The Rescue Paw Foundation and Gizele Oliveira partner to save precious lives.

Gizele Oliveira, a Brazilian native, began her modeling career as a favor to her uncle, a bridalwear designer, but she was too shy to take it any further until an agent noticed her at one of his shows. Soon after, in 2014, she signed with IMG Models and moved to the U.S. to pursue that career path full time, making her fashion week debut at Dolce & Gabbana the very same year. She has since walked the runways for Elie Saab, Rebecca Minkoff, Tory Burch and Victoria’s Secret, among others; appeared in international editions of Vogue, Elle and Harper’s Bazaar; and was featured in ad campaigns for MAC and H&M. Now, the animal lover is partnering with No Dogs Left Behind and London Jewelers president Candy Udell’s Rescue Paw Foundation. Read on to learn more about this sweet beauty who’s on her way to becoming a top international model.

On the day of our photo shoot, you had just returned from Hawaii and were leaving the next day for a job in St. Barths. How much of the year do you spend traveling, and where do you currently consider “home”?
I feel like most of the time I’m traveling somewhere for work or vacation, which is the life I’ve always dreamed of! I consider New York City my home at the moment, but I’m always missing Brazil.

How did you meet Candy Udell and Jeffrey Beri of No Dogs Left Behind?
I was looking to work with an organization that loved animals just as much as I do, and my public relations agent connected me with Candy and Jeffrey. A partnership with the Rescue Paw Foundation and No Dogs Left Behind is truly a perfect match.

This fall, you will travel to China to help No Dogs Left Behind rescue animals from the Yulin Dog Meat Festival. Why did this cause speak to you?
The Yulin Dog Meat Festival was one of the main reasons why I stopped eating meat, so to me, being part of this was inevitable. I hope my work with them will bring a lot of awareness about how horribly people treat animals, especially in the meat industry. I can’t wait to bring dogs back to loving homes.

Your own dog, Bieber, is adorable and even has his own Instagram account, @bieberthedog. We’d love to know more about him!
Bieber is a Havanese-Bichon mix, and I got him at an amazing time in my life. I was feeling super sad and lonely, and he brought me so much happiness! He’s the sweetest animal ever; I’m a really proud mom. I adopted him from a place in Brooklyn. He was so little and sick, but he turned out to be the best thing that has ever happened to me.

How would you describe your own style, and what were some of your favorite London Jewelers pieces that you tried on during our shoot?
My favorites were the diamond necklaces—they made me feel so glamorous! For everyday wear, I love mixing big chains with more dainty diamond pieces. London Jewelers has something for every style.

Tell us about your upcoming work. Which magazines and runways can we expect to see you on in the near future?
I’m so happy because this year I got to do a lot of magazines. I did an editorial for Harper’s Bazaar, and I’ll soon be appearing in Vogue Taiwan and also L’Officiel St. Barths.