Meet Silje Lorentzen, the new face who opened at Givenchy

“I actually looked at them today,” says Silje Lorentzen of the candid polaroids she sent her mother-agency Team Models four years ago, “it was so funny.” Now she’s backstage at Givenchy: not just walking in her first ever show, but opening Clare Waight Keller’s spring/summer 2020 collection, and leading the finale. “I still have to pinch myself,” says the 23-year-old Norwegian model, “I feel very lucky to be here.” 

Working with renowned casting director Piergiorgio Del Moro – who was also behind the line-up at Versace, Victoria Beckham, Tom Ford and Michael Kors this season – Waight Keller singled out Lorentzen straight away.

“She has this very raw beauty,” the artistic director tells backstage at her Paris Fashion Week show. “The thing that really caught my eye was this idea of absolute purity in her face. The fact that she has these sort of slight freckly cheeks, this freshness: very modern, quite intellectual. But at the same time, just a sophistication to the way she looks.” 

Del Moro remembers seeing Lorentzen on the first day of pre-castings and thinking she would be great for the French maison. “Without saying anything, when she came into the room, [Clare] immediately said her face was incredible: ‘She looks like an actress!’,” he recalls. “[Clare] is fascinated by faces where you can see confidence and maturity at the same time. She knows what she likes, so it is very clear what I have to deliver.”

Givenchy’s spring/summer 2020 woman is “fresh, raw and she’s quite a tomboy,” explains Waight Keller. Note the crisp tailoring, upcycled Nineties denim, hothouse florals, scarf necklines and balloon sleeves on the runway. 

Represented by MP Management in Paris and Team Models in Norway, Lorentzen is as surprising as she is striking. Originally from Tønsberg in southern Norway, the former professional show jumper and pre-med student (who once planned on a future in plastic surgery) now lives in Oslo, where she is pursuing modelling full time.

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The necessary qualities to succeed in today’s industry? “Confidence, persistence and caring about what you do,” says Del Moro. “You can be the most beautiful woman, but if you don’t care about what you’re doing, you’re not listening, growing and evolving your career, you probably won’t go anywhere.”

With Givenchy under her belt, it is safe to say Lorentzen will go far.