Alysa Liu in conversation with Laufey.

The fun-maxing philosophy that fuelled her victorious return to the ice has made champion figure skater Alysa Liu Gen Z’s most inspirational icon.

Alysa Liu for Perfect Issue 11.
Photographer: Yasmine Diba
Fashion Editor: Valeria Semushina
Writer: Murray Healy

Alysa Liu is the American champion figure skater who famously quit the sport at 16, only to return two years later to greater success. But this is so much more than the story of a comeback kid who did even better second time around. The radically different approach – to her own style, to figure skating and, most of all, to life in general – with which Alysa returned to the rink in 2024 has made her an icon for her generation. Her distinctive new look – horizontal bands of bleach in her hair and a piercing beneath her upper lip, from which an arc of metal hangs over her front teeth – went hand in hand with her new philosophy: whatever you do, do it for the sheer love of it, not for any material reward it might bring. She now valued play over victory, the experience over the results. Consequently, ironically, magnificently, it’s been gold medals for Alysa ever since: at 2025’s Skate America competition, at the Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final, and then at the 2026 Winter Olympics, where she came top in both women’s solo and team figure skating events.

Prioritising personal enjoyment over other people’s judgement is a pretty big deal in an arena where a panel of literal judges determines who wins and who loses. But Alysa’s story of defiance in a results-oriented, metrics-obsessed culture that’s constantly keeping score has resonated with a generation of chronically stressed teens, provoking countless video essays on YouTube extolling her example and evangelising her funmaxxing philosophy. Celebrity fans include PinkPantheress, Zara Larsson and Zendaya. In Perfect earlier this year, Sabrina Carpenter, when asked who or what excites her most about the future, singled out Alysa Liu: ‘She gives me hope. I’ve felt so inspired by hearing her speak.’

Sabrina is not the only global pop icon to acknowledge her generational importance. In September 2025, while performing in San Francisco on her A Matter of Time tour, the jazz-pop singer-songwriter Laufey briefly paused the show to introduce her 20,000-strong audience to Alysa Liu. The skater had arrived wearing the dress in which she won that year’s World Championships with her performance to Laufey’s haunting ballad, ‘Promise’; around her neck was her gold medal. ‘Promise’ would go on to soundtrack her Olympic victory too. ‘An incredible athlete with an incredible story,’ said Laufey, before crowning her Best Dressed Guest of the night. ‘Your hair is so cool. I am obsessed,’ the singer told her. ‘I am so inspired by you.’

Laufey then invited Alysa to Los Angeles to appear in the video for her single ‘Madwoman’, in which the skater plays a guest at a pool party who witnesses some romantic tension between the singer and Heated Rivalry’s Hudson Williams. All three of them got to hang out again in New York a few weeks later when they attended the Met Gala. And when Perfect asked Alysa who she’d like to interview her, she nominated Laufey.

Here we join their conversation after the much-travelled stars have compared notes on international touring and regional variations in audience etiquette. They will go on to swap tips on how to remain incognito when you’re recognised the world over, and how not to pose for the camera on the red carpet.

Laufey: You won the Olympics towards the end of my European tour, and so much of your philosophy I’ve been able to apply to my career. I really want you to know just how much you have helped me as a performer – and so many other performers. There was one quote of yours that I’ve repeated to myself again and again: ‘I connect with everything, but I’m not attached to anything.’ I think as a combination of an artist and a performer – which you are, and I am as well – that is such sage advice. You’re so young, but full of so much wisdom. How did you get to that?

Alysa: Well, it really was trial and error. I had to be connected to what I did – like, so deeply connected to it. So with my training, I have to work really hard and I have to be OK with putting my blood, sweat and tears into my day-to-day. But then at the same time, because the sport is so focused on results, I can’t let the results hold anything over me. So I have to detach myself and fully focus on my performance, because the result isn’t really connected to the performance. I don’t think you can really grade a programme – I just don’t think that’s possible, because it’s too artistic. Of course there’s technical aspects of it, which I love. But even then it’s like, ‘an axel is 2.89’ – what? How can we attach a number to something like that? I don’t think those really correlate. So I just have to keep pushing forward, be OK with whatever and enjoy what I do.

