Born in Zimbabwe and brought up in Northampton, teen model Nyasha Matonhodze has had an impressive debut season to say the least – a season that we found even more impressive when we discovered that she’s only 16-years-old.

At a statuesque 5’11”, it’s no wonder the graceful model’s nickname is ‘Mukwasi’, an African term for a long elegant bird.

Matonhodze is not only a new favourite with the Talent Management team, but renowned fashion editor Katie Grand has also taken a shine to this fresh face.

Grand booked the young model for Louis Vuitton, Emanuel Ungaro, and Loewe, kick-starting her modelling career in the spring 2011 season.

She also walked for Louise Gray, Clements Ribeiro and Jonathan Saunders during London Fashion Week S/S11, as well as Jean-Charles de Castelbajac in Paris.

And her success doesn’t end on the catwalk. Matonhodze has since shot spreads for Harper’s Bazaar and V magazine, and was also just shot by Sebastian Kim for a Teen Vogue editorial published last month.

In the magazine, Matonhodze revealed her trick to maintaining her self esteem in a cut throat industry: “Whenever I didn’t get a job I used to think ‘what’s wrong with me?’ But I’ve learned that it’s not because I’m not good enough, they’re just not going for a different look. Remembering that modelling is a business helps me keep confidence.”

And to top it all off, what could be better than featuring in Louis Vuitton’s new A/W11 campaign? Shot by legend Steven Meisel, we think Matonhodze’s confidence and poise in the ad (see above) shows that her maturity belies her young age.

We think we’ll be seeing a lot more of this model, so keep your eyes out for her!