Her English name is Ayla
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As the eldest daughter of Hong Kong fashion tycoon Sham Kar Wai and actress Chingmy Yau, Ayla Sham Yuet is widely known to the public as Sham Yuet, her full Chinese name. This year, the 20-year-old socialite and model has decided to officially go by her lesser-known English name, Ayla, to mark the milestone of starting life in her 20s. Originated from Turkey, “Ayla” means “a halo of light around the moon”, which actually echoes the meaning of her other name “Yuet” (月), the Chinese word for “moon”.
She was one of the 20 chosen débutantes at the 2019 Le Bal Paris
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At 18-years-old, Sham was chosen to attend the 2019 Le Bal Les Débutantes in Paris, an annual, invite-only event that debuts 20 of the world’s most promising young women into adulthood and high society. She stunned in an elegant, pink gown from Georges Hobeika Spring 2019 Haute Couture, alongside fellow débutantes including Princess Maria Carolina of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, one of Sham’s close friends.
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She debuted as a model during London Fashion Week 2019
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A few months before her debut at Le Bal Paris in 2019, Sham walked down the runway for the very first time during London Fashion Week. She modelled pieces from Bapy for fashion label Izzue, a brand under local fashion conglomerate I.T. owned by Sham’s father Sham Kar Wai.
She is a polyglot
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Beauty and brains! A Psychology and Japanese major at the University of British Columbia, Sham is also fluent in Chinese, English and Korean.
She is passionate about philanthropy
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On her 20th birthday, Sham decided to accept donations in place of gifts. Through raising money for Share The Meal, a crowdfunding phone application dedicated to fight global hunger through the United Nations World Food Programme, she was able to donate a total of 4500 meals to drought affected families in Madagascar.
She names Tom Holland and Zendaya as her Gen Z role models
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In an exclusive with Vogue Hong Kong, Sham reveals that Tom Holland and Zendaya are two of the people she looks up to the most in her generation, both for their sense of style and their kindness and generosity to those around them.
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Lead Image: @yuetyuetxx via Instagram