Laufey: Your philosophy is just so beautiful. It’s so transferable to so many different art forms, and it feels so now. It feels like exactly the message that our generation really needs to hear – and younger generations, and older generations. Also, as a fellow Asian daughter, it feels like something I need to hear again and again. Because I feel like we both come from parents who definitely expected a lot of us.

Alysa: (Smiling) Yeah. No mistakes!

Laufey: No mistakes! And it got passed down, this kind of like Chinese philosophy, this way of upbringing and this way of excellence. I feel like I have grown through it and it’s turned into something I believe to be very beautiful and I’m really thankful for. You obviously went through this situation where you quit [figure skating] for a while because you were so tired from it. Do you still have a good relationship with discipline and that past? Are you happy you went through it to get to this mindset that you are in now, if that makes sense?

Alysa: Yeah. I’m so glad.

Laufey: You must have been angry for a little bit. I certainly was! (Both laughing)

Alysa: I had a period where I was in it, but had no idea. Like, I just followed what I was told because I was always told to listen to my elders growing up. (Laughs) Right?

Laufey: Oh, girl, I’m still in that trap.

Alysa: I was told mistakes are bad. So I was always scared.

Laufey: It’s fear-based, right?

Alysa: Yeah.

Laufey: You know, [in] so much of my early classical music training, I was scared to make a mistake. Like, if I played a note out of tune, genuinely I’d flinch. I was scared that something would happen.

Alysa: Yeah, that’s how it feels – like your life is on the line. And then Covid hit, so I didn’t have skating any more. And for the first time, I was out of my fight-or-flight state. I was like, I really like this feeling! And then I had to get back on the ice, and I was just so done with it. I got to this point of like, I really don’t care about anything – because I’d cared so much about everything for so long. A complete switch. And then I was away from skating – I did a great job of removing myself. And then I went skiing and I was like, yaaaay, this is so fun, I love skiing! And then I was like…

Laufey: You’re like, ‘I wonder why I like it so much.’

Alysa: I know. If I like skiing, I probably like skating. I realised skating wasn’t fun because I was so attached to results and how other people felt about it. Once I let that all go, I was able to do what I wanted to do with it. So I’m able to find my love with it again. Occasionally, people will talk about results – and I’m like, I am not the person to talk about how much I want to win a medal. So I cut off conversations like that a lot. You just have to be really strong in who you are to not get carried away again, because it’s so toxic. But the sport is changing way more now. Like, me and the girls, we talk to each other… Like, Amber [Glenn] was telling me – Amber’s another skater…

Laufey: Oh yeah – I’m such a fan of hers, she’s so amazing too.

Alysa: Yeah, she was telling me that when she was younger, the girls wouldn’t be talking in the locker room and no one was friends with anyone. Now it’s so different. I think all the athletes should be friends! We’re going through the same thing.

Laufey: Seeing all of you interact with each other on social media, it honestly makes it look like such a fun celebration of girlhood as well. I love it! Another question. Your career has grown into so much more than being an athlete. So I wanted to ask you, how does it feel to blow up overnight, and then continue into being the true icon that you are? Do you feel there’s a weird weight that has come with it? Or do you just feel pride and bear the weight with honour and see all the good that you can do with it?

Alysa: Yeah, well…The biggest difference is that I have to cover my hair when I go outside. It’s like, oh my God, they can see you from a mile away.

Laufey: Like, good old hat and glasses.

Alysa: I haven’t gone to the glasses part. Should I do that?

Laufey: Honestly? Yeah, sunglasses work a lot. People take a lot of information from the eyes, clearly.

Alysa: (Suddenly noticing) Also, you cut your hair!

Laufey: I did cut my hair.

Alysa: It’s so cute!

Laufey: I had a good old-fashioned, like, ‘I need to get rid of this dirt’ mid-tour. I was like, it’s gotta go.

Alysa: I love that!

Laufey: But your hair is too iconic to cut, so you’re gonna have to find other ways to hide it.

