MadameNoire Featured Video

lori harvey talks pushing past fashion industry limits

A fashion career pretty much fell on Lori Harvey by accident and recently the 20-year-old daughter of Marjorie Harvey and step-daughter of comedian/author/TV show host Steve Harvey sat down with BET to talk taking on the Dolce & Gabbana runway at only 5’3” tall.

Dolce & Gabbana was the petite model’s first and only runway gig so far and she’s walked in several of the Italian luxury fashion houses’ shows this year, including a couture show that she and her members of her family were happy to be a part of. But fashion isn’t a career the champion equestrian pursued by choice and Harvey maintains these opportunities literally just happened out of nowhere:

“It literally just happened to me. To this day, I’m like, ‘I need to take a modeling class, like all these different classes.’”

OK, so maybe having a set of famous parents didn’t hurt, but even with that to her advantage, it’s still pretty impressive that with her short stature, Harvey is still giving some competition to some of hottest names in the modeling game like Gigi Hadid and Kendall Jenner. Harvey is well aware that her success is unprecedented and is proud to be an example to other young women who believe their height and skin color may stand in the way between them and their dreams of ripping the runway:

“Being that I’m not a traditional model, it’s kind of cool because I feel like it’s opening up a door for a new generation of models that look more like me versus being 5-foot-10 and super skinny [with a] super flat stomach and super skinny legs like everything looks so perfect. So, it’s cool that I don’t have to be a size 00. I can literally just be me and that’s OK. Especially being that I wasn’t made to walk on a runway — and a high fashion runway at that — that’s insane.”

“And the fact that [Dolce & Gabbana] keeps asking me to come back is insane because I think it’s really changing the fashion industry. It’s like a lot of people are taking interest and it’s gotten a lot of positive feedback because there’s more so people that look like me versus being super tall and super skinny. So, when they see somebody like me in the clothes, they can see themselves more.”

Harvey expresses it’s important that she remain an example to women of color especially:

“I feel like you don’t see a lot of color in the fashion industry in general. You just don’t. I think I was one of five girls backstage at the show that was African-American. Of course it was an honor, but it also shows girls that look like me that you can do this too, you can break into this industry and play a huge role in it.”

“You can’t let someone tell you [that] you can’t do something, especially if that person hasn’t done it before. You know, it’s like, ‘How are you going to tell me I can’t do something if you’ve never even done it.’”

But Harvey wasn’t always pushing past the limits of the fashion industry, and in fact just two years ago she was on the fast track to an Olympic career as a competitive horseback rider. She was accepted to every college she applied to receiving multiple athletic scholarships and planning to move from Atlanta to Florida to pursue her education and continue riding. Harvey moved to Florida and lived as a normal undergrad after being homeschooled since the 7th grade, a decision her mother made for her and her siblings that Lori eventually decided was a great one. When an unfortunate fall while riding resulted in a torn MCL, Harvey returned to Atlanta.

At a time when it seemed her professional path was murky, her personal life became “lit” literally and soon her engagement to soccer player Memphis Depay was making headlines. Like her modeling career, Harvey says she didn’t see the love she has for her fiancé coming:

“It’s like he just fell out of nowhere. He is just so perfect. Everything just happened so perfect. I honestly, genuinely feel like he was made for me. That’s my other half. I love him so much. Like, he could not be more perfect for me. We are literally just the same.”

After giving her number to Depay when they met at the beach one day, Harvey played hard to get when it came to 23-year-old’s interest:

“He called me for like a year straight and I would not answer the phone. He would send me flowers and I would be like, ‘Thank you,’ and that was it. I gave him no play and he did not understand. So then, one day, I don’t even know why, I picked up the phone and was like, ‘Fine what do you want?’ and we just talked for hours, like all night. And then we started talking every day.”

After talking for some time, Harvey went to visit Depay in Manchester against her parents’ wishes. That’s when she says Steve Harvey, who married Marjorie when Lori was 10, went into straight up overprotective step-dad mode:

“My dad cussed him out and everything before I went and was like, ‘If you do anything, I swear to God I’ll kill you.’ And he was like, ‘Nope, I won’t hurt her I promise I got her. I love her.’ And [my dad] was like, ‘Yeah, OK, you don’t love her like I love her.’”

Thankfully, Depay stayed true to his promise and Harvey is currently planning a move to Leon, France to be closer to her fiancé while she wedding plans which she admits her mom is heavily involved in:

“Honestly, I might just show up and it will already be planned. Like, she’ll already have everything planned out. I really wouldn’t be surprised. I’m like, ‘Mom we should start looking for a wedding planner.’ and she’s like, ‘Oh, I already have one.’ and I’m like, ‘As far as flowers go…’ and she’s like, ‘Oh I already have your florist.’ I was like, ‘Oh OK.’ I was like, ‘Let’s think about the venue.’ And she was like, ‘Oh I already have that too.’”

You can read more about Harvey’s plans for modeling overseas, how she maintains her athletic frame and her thoughts on moving so far away from her family here.

Comment Disclaimer: Comments that contain profane or derogatory language, video links or exceed 200 words will require approval by a moderator before appearing in the comment section. XOXO-MN