The 21-year-old has lived in the United States as well as Brazil before coming to Singapore 18 months ago.

The Raffles Merchandising School student, who is taking an Advanced Diploma course in Fashion Communication and Journalism, dreams of heading to Paris to continue her studies.

"I'm studying fashion and I believe that Paris is the best place to take a course on this subject. I want to build a career in fashion journalism with qualifications from Singapore and Paris.

"I'm sure being in The New Paper New Face 2009 is going to teach me lots of things about the industry.

"It would be a great way to kickstart my career in fashion," Gabriela added.