Pansexual, Polish-born Patryk Lawry models Autumn/Winter 2021, and talks to us about being LGBTQ+ in the world of fashion

Words Name Here Photography Name Here Styling Joseph Kocharian

Patryk wears Kenzo

Fashion and words Joseph Kocharian Photography Dean Ryan McDaid

Patryk wears Dior

Most of us are still clinging on to our unfulfilled Gossip Girl and Sex and the City fantasies of moving to New York to live the fabulous life (the reboots of the aforementioned shows are only feeding that flight of fancy), but model Patryk Lawry seems to be living that dream, like a less problematic Emily from Emily in Paris. Plucked from Police, a town in north-west Poland, in his teens, and whisked off to work in New York, the 23-year-old talks to us about navigating the fashion world, falling in love in a new city, and coming out as pansexual to his parents back home.

How did you get scouted as a model?

On Instagram. I had been scouted a couple of times over the past few years, but there was always a problem with my height. This time, [agent] Jordan Morris messaged me on Instagram and asked if I would be interested in modelling in New York. At first, I read the message and I was, like, OK, this person is 100 per cent cat-fishing me because there’s no way… [laughs] I was sitting in Poland in my hometown and it seemed unreal. But a couple of months later, I got my visa. We met and I started working as a model in New York.

How old were you when you were discovered?

I was 18, turning 19.

You must feel blessed to be able to travel the world?

I’ve been so grateful for everything that’s happened to me. It’s so funny because I was always fantasising about moving to New York or LA. When it actually happened, my mum was super surprised.

Patryk wears Dsquared2

“Moving to New York helped me explore fashion and made me feel more confident about myself”