Credits :-
Model: Emilia Knudsen (@emiliaknudsen2021)
Photography: Richard Brie (@RichardBrie)
Designers: Cihan Günes — Augsburg, Germany, associated with Diamond Dresses.
Instagram: @cihanthedesigner
Brand: @diamond.dresses.augsburg
Presented by Marc-Oliver Stöcklin.
Hair stylist @bryanpasini
Makeup @lauryliner
From the shores of Kauai, Hawaii, to the international runways of Paris, Emilia Knudsen is building a career that brings together couture, cultural discovery, entrepreneurship, and humanitarian action. At 17, she represents a generation redefining what it means to be a model, proving that ambition becomes even more meaningful when it is guided by compassion.
For Emilia Knudsen, fashion has never been simply about beautiful clothes or the excitement of stepping onto a runway. It is a world of artistic expression, cultural exchange, and storytelling, one that offers opportunities to connect with people whose experiences and perspectives may be entirely different from her own. Having grown up on the Hawaiian island of Kauai, she has taken an extraordinary journey from the natural beauty of her island home to some of the most influential fashion capitals in the world.
Since beginning her international modeling career in 2022, Knudsen has traveled extensively, worked with designers from different countries, and experienced the creative energy of Paris, New York, London, Milan, and destinations throughout Asia. By 2026, she is celebrating her fourth year at Paris Fashion Week, marking an important chapter in a journey that began with curiosity and a love for fashion.
Yet, what distinguishes Knudsen’s story is not only the distance she has traveled or the runways she has walked. It is the relationship she has developed between professional ambition and a desire to make a meaningful contribution to the world. Alongside modeling, she is an entrepreneur and humanitarian whose understanding of success extends far beyond the fashion industry.
A World Beyond the Island
Kauai provided Knudsen with more than a place to call home. Its natural beauty, cultural diversity, and traditions helped shape her appreciation for individuality, kindness, and respect. Growing up surrounded by the Hawaiian spirit of aloha influenced the way she approaches relationships, creative opportunities, and the responsibilities that accompany public visibility.
Her interest in fashion developed through a fascination with creativity and the ability of clothing to communicate ideas. Every designer, she believes, brings a distinct perspective to a collection, translating inspiration into silhouettes, textures, and carefully constructed details. For a model, presenting that work means becoming part of a larger artistic vision.
Knudsen found herself drawn to this collaborative process. The runway offered an opportunity to experience fashion not merely as an observer but as an active participant in bringing a designer’s ideas to life. Working with photographers, stylists, designers, and creative teams from different backgrounds expanded her understanding of the industry and introduced her to a world in which imagination can cross geographical and linguistic boundaries.
Her international career began in 2022, opening the door to experiences that have continued to shape her perspective. Traveling to more than 40 countries by the age of 17 has allowed her to encounter different cultures, develop friendships, and understand how people communicate their identities through art, fashion, and tradition.
For Knudsen, these experiences are an education in themselves. Each destination offers something new to observe, while each collaboration provides an opportunity to learn. The international nature of her work has encouraged her to remain open-minded and adaptable, qualities that are essential in an industry defined by constant creative change.
Finding Her Place in Couture
Paris occupies a particularly significant place in Knudsen’s professional journey. As one of the world’s most influential fashion capitals, the city represents a meeting point for established couture houses, emerging designers, and international creative talent. Returning for her fourth year at Paris Fashion Week in 2026 is therefore more than a career milestone. It reflects the continuity of a journey she began as a young model eager to explore the possibilities of the industry.
Her appreciation for couture comes from the craftsmanship and imagination behind each collection. Unlike fashion viewed solely through the lens of trends, couture highlights the time, skill, and artistic intention involved in creating a garment. Every detail can contribute to a designer’s larger narrative, and every presentation becomes an opportunity to communicate that vision.
Knudsen is particularly drawn to international designers because their work reflects different cultural influences and creative approaches. She values projects that celebrate individuality, demonstrate exceptional craftsmanship, and offer something meaningful beyond visual appeal.
This approach also informs how she chooses her professional opportunities. Rather than measuring every experience by its prestige, she looks for projects that challenge her creatively, introduce her to new perspectives, and help her develop as a professional.
Her experience across Paris, New York, London, Milan, and Asia has given her a broad view of fashion as a global conversation. Although each market has its own aesthetic sensibilities and professional rhythms, creativity remains a shared language. Knudsen’s journey reflects her desire to participate in that conversation while remaining connected to the values that shaped her upbringing.
Beyond the Runway: An Entrepreneurial Beginning
Credits:-
Model: Emilia Knudsen (@emiliaknudsen2021)
Photography: Richard Brie (@RichardBrie)
Designers: Cihan Günes — Augsburg, Germany, associated with Diamond Dresses.
Instagram: @cihanthedesigner
Brand: @diamond.dresses.augsburg
Presented by Marc-Oliver Stöcklin.
Hair stylist @bryanpasini
Makeup @lauryliner
Knudsen’s relationship with ambition began long before her international modeling career. She started her first business at the age of nine, demonstrating an early interest in initiative and the possibilities of building something of her own.
Entrepreneurship and modeling may appear to occupy different worlds, but both demand dedication, adaptability, and a willingness to learn. Each requires a person to recognize opportunities, work through uncertainty, and develop a distinctive identity. For Knudsen, these experiences contribute to a broader understanding of what it means to pursue a goal.
She also brings a unique personal background to her professional life. Since the age of five, she has practiced fire poi dancing, an art form that combines movement, coordination, rhythm, and performance. This early experience reflects a longstanding connection to creative expression and physical discipline.
Together, these interests reveal a young woman whose ambitions extend beyond a single professional identity. She is exploring the intersections of fashion, business, culture, and service, building a path that allows each interest to inform the others.
Knudsen also hopes to challenge the perception that models are defined primarily by their physical appearance. In her view, people working in fashion can be entrepreneurs, leaders, advocates, and active participants in their communities. Their professional platforms can create opportunities to discuss issues that matter and encourage others to think beyond conventional expectations.
For young people growing up in places far from major cultural or commercial centers, her story carries an additional message: geography does not have to determine the scale of one’s ambitions.
The Experience That Changed Her Understanding of Service
Credits:-
Alve’ Alexander (Women)
Black Pearl Collection
(Houston, TX / New York, NY, USA)
Défilé Salon Hoche à Paris
Paris Fashion Week 2026
Photographer @richardbrie
Mannequin @emiliaknudsen2021
Designer @blackpearlunclamed4u
Hair stylist @bryanpasini
Makeup @lauryliner
The humanitarian dimension of Knudsen’s life began with a simple concern. During the COVID-19 pandemic, when she was just 11 years old, she became aware of families in her Kauai community experiencing food insecurity. The possibility that people might go to bed hungry troubled her, and she wanted to find a practical way to help.
Her response began with a small Little Free Food Pantry and developed into a wider community initiative involving fundraising and food donations. Over time, the effort raised more than $35,000 in food and support for families in need.
What started as an individual act of concern became a lesson in collective action. Knudsen saw how a modest initiative could grow when people recognized a shared need and contributed what they could. The experience also reinforced a principle that continues to guide her: meaningful action is not reserved for people who have reached a particular age or professional position.
Her commitment to community service was recognized with The President’s Volunteer Service Award at the Gold level. While the recognition marked an important achievement, the underlying experience appears to have mattered just as much. It demonstrated that compassion becomes more powerful when translated into consistent, practical efforts.
For Knudsen, humanitarian work is not separate from her identity as a model. Instead, it informs the way she understands visibility and opportunity. The fashion industry may provide access to international audiences, influential creative communities, and professional networks, but she believes those opportunities can carry responsibilities beyond personal advancement.
This perspective gives her career a wider purpose. The runway becomes one part of a larger story about how a young person can pursue professional goals while remaining attentive to the needs of others.
A Crown With a Purpose
In 2026, Knudsen achieved another significant milestone when she won Top Young Model at Malaysia Couture Fashion Week. The recognition celebrated her place within an international fashion environment and added another accomplishment to her growing career.
What made the achievement particularly meaningful was her decision to donate the prize money toward her humanitarian project to help build a deep-water well in Uganda. She also received the Authentic Beauty 2026 title, which included a $1,000 contribution toward the same clean-water initiative.
These decisions reflect her belief that recognition can become a means of creating tangible change. Awards and titles may open doors, but their deeper value lies in how the opportunities they provide are used.
Access to safe drinking water remains an important challenge for communities around the world. Knudsen’s planned well project reflects a desire to contribute to a practical, long-term solution rather than limiting humanitarian involvement to temporary gestures. She hopes to visit the community in August 2027 as the project progresses.
Her approach connects the different dimensions of her life. The confidence developed through modeling, the initiative associated with entrepreneurship, and the compassion strengthened through community service all contribute to a common objective: using available opportunities to help others.
It is a perspective that challenges the idea that professional achievement and humanitarian commitment must exist independently. For Knudsen, they can reinforce one another, creating a more meaningful definition of success.
Redefining Beauty and Success
Credits:-
Model: Emilia Knudsen (@emiliaknudsen2021)
Photography: Richard Brie (@RichardBrie)
Designers: Sandra Maria Calderón & Julie Celin Eide — S & J Capsule Collection Milan, representing San Isidro, San José, Costa Rica, and Bodø, Norway.
Instagram: @sandra.m.calderon
Hair stylist @bryanpasini
Makeup @lauryliner
The fashion industry is often associated with visibility, prestige, and external measures of achievement. Magazine covers, prestigious shows, and professional recognition can all serve as important markers of progress. Yet Knudsen’s personal philosophy places greater emphasis on authenticity, gratitude, and the relationships people build along the way.
She believes success means doing what one loves without losing sight of one’s values. It involves treating people with kindness, appreciating the experiences that shape a person’s life, and making an effort to leave a positive impact.
This understanding of beauty extends beyond appearance. It is reflected in the choices people make, the way they respond to challenges, and their willingness to contribute to something larger than themselves.
Her upbringing in Hawaii continues to influence this outlook. The spirit of aloha, with its emphasis on kindness and respect, offers a foundation that she carries into international professional environments. Despite the demands of travel, competition, and a growing career, she wants to remain grounded in the principles that first shaped her understanding of the world.
At 17, Knudsen is still at the beginning of her professional journey. Her experiences have already introduced her to opportunities that many aspiring models spend years pursuing, but she approaches the future as a continuing process of discovery rather than a finished achievement.
Looking Toward the Future
Credits:-
Défilé Salon Hoche à Paris
Paris Fashion Week 2026
Photographer @richardbrie
Mannequin @emiliaknudsen2021
Designer @antoniotarantino10
Hair stylist @bryanpasini
Makeup @lauryliner
The coming months promise another international chapter. Knudsen is preparing for Tokyo Couture Fashion Week in Japan in November 2026, alongside planned fashion and editorial photoshoots in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and China.
These opportunities will allow her to continue exploring different creative environments, collaborating with designers, and developing her understanding of the global fashion landscape. Having traveled to more than 40 countries, she sees each new destination as an opportunity to learn as well as work.
Her humanitarian ambitions will remain equally important. As she continues supporting the deep-water well project in Uganda, she hopes to bring greater attention to the value of community involvement and the difference that individual contributions can make when combined with collective effort.
She also wants her journey to encourage other young people to believe in their abilities. Coming from a small island in the Pacific has taught her that a person’s starting point need not dictate where they can go. What matters is the willingness to pursue opportunities, remain open to learning, and stay committed to the values that give those ambitions meaning.
Emilia Knudsen’s story is still unfolding, shaped by couture, international travel, entrepreneurship, and a growing commitment to humanitarian service. Her achievements are significant, but the philosophy connecting them may be even more revealing. She sees fashion as a form of communication, success as an opportunity to uplift others, and beauty as something expressed through action.
For a young model finding her place on the international stage, that perspective offers a compelling vision of what comes next. The future may bring new runways, creative collaborations, and professional milestones. Yet the purpose guiding her journey remains clear: to explore the world with curiosity, pursue her ambitions with authenticity, and use the opportunities she receives to make a difference beyond the spotlight.
In Knudsen’s world, fashion is more than what appears on the runway. It is a meeting point for creativity, culture, and human connection. And when those elements are guided by compassion, the possibilities extend far beyond the final walk.
Credits:-
Paris Fashion Week 2026 | Editorial Credits
Model: Emilia Knudsen (@emiliaknudsen2021)
Photography: Richard Brie (@RichardBrie)
Venue: Salon Hoche, Paris
Fashion Platform: @nycliveinternational | @nycliveatfashionweek
Featured Designers:
• Sandra Maria Calderón & Julie Celin Eide — S & J Capsule Collection Milan, representing San Isidro, San José, Costa Rica, and Bodø, Norway.
Instagram: @sandra.m.calderon
• Cihan Günes — Augsburg, Germany, associated with Diamond Dresses.
Instagram: @cihanthedesigner
Brand: @diamond.dresses.augsburg
Presented by Marc-Oliver Stöcklin.
Designer @antoniotarantino10
Designer @blackpearlunclamed4u
Event: Paris Fashion Week 2026