Riverdale's Camila Mendes on her Brazilian-inspired look | Alexa | New York Post Fashion

Think about this: Camila Mendes only got out of college a little over two years ago.

#CamilaMendes #Riverdale #VeronicaLodge

For this Alexa cover photo shoot, Camila can be seen in:

Maryam Nassir Zadeh “Deia” maillot, $276, and “Cala” skirt, $501, both at MNZ Store;

“Rav 100” mules, $625 at Jimmy Choo;

“Stardust” earrings, $150 at Lele Sadoughi.

Dress, $710 at MSGM;

Knit top, bikini top and skirt, all price upon request at Self Portrait Studio;

“Ruba” earrings, $325 at Jennifer Fisher Jewelry.

No. 21 dress, $1,240 at Numero Ventuno;

“Flamingo Beach” earrings, $125 at Venessa Arizaga.

From '‘Riverdale’ star Camila Mendes on her love life and the joy of paying off her college loans'

The 24-year-old already has three residences and one giant starring role — on the hit show “Riverdale,” a modern adaptation of the Archie comic books.

Viewers of all ages have become very interested in “Riverdale,” which in two and a half seasons has become both a media and ratings sensation. Inspired by Archie, which originated in 1941, it’s about teens in a prototypical small town: ginger-haired Archie and his two admirers, Veronica and Betty — the smoldering sexpot and the perky blonde. But in showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa’s version, the cute kids who hang in Pop’s Chock-lit Shoppe hunt down serial killers and investigate satanic cults. It’s 2018’s version of “Twin Peaks,” populated by younger, prettier people (it’s the CW, after all).

“I never read Archie comics till I got the part,” admits Mendes, who began acting at 16, but not professionally. “Now I buy them at flea markets.” She was still finishing her studies at NYU when she landed the role that would swiftly change her young life. “It’s crazy,” she admits of her burgeoning fame. “I thought it would be more gradual, like first I would do a ‘Law and Order’ episode.”

The comics are so ingrained in pop culture that they’ve become shorthand for throwback female archetypes — either you were a Betty (the good-girl virgin) or a Veronica (the dark vixen). Mendes, however, quickly became BFFs with her co-star, Lili Reinhart, even if they’re as different in real life as — well — Betty and Veronica.

“Lili doesn’t like to go out that much” Mendes explains. “I’m more the social butterfly. But we bond over our mutual sense of humor. She’s goofy. We’re the funniest people when we’re together.” (Their coordinated Halloween costumes? Pedro and Napolean from “Napolean Dynamite.”)

Which must be why she posted a photo of herself embracing her then-semi-secret boyfriend, “Riverdale” co-star Charles Melton (Reggie Mantle), on Instagram in October — only months after a previous breakup.

One serious issue she’s faced, endemic to young actresses, is an eating disorder, for which she sought professional help a year ago. “My older sister had an eating disorder, too. She had to go to rehab. And so when I started purging, I thought, ‘I’m not as bad as her — I’m fine.’

Mendes works with Project Heal, a nonprofit set up for sufferers of eating disorders.

In last spring’s film “The New Romantic,” Mendes focused on another hot-button issue for young women, playing a sugar baby who gets involved with older men who help put her through college in exchange for — well, you know.

“It was a fun role,” the actress says, laughing it off, though she knows women her age who are real-life sugar babies. “Yes, it’s very common now. Let me tell you something: NYU was $70,000 a year. I pulled out loans on my last two years. And I just paid ’em off! That’s what I’m going to be celebrating this New Years!”

She’s got a supporting role in the upcoming romantic comedy “The Stand-In,” and in the drama “Coyote Lake” (due out in 2019), she plays about the least glamorous girl you could imagine.

“She’s a tomboy who works with her mother, killing and dumping the bodies of cartel members who hover between Mexico and Texas borders,” Mendes says. “It’s my first lead role — and when you take on a lead, something turns on. It unlocks more of your abilities.”

Alexa is front-row fashion news from the stylish crew at the New York Post.

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