Latahlia Hickling wears Chanel top, $6540, skirt, $6030, bag, $27,550, and earrings, $1190.
FROM THE NORTHERN RIVERS TO THE GRAND PALAIS, LATAHLIA HICKLING IS STEPPING ONTO THE GLOBAL FASHION STAGE. BUT WHILE HER SUCCESS REVERBERATES ACROSS THE INDUSTRY, SHE’S STILL FIGURING IT ALL OUT
PHOTOGRAPHED BY CONRAD ALEKSANDER
STYLED BY NAOMI SMITH WORDS BY PEMA BAKSHI
Girl
meets
ackstage in Paris, Latahlia Hickling is shaking. She’s a long way from her home in Casino, New South Wales, and fresh off a bout of influenza and a hellish first overseas flight. Around her, the usual fashion week pandemonium is unfolding,
with swarms of models, makeup artists, hairstylists, dressers and media buzzing around in a frenzied scramble. Until mere weeks ago, she didn’t have a passport; now, at just 18, Hickling is getting ready to walk for Chanel. The stakes are personal, as she is one of two Indigenous Australian models cast for the spring/summer 2026 runway (the other is Tatyana Perry), but there’s another weight hovering above it all: the show marks Matthieu Blazy’s highly anticipated debut as creative director of the house. Nerves continue to jangle, but she finds solace in knowing this is a major moment for everyone involved.
“I was just praying and praying and keeping my mind busy,” she recalls.
At showtime, Hickling steps out into the glowing solar system of the Grand Palais setting. In a creamy drop-waist dress and burgundy glove pumps, she is a star among planets, effortlessly embodying the poise and insouciance of the maison’s new chapter — Blazy’s reimagined universe.
B
Chanel jacket, $24,450, shirt, $7060, pants, $5850, bags, $13,430 each, shoes, $2240, and earrings, $1190.
“MY IDEA OF BEAUTY WHEN I WAS YOUNGER WAS VERY GLAM — FALSE LASHES, LOTS OF MAKEUP”
– LATAHLIA HICKLING
PHOTOGRAPHED BY CONRAD ALEKSANDER
STYLED BY NAOMI SMITH
EDITOR JESSICA BAILEY
WORDS BY PEMA BAKSHI
HAIR BY SOPHIE ROBERTS AT ARTIST GROUP
MAKEUP BY CHANEL MAKEUP ARTIST VICTORIA BARON USING THE CHANEL BEAUTY COCO MADEMOISELLE MAKEUP COLLECTION
MANICURE BY CHANEL MANICURIST TULIN COBAN USING CHANEL
MOVEMENT DIRECTION BY MATTHEW GODE AT PARADIS NYC FASHION ASSISTANT BENJI LUIS
PRODUCTION BY NICOLA HANRATTY
CONRAD ALEKSANDER IS REPRESENTED BY ARTIST GROUP
VICTORIA BARON IS REPRESENTED BY M.A.P.
Wearing CHANEL
This story appears in the SEPTEMBER 2026 Issue of
world
LEFT Chanel blazer, $14,120, vest, $11,370, shirt, $9990, dress, $17,050, and bag, $43,050. RIGHT Chanel jacket, $17,050, skirt, $15,150, bag, $13,950, shoes, $2410, and earrings, $1360.
LEFT Chanel dress, $21,700, and shoes, $2410. RIGHT Chanel jacket, $14,120, vest, $11,370, shirt, $9990, skirt, $8780, dress, $17,050, bag, $43,050, and shoes, $2320.
Chanel dress, $46,490, jacket, $16,880 (in hand), bag, $10,500, and earrings, $2410.
LEFT Chanel top, $6540, skirt, $6030, bag, $27,550, and earrings, $1190. RIGHT Chanel dress, $60,270, and shoes, $3360.
Chanel vest, $6540, top, $6370, skirt (with belt), $15,150, bag, $13,950, shoes, $2240, earrings, $1190, and brooch, $1290.
“I’M DEEPLY SHY AND I WOULDN’T USUALLY WALK INTO A ROOM AND JUST START TALKING TO PEOPLE. BUT WITH THIS WORK, IT’S PART OF THE JOB”
– LATAHLIA HICKLING
LEFT Chanel dress, $46,490, and earrings, $2410. RIGHT Chanel dress, $25,140, shoes, $2150, and bracelets, $3190 each.
Chanel top, $6540, skirt, $6030, bag, $27,550, shoes, $2240, and earrings, $1190.
It’s a suitably surreal introduction to the global fashion arena for a Githabul and Bundjalung woman born in Lismore, NSW, and raised between Armidale and Casino, where her family still lives. Nearly 30 hours in the air might have emphasised the physical distance from home, but her journey goes beyond geography. The world is opening up around her, and it’s something she’s still wrapping her head around.
