Lucas Pinheiro Braathen has officially transitioned from the slopes to the runway, thanks to J Lindeberg. We catch up with the Norwegian star straight after the show in Copenhagen
Lucas Pinheiro Braathen may have recently announced his retirement from the world of World Cup alpine skiing, but he’s already pivoted to a new gig: modelling. Yesterday evening, the Norwegian superstar closed out J Lindeberg’s debut Copenhagen Fashion Week show in Barbie pink ski pants, a well-tailored overcoat and no shirt at all. Though modelling and alpine skiing are seemingly worlds apart, they do have one thing in common: adrenaline. “I definitely enjoy the rush,” the Norwegian tells me backstage just after the show. “Those first seconds after exiting the show, you just can breathe out and you can just take it all in. That feeling is something I've been missing lately.”
This marked Pinheiro Braathen’s first walk down the runway, but you wouldn’t know it. “He’s a confident young man,” says J Lindeberg head of design Neil Lewty. “He’s an athlete and he’s got a body and he loves wearing pink pants.” In fact, Pinheiro Braathen didn’t bat an eye when he saw his show look. “I saw that I was going to be somewhat exposed,” he says. “And I just thought, ‘I have nothing to hold back now’. It’s all out there.”
Pinheiro Braathen was a fitting choice to close this show, which found its inspiration at the intersection of sports club and night club. Heavy on ski influences – the leather ski pants, the technical fabrics – many of the looks would have been right at home at a chalet house party. Having modelled in the brand’s campaign last fall (“We received a lot of great feedback for that,” Pinheiro Braathen says) it was an easy ‘yes’ for the 23-year-old. As Lewty notes, he was the “perfect guy to close the show. He’s got the energy, he’s got the vibe,” he says. “He’s transitioning over to the fashion world and he’s got an amazing history and heritage in sports. He’s our guy.”
The retired ski star was cast as the closing look for J Lindeberg's AW24 runway show at Copenhagen Fashion Week.
In Pinheiro Braathen’s seasoned opinion, his runway look exuded après-ski. What goes into the perfect après-ski? “My perfect après-ski is on a terrace in the middle of the mountains, a vodka Red Bull or an Aperol spritz and you’ve just got some deep house going,” he says. “Or some super, super tacky Austrian techno that’s so bad.”
Lewty reckons Pinheiro Braathen has a bright future in fashion and beyond. “It’s exciting for him and I can see that excitement in his eyes. With confidence like that and doing things like this, I think he’s got a long way to go,” he says. “He’s going to be a champion for sure.”