Alysa: If all goes to plan, end of December I’m going to do another ring. But this ring (pulls up blonde ends) is really growing out. What am I going to do? If I cut it, I [only] have two rings. That’s like a big deal. I’ve never cut a ring off. Also, the dead ends – they have to go at some point. Can I salvage it? Or will I just have dead ends?

Laufey: I feel like it’s kinda rocker.

Alysa: You might be onto something! I think I just need to take better care of my hair, I think that’s what it is.

Laufey: But how do you feel [about being recognised]? I mean, I’m sure it must be stressful to go get a matcha now.

Alysa: You know what? The last time I got a matcha, it was a very good experience. I did get recognised by the staff. But they were so nice and I took a photo with all of them after I got my matcha and they were really chill. One of them invited me to some punk show on Thursday.

Laufey: Go take your dead ends to the punk show!

Alysa: I think most of my experiences with being recognised in public have been positive.

Laufey: [Fame] must have been such a shock for you, because you literally woke up and the next day…

Alysa: Like, literally overnight. (Grabs hair, excited/exasperated)

Laufey: …With people chasing you into the airport. Do you feel that sense of excitement still when you run into fans out in public? Or are you shy and reserved?

Alysa: I’ve felt both because it happened so fast. I was like, oh, this is cool – and then I swung to the other side, like, this is not cool at all… You know what? I like where I’m at. My goal one day is to get unfamous. Until then, I’ma ride this, and I’ma also try to make a positive impact in figure skating – because I think that’s the most important thing I can do, honestly. And that’s the most realistic thing I can actually do – change figure skating in some shape.

Laufey: I truly think you already have.

Alysa: At a lot of the meet and greets that we had on tour, people would come up to me and say their daughter is skating, ‘and now she’s like, “I’m OK to fall – I actually like struggling.” I’m like, that is so funny. That’s how it should be! And sportsmanship. A lot of people have told me, in the ranks it’s not as toxic – there is more sportsmanship, people are befriending each other more. I’m like, that’s how it should be. So if I’m able to do that with, I guess, my ‘fame’ or whatever, then I’ll take it. And all the bad things, I’ma find a way to deal with it.

Laufey: Speaking of dealing with new things, how does it feel to be flung into the fashion world so quickly? You’ve been made a Louis Vuitton ambassador – congratulations, that’s so amazing. And you’re going to fashion shows, you’ve been to the Met Gala now… How does it feel to be a part of the fashion world?

Alysa: I really like it. Do you?

Laufey: I love it! But I think to be able to love it, you have to have a mindset like yours. And I hope that means I have a good one too. You need to be so confident in knowing who you are. I remember being so stressed the first time I went to a fashion week. I was like, oh my God, everyone is so beautiful and everything feels so official. And then I sat down – and 10 minutes later it was done and I was like, OK, so this is what it is! But I’m such a fan of how art exists in different mediums. I love seeing what’s happening in the fashion world now and how it connects to music and to film. It’s such a beautiful way to express ourselves. I mean, I see it so obviously through putting on a tour, for example. Like, what do I wear on stage, and how is that reflected in what my audience shows up wearing? I think that’s so fun. How has it been for you?

Alysa: For me, it’s like an extension of the choreography, almost. The flow of the skirt, the length, like how I can play with it. I love being like, what colour fits this song? What style? How many crystals? Stuff like that. And so, being able to… Like, Louis Vuitton is such an incredible brand, they’re so inspiring. And Nicolas [Ghesquière], he’s so great to talk to, he’s so creative. So it’s cool to be recognised by people like that, and getting to know them is so inspiring too. And I love being put in whatever. I feel like I’m down for a lot of things, I’m down to try different styles and whatnot. I’m so new to it, I’m like, give me it all – literally, show me everything. And so the fashion shows have been really cool.

Laufey: How did you enjoy the Met Gala? Because at my first Met Gala two years ago, I was petrified.

Alysa: I was pretty calm about it, actually.

Laufey: You were killing it. I was with you for a large portion of the night and I was like, wow, what a professional. I enjoyed this one so much more. I was so much more confident and felt a lot better, and just treated it like a hang with my friends. Obviously Hudson [Williams] was there, you were there – half of the ‘Madwoman’ music video! But it’s certainly a little overwhelming. Were you overwhelmed at all? Or was it just fun?