From magazine cover shoots to international demand, the model is rapidly being positioned as one of fashion’s next big faces. It’s glamorous in theory — and most certainly has its heady moments — but it has also involved a lot of living out of a suitcase, sporadic schedules, long days and missing home, all while reconciling the significance of her rise.
While her success makes for a compelling signal of progress in an industry still desperately lacking in diverse representation, Hickling herself is still working out what it all means to her. Being able to be the role model she wanted to see growing up is a dream come true and not something she takes lightly, but the whirlwind of her career so far has seen her perspective expand in ways that she’s still catching up to. She is deeply proud of where she comes from and endlessly inspired by the people who paved the way before her, but doesn’t feel the need to be a spokesperson for the industry’s shortcomings in order for her presence to matter.
The number of First Nations faces in fashion has grown during her years of working, but Hickling reminds us that there’s still a long way to go, and that Australia needs “more recognition for our own country”.
On a personal level, navigating a world largely built on appearances has seen Hickling’s relationship with herself evolve in ways she never anticipated. “My idea of beauty when I was younger was very glam — false lashes, lots of makeup, et cetera,” she says. “Being a model, you have to be a blank canvas for other people, so you have to trust in and lean in to your natural beauty.”
An early fan of her natural look was Simone Hellicar, her agent and the founder of the Sydney-based agency The Scouted, who discovered Hickling on TikTok during Covid. “I’d just started my business and I was scouting for new talent for our agency,” Hellicar says. “It was an impossible time to scout in real life so I spent thousands of hours over a period looking through TikTok to find an inspiring face. I came across a video of Latahlia and noticed her amazing bone structure and stunning green eyes, and knew she had something special about her.”
Though Hickling now misses some of the perks of her old life — getting her hair and nails done at the local salon; having the freedom to make more plans — she has learnt that modelling, both in lifestyle and process, is partly an exercise in surrendering control.
On the set of her ELLE Australia cover shoot, Hickling is remarkably at ease in front of the camera. She slips between looks and moods, gamely follows instructions coming from all angles and even laughs as a leaf blower blasts in her direction. Photography studios are sponges for the energy of their occupants and the setting can foreground vulnerability in a way that can be profoundly revealing. From the outset, our cover star is vibrant and dynamic, so you’d be forgiven for thinking it’s second nature to her. The reality is there’s always an inner dialogue at play, wondering if it’s working. “I’m thinking about a million things while the cameras are clicking, trying to listen to direction and be aware of what I’m doing,” she says. “But it always surprises me how the photos turn out.”
Her burgeoning career has already pushed the model far beyond her comfort zone, and accelerated her growth in the process. “I’m deeply shy and I wouldn’t usually walk into a room and just start talking to people,” she says. “But with this work, it’s part of the job, and you never want to come off as rude or unprofessional, so you just get on with it.”
Hellicar recalls being charmed by Hickling’s reserve when they first met up. “Our first meeting was in Sydney with her and her mother and her little sister,” she says. “I remember Latahlia was young and so shy and nervous — I still have videos of her I took from that day — but also really excited about the opportunity as she had always loved the fashion industry.”
The reality of the industry, with its sudden bookings, empty stretches and last-minute changes, has turned out to be a lot, but Hickling has come to thrive on the momentum. “When I’m not working, I bore easily and tend to overthink,” she says. “I just want to be booked and busy.”
Hellicar has seen how the model “has grown in her confidence on set”, and credits the travel to Europe with showing her “the level of opportunities that overseas can hold for her and her career”. On the global stage, Hickling is a rising star with the world’s eyes on her, while at home she’s still a teenager helping out with her siblings and trying to catch up on sleep and have fun. It’s a duality she balances comfortably, though. “I feel like I’m a nine-year-old and a 50-year-old all at once,” she says with a laugh, crediting time at home with keeping her grounded.
Having worked since the wee age of 14, constantly finding herself up against 4am call times, on-set chaos and even frigid winter beach shoots, Hickling has fully earned another milestone: being named ELLE Australia’s Next Gen Model of the Year for 2026. From nervously attending her first awards ceremony as a nominee last year to being a recipient — the significance of the journey is not lost on her. “I’ve worked really hard to get to this point,” she says of the anointment. “To have that hard work recognised in this way feels really special, and I’m honoured.”
The platform she finds herself on may be bigger than anything she dreamt of, but she’s preserving plenty of energy for more. “I’m excited to keep learning, growing and seeing where this takes me,” she says. “Most of all, I hope it shows other young girls that if you work hard, stay true to yourself and keep going, those opportunities really can come.”
For now, Hickling’s own universe is becoming very big, very quickly. There will be more flights, gruelling days, castings, triumphs and moments when the next step is unclear. And though there will always be the restless voice in her head asking ‘what’s next?’, Hickling is finding ways to relish it all — even if she’s shaking.