Scene Queen
Alana Champion is everyone’s muse, and for good reason. From dumb tats to deadstock bras, the elusive It girl gives Devon Ross a peek behind the curtain.
Interview by DEVON ROSS
Photos by MORGAN MAHER
Fashion by BLAIR CANNON
You may think you’ve seen Alana Champion in a movie, or in a dream. Online, the rumors spin: Old Hollywood heiress,Lily-Rose Depp’s bestie, a girl who appeared out of thin air in 2014. The Los Angeles native spent her teens drifting through the city’s underbelly like a heroine in one of her favorite films. Now 28 and based in New York, she is a muse to many. She’s walked for Moschino, been dressed by Saint Laurent, co-wrote Lana Del Rey’s “Sweet Carolina,” and most recently appeared in Demna’s star-studded Gucci lookbook. But above all, Alana’s real currency is her gaze, doe-eyed and pouty, always hinting at secrets.
Devon Ross: So Alana, miss girl, you’re living in New York right now?
Alana Champion: I am.
Devon: How long have you lived there?
Alana: On and off since I started at the New School in 2016. I went back to LA in 2020 and officially moved back here around 2022. I love it.
Devon: You grew up in LA, right?
Alana: I did, yeah.
Devon: Did you enjoy it?
Alana: It’s like paradise for me, the perfect amount of solitude and nature. I had a nice childhood, then I partied a lot as a teen and fell into this underground scene, which is kind of how I started modeling.
Devon: Do you have more of an appreciation for it now that you’re away?
Alana: It’s hard. I have a love-hate relationship. Right now I really miss it. It’s been a few months since I’ve been back, which is probably the longest honestly, ever.
Devon: That’s a very common feeling here.
Alana: Yeah, totally. My family still lives in the same house I grew up in that my dad has had since the ’80s. It’s always threatened by the fires, but this year more than ever. It truly has a special place in my heart. Where are you in LA?
Devon: I’m in the Hollywood Hills. I was in London for a while, but I moved back two years ago. I love it now more than ever, especially after the fires. What’s the most LA thing about you?
Alana: Defending the Lakers.
Devon: Are you a bodega sandwich girl or an Erewhon smoothie girl at heart?
Alana: Erewhon smoothie all day long.
Devon: What’s your favorite time of day?
Alana: Blue hour after sunset…the light!
Devon: Do you keep a strict routine?
Alana: I don’t think I could keep a routine if I tried, let alone plan anything in advance. Every day is totally different: It’s the nature of what I do and maybe why I’ve fallen into this anyway.
Devon: I don’t have a routine either; maybe it’s an LA thing.
Alana: Really? I feel like most of my friends in LA have a routine, like going to the farmers’ market every Sunday. It’s more of a domestic life.
Devon: Yeah, I have a lot of friends who do Pilates daily, and I’m just not that kind of LA girl… What is the most worn piece in your closet right now?
Alana: I always wear these vintage white leather kitten heels. I’m staring at them in my closet right now. I literally keep a pair in rotation, usually from Poshmark or eBay. I wear them to shreds, then two more pairs show up just as those fall apart.
Devon: What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever found on Poshmark?
Alana: A deadstock Mickey Mouse bra.
Devon: If you had to burn one trend forever, what’s going first?
Alana: I hate dumb tats.
Devon: What brings out the 5-year-old in you?
Alana: Almost everything about how I live my life.
Devon: One thing people don’t know about you?
Alana: My mom was on an episode of Baywatch.
Devon: Do you have a guilty pleasure online?
Alana: Anything with pigs. I’m obsessed. They’re all over my feed.
Devon: And offline?
Alana: Going to the movies. I got it from my dad. He sometimes goes to two movies a day. He’s obsessed with AMC. He’ll plan to see half of a movie, go have lunch at the Century City food court, and then go back to see the second half of a different showing.
Devon: What a fun way to live. Which theater seat in New York feels like it’s yours?
Alana: Cinema 123 by Angelika uptown, the upstairs screen with the balcony.
Devon: What snack are you sneaking into the theater?
Alana: Jambon beurre.
Devon: Have you seen any movies you loved recently?
Alana: I took my boyfriend to see La Collectionneuse, the Éric Rohmer film.
Devon: What’s it about?
Alana: The whole thing is kind of a tease. The main female character is, like, trolling the men in the movie who all think they’ve decoded her actions and act opposite to their own internal principles.
“Every day is totally different. It’s the nature of what I do and maybe why I’ve fallen into this anyway.” — Alana Champion
Devon: Are you a Letterboxd girl?
Alana: I just redownloaded it.
Devon: What’s your top four?
Alana: Oh god, I’m not ready to answer that question.
Devon: Okay fine. If you could only watch one director’s films forever, who?
Alana: Oh that’s hard too. Paul Schrader or Terrence Malick, who have these amazing untouchable classics, but then still make really cool movies. Schrader has made some bizarre newer movies that I love, like First Reformed, which actually blew my mind. I even liked the movie he recently made called The Card Counter. I also love all of Brian De Palma’s works: They’re kind of Hitchcockian but with sex and gore. What about you?
Devon: I’ve been on such a [John] Cassavetes kick this last year. A Woman Under the Influence is so funny to me—when the credits roll and that silly song plays. I could also just watch Gena Rowlands for the rest of my life.The most gorgeous person in the world.
Alana: Agreed.
Devon: Who’s your all-time movie crush?
Alana: Alain Delon.
Devon: Would you ever act?
Alana: I’m working on it.
Devon: What’s your dream role?
Alana: The kind Lauren Bacall would play.
Devon: Do you have a favorite score?
Alana: Well I saw the Paolo Sorrentino movie Parthenope, and I loved it. The score is awesome so I’ve been listening to it too. I randomly had a conversation with a man outside who also loved it, then I looked it up, and it had a terrible rating and horrible reviews. But I don’t care, I had such a magical time.
Devon: You know what? Having your own opinion is fabulous.
Alana: Yeah. And it’s Italian, set in Naples, which is a place I’ve always wanted to go.
Devon: Are you a text or call kind of girl, considering you’re always traveling?
Alana: I feel like I’m a text-daily girl, and then I do like a biweekly two-and-a-half hour call with a couple people in my life.
Devon: Do you like emojis?
Alana: The tornado has always been mine.
Brilliant capture of how mystique actually works in 2026. The part abouther gaze being currency cuts through all the noise around personal branding. Reminds me of how some people can be everywhere but still feel unreachable. That La Collectionneuse refernce was perfect btw, the tease as strategy feels very now.