Robyn Lawley reveals dad’s passing after battle with cancer as she takes on Fashion Week

Top model Robyn Lawley knows how to put on a good face. But when the beauty walks for Matteau at the Sydney Fashion Week on Monday, she will be masking a very raw pain having lost her father to cancer last week.

Top model Robyn Lawley knows how to put on a good face.

But when the beauty walks for Matteau at the Sydney Fashion Week on Monday, she will be masking a very raw pain having lost her father to cancer last week.

“He was such a good man, he would say sorry to me, my sister and mother for being in pain,” she tells the The Daily Telegraph in an exclusive interview.

“He was so healthy, he was a firefighter for 33 years and was exposed to chemicals, asbestos, he was also jet refueller. His cancer was so obviously caused by the industries. I’m heart broken.”

Model Robyn Lawley, pictured with her mum and her dad, who lost his battle with cancer last week. Picture: Supplied

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Her father, 67, died on Wednesday after an eight-year battle with acinic cell carcinoma, one of 12 cancers linked to fighting fires through exposure to carcinogens and foam.

“Witnessing dad’s battle with cancer and watching him take his last breath was painful,” Lawley said.

“I cannot keep quiet — firefighters are literal heroes, they run into burning buildings to rescue people they don’t even know.

“My father only wanted to help people and now he’s gone.

“I wish in hindsight there were better masks, more awareness of toxic materials and the realities of working in a job that can take your life in the future and the impacts that causes as cancer can be a long and horrifying battle.”

The “plus size” model will be putting on a brave face as she takes to the Australian Fashion Week runway. Picture: Richard Dobson

She paid tribute to her dad, calling him a “real hero”. Picture: Instagram/@robynlawley

The Australian model from Girraween, west of Sydney, has left her daughter Ripley, four, with long term partner Everest Schmidt in downtown New York while she grieves and supports her mother Janne, now living in Brisbane.

While home, she is quietly hatching a collaboration with an Australian high street brand to design an eco swimwear range.

A passionate environmentalist and vegan, Robyn, 29, believes the fashion industry dumps more harm on the environment than the airline industry.

Her dad was a firefighter and lost his life battling a cancer linked to fighting fires. Picture: Supplied

“I love my job modelling, it’s been my ticket to the world, but fashion wrecks the environment more than planes Dom the dyes, fast fashion … we can change that with clothes that can be recycled and composed,” she says.

“Scientists have predicted we only have ten years before we can save the world, before resources run out.

“I’m not a crazy person that’s doomsday but I live in the forest outside New York and I see less insects and bees when we go for walks, the ice around the world is melting.

“As a parent now myself, you think about the future, the planet and the safety of the world for your children, I now realise how much my own father and mother did for me.

“Life goes on, I know. Fashion Week is going to be hard.”

Originally published as Robyn Lawley reveals dad’s passing after battle with cancer as she takes on Fashion Week