Get to know our Spring Issue cover star: Maia Mitchell

Maia Mitchell isn't just in front of the camera this issue. She's the whole mood board. There's a reason the 32 year old was such a strong choice for our spring cover. Yes, she can act (a decade-plus of screen credits will tell you that), but put her on set with a directional brief, a wildly editorial wardrobe, and a photographer like Levon behind the lens, and something else takes over. She commits. Fully.

Maia doesn't just wear the clothes, she plays them. Giant fur coats, thigh-high Balenciaga boots, wetsuit-tight Gucci pants… It's something we can’t deny: the next fashion IT girl won't come from the runway. She'll come from screens, and she'll bring an audience that already trusts her instincts… someone like Maia, who treats fashion less like a performance and more like a playground, like an outlet, a mood, a bit of theatre she gets to be part of without the pressure of getting it ‘right.’ Less concerned with looking cool, more interested in having fun with it - which, as it turns out, is exactly how you become cool.

This is Maia Mitchell: actress, muse, unbothered style icon in the making.

Maia, thank you for being our Spring fashion edition muse… how did you enjoy the cover shoot and working with Levon?

It's my pleasure. I'm such a fan of Levon's work so I was thrilled to be working with him on this cover. He just has such a unique perspective and his work is this cool blend of being very fashion forward and editorial but with this kind of off-kilter, avant-garde sensibility that feels really fresh and impactful. I also really appreciate when a shoot has such a directional and creative brief where I'm able to sort of jump into a character and a vibe and it's less worrying about looking cool and more about serving a vision. Then it's just fun.

We shot some unreal looks, what was your favourite of the day? 

I mean this is an impossible task! In truth they were all wonderful but if I had to pick it's between the red Gucci set or the oversized Calvin Klein look with the fur. I really do enjoy drowning in giant clothes.

You moved on set like a model, and we would know, we've worked with literal supermodels. Do you think working theatrically/in the acting world imparts a natural confidence on set, or are you just blessed?

Oh my god. That's hilarious to me. I used to have a lot of anxiety leading up to and during a shoot, but I'm a little more comfy in my skin than I used to be. And to go back to my point about Levon's sensibilities being a little more theatrical, that really does help. I try to decenter myself or how I look and the vanity portion of it all and just play a part, as I would on a film or TV set.

Working so closely with us on the styling of this cover shoot, I need to say that I love how you're passionate about styling and visual storytelling. At what point did you really start paying attention to fashion, and your own aesthetic?

I probably started paying attention to fashion when I moved to LA and was working there. It came with the job, being dressed for events, photo shoots, and just generally being perceived. But I don't think I really found the joy in it until the last few years. Getting into my 30s, having some healthy detachment, I'm much less concerned with other people's opinions and much more interested in fashion as an art form and a form of self-expression. It's something I have fun with now, rather than something I feel like I have to get right.

If you could steal one thing from our photoshoot without anyone noticing, what would it be?

The thigh-high Balenciaga boots. Just to clomp around the farm in.

What's an object in your house that has nothing to do with fashion but somehow influences how you dress? My mind is going to your mug [laughs] 

The giant mug! Very perceptive. I feel the same way about mugs as I do CK coats. My mum's a ceramicist and made me a little butter yellow side table for my coffee nook. It has these chunky cut-out holes and it's my favourite thing. A bit of a Flintstones vibe, which I'm sure is also a theme if you went through my closet.

If you could raid one screen character's wardrobe, whose would it be?

Eva Green's costumes in The Dreamers, every character in Cruel Intentions, also Liv Tyler's dresses in Stealing Beauty, Natalie Portman's costumes in Closer, oh my god. And Ginger in Casino for the fun of it.

Speaking of screens, you've spent your career being cast as other people… what's a part of yourself you feel like audiences have never actually seen?

People probably imagine actors have fascinating personal lives. I'm sure some do, but mine's pretty uneventful. Most of it never makes it into the public sphere, which is probably for the best. It'd be a pretty boring watch.

Is there a version of you that existed before fame that you still check in with? What does she tell you?

That's pretty much been my inner work for the past few years. Coming home and getting back to that version. She says thank you!

Have you been in a situation yet where you were like 'oh girl, we've made it…'?

Not really. I mean I've had moments that were defining, premieres and whatnot, where I could see evidence of some hard work playing out but I don't know if I'll ever feel like I've 'made it'.

I know it was a while back, but we have to touch on Teen Beach Movie… because that's when I first saw you on screen. How did it feel to be involved in an iconic original Disney film?

That was a wild chapter. I don't think I knew what I was in for. I grew up without cable and hadn't watched a lot of Disney channel and just wasn't quite across the scope of how life-altering and all-encompassing that experience was going to be, and the PR circuits that came with it. It was amazing, and challenging at times, but such a blessing. Those movies mean a lot to people and are a bit of a marker of their childhood so that does feel special, that nostalgia. I'm at an age now where I'm pretty empathic of my younger self in that whirlwind. And honestly, pretty impressed by how I just threw myself into it all head first. Now I just really appreciate that time and the doors that it opened for me after.

