In Style Magazine

'Nude Awakening'

Petra Nemcova – seen here modelling this season’s nude fashion story – is finally coming to terms with the personal tragedy she suffered during the 2004 tsunami. The Czech model, now 26, was holidaying in Thailand with her boyfriend, British fashion photographer Simon Atlee, when the tsunami hit on Boxing Day. Nemcova survived by hanging onto a tree for eigth hours, but broke her pelvis in 4 places and suffered internal injuries. Atlee, tragically, was swept to his death. During the weeks Nemcova spent recovering, she resolved to help others. “The tsunami broke my heart, but it also brought me a lot of love. Family and friends got
me through.”

Now settled in New York, Nemcova is determined to prove that fashion can make aa difference. She set up the charity The Happy Hearts Fund, which helps children in distress around the world, and she has persuaded her contacts to donate outfits.

“Fashion with meaning is my new thing,” she explains. “When I started doing shoots again last September, I did think, ‘What’s the point?’
Now I know. My motto is, ‘Learn form the past, look to the future, but live in the present’. I used to be in a constant hurry, but now I appreciate what I have.”