manifestation journals and all of that. I had always imagined I would have so much time to plan it, but I think the way that it happened was the way it was supposed to be for me, because I probably would have freaked out if I had too much time to think about it. I just had to go, which is how everything has happened in my career. It’s just been super last minute, just ‘go, don’t think, just do it.’ That works for me the best, even though I’m a big control freak and love to plan. It’s funny how I don’t really do that anymore.
You mentioned winning Model of the Year recently – how did that feel?
Amelia Gray: That was really special. I went with my family. I had all my friends from LA that have been by my side, since this was just a dream. It was a really beautiful thing, to have it in LA. The Daily Front Row Fashion Awards was actually the first ever event that I went to with my mom and my sister when I was just getting into the model world at 15. Stella Maxwell had won that year, and I was just like, ‘wow, imagine if one day I was on this stage.’ And then it happened and it’s just been really surreal. It feels like this is not my life. I’m having impostor syndrome, but in the best way, and it’s been so fun.
“Without [my family], I probably wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing” – Amelia Gray
Are you inspired by your family?
Amelia Gray: Yes, especially my mom. Doing it with her has been really fun and beautiful, and being able to travel and see her in all these other places. She loves fashion, she’s loved fashion since I was little and I’ve always loved the way that she dressed – her style made my style. I literally just walked downstairs to get a bottle of water and she’s wearing the same pair of jeans that I wear every single day, and the same slip on Vans that I wear with my jeans. It’s so funny to see how similar we are. But I think that without them, I probably wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing.
What do you do when you’re off-duty, to decompress?
Amelia Gray: I’m having a problem with TikTok. I need to delete the app off of my phone. It just consumes so much of my time. Though I learn a lot on it I must say, it’s just become my TV and I feel like it’s taking over my brain. What’s going to happen if it gets banned in America – I don’t know! I might have to move to Paris, you know?
What’s on your For You Page then?
Amelia Gray: I love a mukbang. And I love watching people eat Crumbl Cookies. I really like that. Have you ever seen that?
What’s Crumbl Cookies?
Amelia Gray: [Gasps loudly] You don’t have them?! Oh my god, I think I’m gonna get them today because I’m leaving the States tomorrow and I might just have to get them before I go. They’re these insane cookies that have the craziest flavours, and they change their flavours weekly. So every week these people do Crumbl Cookies reviews and the way they eat these cookies is just the most satisfying thing ever. I always watch it in bed at like 11, and then I need a cookie. You’ve got to watch Crumbl Cookies reviews. It’s insane. I’ve actually done a couple, and I’ll do one tonight if I get them and I will send it to you.
Would you ever do your own mukbang?
Amelia Gray: Yeah, for sure. For sure. I should do that, I don’t know why I haven’t.
Any particular food besides Crumbl Cookies?
Amelia Gray: I need to get the mic setup, but I think I love watching people eat pasta. I would love to do a pasta one and a cookie one.