Playing the role of Lady Belle Fox in The Artful Dodger… is it more interesting acting in a period/historical series than regular society?

Definitely! The costumes, sets, props, wigs, there's not a second where you're not reminded just how special it is.

Yes and the corsets, the structured cage skirts… does method acting really kick in when you put those divine 1860's fits on?

Totally. Method acting by default. The corset does half that work! I just had my first fitting back for season 3 and somehow had forgotten how brutal they are. But it's equal parts exciting to be lacing up again.

Which part of history do you think needs its moment on screen and which historical character would you love to play?

There's so much history that's worth exploring. I'm not sure it's the most deserving but recently I've been looking into the reform that was happening around women's clothing in the 19th century and the early Victorian feminists who were leading those movements. This is all part of a pitch for me to ditch the corset and skirts on Dodger by the way. But maybe someone like Lady Florence Dixie - she was a Scottish war correspondent and suffragist, and one of the first female explorers to travel on horseback. Although I'd have to learn to ride a horse and that's not proved successful on jobs in the past.

You work hard… the hours are intense. How does it feel coming home to your hinterland abode after a long day time filming? What's the first thing you do when you walk in that door?

I've never really filmed anything near enough to my house to not be away for months while working so it is definitely a big exhale when I get back. It takes a second to adjust into relax mode, I usually spend a couple days a bit anxious and pacing aimlessly. But when that settles it's so lovely. I feel very lucky I get to have that time in nature to regroup.

Streaming puts you in people's homes on repeat… it might just be me, but does that feel more intimate than other types of entertainment that you do? Does it feel different to you than say a film?

I've never thought about it like that. But I guess you're right, it is probably more intimate. I grew up as a kid on TV so I think I'm a bit desensitized to it, or maybe I just don't let myself go there mentally.

I know you're big on sustainability and community - you've gotten behind some local projects at home, like saving heritage homes from demolition, what else is weighing heavy on you that you want to shine a light on?

Lismore is always front of mind for me. Living in the Northern Rivers, it's impossible to ignore the impact of the floods on my community and the devastation that's continuing due to the failed flood recovery efforts. I have this platform, and I feel a responsibility to keep shining a light on what's happening here and to keep pressure on the politicians and agencies that are failing the people they're meant to serve. The heritage homes are one part of that story, but there are still so many households stuck in bureaucratic limbo, waiting for the relief they were promised. It feels like Lismore has largely been forgotten, despite everything people are still living through, so I'll do whatever I can to keep that conversation alive.

2026 is the year of the horse and apparently, taking 'bold new steps'… are there any bold steps you've taken this year or will be taking?

I've been a bit more bold about dating this year. Which, if you're dating men, you understand this is a brave act. I've found it helps to not take it too seriously.

What's something you've changed your mind about in the last year?

Mulch. I get the hype. And also feeling the need to please others, I'm being pleasantly disillusioned to that which feels liberating. But also mulch.

What's next for you that has nothing to do with a script?

Mulch again! I've had some earthworks and landscaping done recently to move my dad into a tiny home on my property so there's been a lot of time in the garden planting. And some nice times with the old man, which I've been really loving. So more of that!

What's a question you're tired of being asked in interviews… and what should I be asking instead?

I don't know if I'm tired of any one question, but the older I get, the less I feel like my work defines me. I usually pipe up in an interview if I'm asked about the things that shape me outside of my career. Hobbies, friendships, changing ideas, what's sparking joy etc. Your question "what you've changed your mind about?" was great. I think those conversations reveal a lot more about a whole person than "what's the next acting gig?"

QUICK FIRE

Bikini or barn coat? Barn Coat

What's the most chaotic thing in your bag right now? A rock, apparently

If you had to give your phone lock screen away to a stranger, what would they learn about you? That I'm obsessed with my godkids

Worst fashion trend you secretly love? Tiny sunglasses that do nothing about the sun

What's a song that makes you feel unreasonably confident? Drive, Shannon Noll 

Tell me a red flag you find charming. Answering this would undo too much work in therapy

What's an item of clothing you've had since you were a teenager and refuse to get rid of?  In high school I stole my mum's Dalai Lama T-shirt from the 80's. It's more tattered holes than it is shirt at this point.

Photographer LEVON BAIRD

Creative Director & Stylist AMBER BAKER

Hair DAREN BORTHWICK

Makeup NICOLE AQUILINA

Videographer TAJ HOLMES

1st Assist   MARCUS SOLOMON

Digi Assist ALEX WAUGH

Executive Producer TIM PHIN

Styling Assistant HANNAH MAHON

Styling/Production Assistant LOUIS O'BRIEN

With special thanks to DOMO SYDNEY