Alysa: Yeah – I don’t think I was really overwhelmed at all.

Laufey: I mean, I guess compared to the Olympics, it’s not much.

Alysa: I think the only thing that really overwhelms me is if there’s a ton of media. And specifically if I get asked the same questions and I have the same answer for all of them. And then I repeat myself and I’m kind of like, whoa, I’m talking about myself all day long, and saying the same things about myself, and then I’m starting to feel a little not real. But the Met Gala was nothing like that. It was really super chill.

Laufey: You looked beautiful.

Alysa: Thank you. You looked beautiful. We all looked beautiful! My favourite part of the whole thing is actually getting ready for it, because it takes so many hours and you’re with the glam team and you get to know them. And then the carpet is super cool posing. I had to learn to pose. I’m still learning!

Laufey: I remember after my first carpet I was like, I need to go take a class for this – it feels very unnatural. And that’s what I’ve learned: it’s not meant to feel natural. You’re meant to feel like you’re a peacock in the wild showing off your feathers. You’re meant to pull your arms back further than they’re meant to go; your ass is meant to be poking out back. [But] my favourite red carpet poses are women laughing. Genuinely, the perfect pose to me is when they’re in the middle of laughing.

Alysa: Is it a real laugh?

Laufey: I don’t know. I laugh on the carpet because I’ll start out by (holds face sternly) mewing, and then the photographers are always like, ‘Smile! Smile!’ And this is the part I didn’t understand: do people just ignore the ‘smile’? Maybe this is from my like rule-follower past, but if someone tells me to smile, I’ma smile or I’ma laugh.

Alysa: This happened at the gala: I start off like serious face, and everyone’s like, ‘Smile, give us a smile! Come on – show your teeth, you know you want to smile.’ I’m like, I do! And once I do smile, it’s hard to go back.

Laufey: That’s the thing. Once the smile barrier is broken, you’re not going back. I’ve decided I’m just a red carpet smiler.

Alysa: Yeah – good to know we have the same struggles!

Laufey: One final question: what are your plans right now moving forward? Because we as artists work in album cycles which lead to tour cycles. For you, does everything revolve around the Olympics? Are you training for something right now?

Alysa: We do it year by year. We have competition season starting up in September, October. My first competition is here in America, actually – it’s called Skate America, it’s a Grand Prix. So we have Grand Prix series every year and then World every year. And nationals.

Laufey: It never stops.

Alysa: Yeah. So I’m starting programmes. I started choreography already. We got the first 10 seconds down of one programme! I have no idea what my next programme is going to be.

Laufey: I can’t wait to hear what music you choose. You have become like Gen Z’s unofficial playlister.

Alysa: I see the ‘Alysa cosigns blank’ [comment]. I’m like, what? What?!

Laufey: No, it’s the hottest cosign in music. Girl, know your power. Know your power!

Alysa: I was like, when did this start? Why did this start? Who knows?

Laufey: What are you listening to right now?

Alysa: (Picks up phone) Let me open Spotify. So right now I’ve been listening to ‘You Are My Destiny’ by Paul Anka.

Laufey: Paul Anka? Hell yeah! You got some oldies in there.

Alysa: ‘Knot Me’ by Lucy Bedroque. There’s this song I found on Instagram: ‘Thank You I Guess’ by Forrest Nolan.

Laufey: Oh, I know Forrest!

Alysa: Really? I love that song that he does. Oh, my friend put me onto this one the other day: it’s a really beautiful song called ‘End of August’ by Noah Kahan.

Laufey: I also know him! OK. Beautiful taste. Wow, I feel like this is a really well-rounded playlist – we all need to go listen to all these songs now.

Alysa: Right – I’m just cosigned!

Laufey: Well, that’s a beautiful musical note to end on. I feel like I already knew you before, but I feel like I know you even better now, and I’ve gotten a little insight into your mind. And I’m so excited to follow along your new year of choreography and music and as a fashion icon.

Alysa: And you as well! Thank you.