Celine jumpsuit, price on application, ring, $790, bracelets (from top), $1950, $1050, $1150, and charms, $870, and $560.
HERE, THE DANISH MODEL REFLECTS ON HER RAPID RISE, LIFE BETWEEN CASTINGS AND RUNWAYS, AND HER RECENT SHOOT WITH CELINE FOR ELLE AUSTRALIA
PHOTOGRAPHED BY JAMES TOLICH. STYLED BY NAOMI SMITH. WORDS BY SARAH NOONAN
y the time Mathilde Lakjaer arrives on an inner-city rooftop for her ELLE Australia digital cover shoot, Sydney is doing what Sydney does best: putting on a show. The harbour is glowing, ferries move across the water below and, somewhere behind her,
Luna Park begins to light up for the evening. The Danish model, dressed in the ÉTÉ CELINE collection, looks entirely at ease against the backdrop.
It’s a particularly fitting scene for a model on the cusp of what promises to be a breakout season. Earlier this year, Lakjaer signed with Sydney agency Chadwick Models, adding Australia to a growing list of places that now feel, at least temporarily, like home.
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Celine top, price on application, jeans, $1700, hat, price on application, and scarf, $940. BEAUTY NOTE LE ROUGE CELINE 04 PHÈDRE Matte Lip Balm, $110. Beauty Note. LE ROUGE CELINE 06 HORTENSE Matte Lip Balm, $110.
LEFT Celine shirt, price on application, bikini top, $790, jeans, $1700, shoes, $1500, scarf, $385, ring, $790, bracelets (from top), $1950, $1050, $1150, and charms, $870, $1150, $620. RIGHT Celine top, $1150, bag, $2800, necklace, $1150, and charms, $620, $560, $870, and $1150.
Only a few years ago, though, Lakjaer’s life looked very different. She grew up in Horsens, a city in central Denmark, living what she describes simply as “a very normal Danish life”. As a teenager, she was eager for something beyond her hometown routine. “I was really ready to be done with school,” she says. And as fate would have it, she wouldn’t have to wait very long. Scouted at just 13 years old, she was introduced to the industry well before fashion itself had fully captured her attention. “Modelling came into my life very unexpectedly,” she says. “I wasn’t particularly drawn to fashion beforehand, however being in and around the industry [now] has taught me so much.”
PHOTOGRAPHER: JAMES TOLICH
FASHION DIRECTOR: NAOMI SMITH
MODEL: MATHILDE LAKJAER AT CHADWICK MODELS INTERVIEW: SARAH NOONAN
HAIR: BRADWYN JONES AT ASSEMBLY AGENCY
MAKEUP: ISABELLA SCHIMID
FASHION ASSISTANT: KELLY HARTY
PRODUCTION: NICOLA HANRATTY
LOCATION SUPPLIED BY: ANTHONY MARANO OF REAR WINDOW LOCATIONS
Wearing Celine bikini top, $790, and cardigan, $4950.
Model Mathilde Lakjaer Is Having A Breakout Year On The Runway
Celine dress, $6200, sunglasses, $820, and shoes, $890.
Modelling has a habit of moving young talent at a dizzying speed, and for Lakjaer, things accelerated quickly after she made her runway debut for Prada’s spring/summer 2026 show last September. “I am still processing everything,” she says, thinking back on the moment. It was the kind of career-defining opportunity most models spend years hoping for. Almost overnight, her face became one casting directors suddenly could not stop talking about.
Lakjaer, however, remembers the experience a little differently. “I won’t lie, I was pretty terrified of my heels falling off and slipping on the floor,” she says, laughing. Still, beneath the nerves, Lakjaer is aware of the scale of the opportunity. “I’m so happy for all the people who made it possible,” she says. “It was an amazing experience.”
The now 20-year-old speaks about modelling with the same sense of groundedness that makes her rapid ascent feel almost incidental, even as her distinct look has quickly caught the industry’s attention. Foremost among those features is her signature gap smile, something she wasn’t always certain about growing up.
“I was actually considering getting braces,” she says. “But when I was scouted, I was told not to.” Now, that very smile is one of many things that set her apart.
Celine top, $1500, skirt, price on application, shoes, price on application, and necklace, $1150, and charms, $560, $870, and $1150.
It’s a detail that feels in tune with Celine’s approach to individuality. Under the direction of Michael Rider, the house has long championed this kind of instinctively cool woman, a persona that comes effortlessly to Lakjaer. The ÉTÉ CELINE collection echoes that sensibility, drawing on the spirit of a European summer holiday through lightweight fabrics, vibrant prints and accessories designed for long afternoons spent somewhere along the coast, including silk scarves, oversized sunglasses, and vacation-perfect raffia bags.
For Lakjaer, slipping into the collection against the backdrop of Sydney Harbour feels both natural and somewhat surreal. An admirer of the French fashion house for some seasons, one look in particular — a swimsuit paired with relaxed trousers — immediately stands out to her. “I could really see myself wearing that… especially here in Australia,” she says.
LEFT Celine bikini top, $790, pants, $1850, sunglasses, $820, bracelets (from top), $1950, $1050, $1150, and charms, $620, and $870. RIGHT Celine dress, $2900, ring, $790, bracelets (from top), $1950, $1050, $1150, and charms, $1150, $620, and $870.
Still early in her career, Lakjaer continues to develop her own relationship with fashion in real time, learning the language of different houses and the subtle distinctions between brands as she moves (rather rapidly) between castings and fittings. Before shows, she studies runway footage and researches each house carefully. “If I’m going to a casting, or before a show, I’ll always look up the brand and do my research on the walk as well as the look of the brand,” she says.
Alongside Prada, her runway portfolio has quickly expanded to include houses such as Moncler and Loewe, alongside a growing presence on the Australian circuit. This month alone she walked for Aje, Carla Zampatti and Nagnata, and even closed the Bianca Spender show during Australian Fashion Week.
While the year ahead is already taking shape for Lakjaer, for now she seems content to let it all happen as it comes. As for what her days look like outside all the chaos, her response is immediate. “Sleeping. Eating. Working,” she says with a small laugh. “That’s my life right now.”