Lucy Rae McFadin moves through the world with an intentional, effortless sense of openness. A model, DJ, and creative whose work spans multiple disciplines, she's built a life guided less by structure and more by curiosity — following what excites her, and letting each path inform the next. Beneath it all is a deep sensitivity to feeling: to memory, to place, and to the moments that shape who we become.
In this week's SIDIA Stories,we speak about growing up in California, finding her footing in New York, and the sacred rituals that bring her back to herself, and the belief that not everything needs to be documented to be worth holding onto.
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You have the word "Yellow" tattooed in your grandmother's handwriting. Tell us about her — and what she left you with that you carry into everything you do.
"I’m very fortunate that both of my grandmas are still around. Getting to spend time with them as I’ve grown into myself has been one of life’s greatest pleasures. My dad’s mom we call Grandma Puffy. When I was little, we used to play school together, I would be the teacher and she would be the student. Her fifth-grade alter ego went by the name “Yellow,” which I still adore to this day.
Although she isn’t the biggest fan of my tattoos, I did convince her to write the name out for me so I could carry that memory with me forever. To this day, she signs every birthday and holiday card “Grandma Puffy AKA Yellow. ” She’s turning 95 this year, and the greatest lesson she sets an example of every day is to never lose your inner child. Not taking everything so seriously can make life a lot more fun."
Scent is one of the most powerful carriers of memory. Is there a smell that takes you straight back to California — to who you were before New York made you who you are now?
"When I think about the scents that define my hometown of Newport Beach, California, a few come to mind immediately, most of them rooted in summer traditions. The salt in the ocean breeze, dried sunscreen on freshly tanned skin, fresh lemon juice from my grandmother’s tree in her backyard, and the earthy black sage that grows along the hiking trails in Laguna Beach. Together they create something relaxed, bright, and effortless, a scent that feels very different from the one that defines my life in New York."
You've described New York as the city you had your heart set on since you were 12. Now that you're here and it's real, what surprised you most about who you became once you arrived?
"Coming up on my seventh year in New York City, which is hard to believe. Time really does escape us so quickly. When I think about what surprised me most after moving here in 2019, it was how quickly the city forced me to grow up. Coming from the bubble of Orange County, I wasn’t prepared for the pace of life here. It really does feel like getting thrown into the deep end without knowing how to swim, but once you learn how to stay afloat, the journey becomes incredibly rewarding
I was also surprised by how hard it was to make friends in the beginning. As an introvert, it felt especially challenging to go out of my way to introduce myself to new people or be the one initiating plans. The reality is that there are a lot of people in New York City, but so many of us are swept up in our own busy agendas. If you don’t make the extra effort to reach out and spend time with the people you want to get to know better, New York can quietly become a very easy place to isolate yourself."
"Music influences how I style things, styling influences how I think about visual direction, and so on."
You share so much of yourself online. Is there a part of you that you've chosen to keep entirely your own, and why?
"I feel like I’ve found a healthy balance online—one that lets me open my life up to others without fully letting them in. I’ll share events, days in my life, moments from my relationships, and little sneak peeks of projects I’m working on. But I’m not especially chatty on social media (aside from Youtube), so I rarely dive too deeply into the different avenues of my career or the more personal struggles and wins behind the scenes. At the end of the day, social media is a highlight reel, and I find a lot of power in knowing when to turn the camera off and simply be present.
The real challenge is finding time to truly be off, which can feel almost impossible in this line of work. Every purchase, vacation, or activity can easily become a piece of content. Over time, many of my hobbies have quietly turned into monetizable moments. And when that shift happens, some of the joy and authenticity of the experience can start to slip away. One of my biggest goals for this year is to start a hobby that is just for me. No posting about it, no talking about it, just doing it quietly, fully present, and purely for the love of it, with no expectations or outcome attached."
You've built a career that refuses to sit still — model, DJ, creative director, stylist. Is there a thread that runs through all of it, or are you still figuring out what connects them?
" I think the thread through all of it has always been creativity and curiosity. I’ve never been someone who felt comfortable putting myself in one box, and I don’t really see those roles as separate from each other. Modeling, DJing, styling, creative directing — they’re all just different ways for me to explore aesthetics, music, culture, and storytelling.A lot of it has also come from following what genuinely excites me rather than trying to force a very linear career path. When something sparks my interest, I tend to dive in and see where it leads. Over time those different avenues started to inform each other in ways I didn’t necessarily plan. Music influences how I style things, styling influences how I think about visual direction, and so on.
I wouldn’t say I’ve had it all perfectly figured out. I think I’m still discovering new ways those pieces connect. But the constant thread has always been creating things that feel visually and emotionally interesting to me."
Your self-care list reads like a love letter to being alive — hot yoga, boxing, walking the bridge, cooking for yourself. What's the ritual that feels most sacred, the one you'd protect at all costs?
"If I had to choose, it would probably be the slower, quieter rituals that bring me back to myself. I love buying new records and saving them for Sunday, putting one on while I cook a homemade meal and just letting the music fill the apartment. There’s something really grounding about the whole process, cooking, listening all the way through, and letting the day unfold without rushing or reaching for a screen.
I’m also very protective of the time I spend with my dog, Pocket. In the mornings and at night, I try to cuddle with him before I reach for my phone. It sounds simple, but starting and ending the day with something that is real and present makes a big difference.
In the spring, walking the bridge becomes a bit of a ritual for me too. There’s something about that stretch of time moving through the city, feeling the air change after winter, that helps me organize my thoughts. It’s one of the few moments where everything slows down enough for me to actually hear myself think.
In a city that moves as fast as New York, those little pockets of stillness start to feel pretty sacred. They remind me that not everything needs to be documented or productive, sometimes it’s enough just to be present."
Lucy's Ritual:
