When asked what feature model Lula Kenfe finds most beautiful about herself, she doesn’t hesitate — nor does she boast. “Everything,” she says matter-of-factly while laughing. “Honestly, I think everything about me is beautiful.” We’d be remiss if we didn’t pinpoint her sculpted features, close-to-perfect skin, and lion-esque mane of curls that threatens to take up the whole frame, though.The 22-year-old is an international find and was scouted by Wilhelmina in her home country of Ethiopia, a place where, she says, modeling isn’t that popular — or too favored. “I got really lucky…there are no agencies or scouting, so you have to go out on your own to find the opportunities,” she says. “At first, my dad didn't approve. He wanted me to go to school and stay in Ethiopia, but I went a different way.” Now that she has her feet firmly placed on the runway and is booking shows with the likes of Zac Posen, Thom Browne, and Kanye West, he’s turned around. “Now he’s really proud of me. He keeps saying: I'm sorry for trying to push you just to go to school — he's happy now.”When it comes to how beauty is approached in both Ethiopia and the States, Kenfe mentions that back home inner beauty is valued just as much as what’s going on outside. Braided hairstyles are also a focal point, but the Western influence is obvious. Case in point: She used to wear her hair really, really straight. Ironically, it wasn’t until she started modeling in America that she began embracing her natural curls.As the curly-haired-model story typically goes , she's also had her fair share of backstage nightmare moments. “It can take hours to get the right style. People have to straighten it and blowdry it, so it can take more than an hour, which is a struggle to sit for hours just for one look,” she says. Unfortunately, matters like hairstylists being unfit to deal with natural hair or makeup artists not having foundation to match a model of color's complexion are a commonplace happening in the industry — and an issue more and more models are bringing to the forefront. But Kenfe tries not to let it get her down. With only two years of modeling experience under her belt, she’s still trying to have fun and take in any and every memory — good and bad.As for what she wants people to see when she walks into the spotlight, images of Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford, Iman, and Brooke Shields in their prime come to mind. “I grew up looking at '80s and '90s beauty, so I want to be like them — elegant,” she says. “You can't see personality in those pictures, but you can see something.”