Danish supermodel and photographer Helena Christensen has never been content to stay only on the runway, and now she’s taking her aesthetic eye to the next level. She’s being named BoConcept’s new global artistic director.
“This is a dream come true for me,” Christensen said in a press release. “I’ve always loved interiors, and this speaks to so many of my passions for design, creativity, and living intentionally.”
Helena Christensen will be designing furniture for BoConcept.
Christensen is a permanent fixture in the fashion and beauty industry, as synonymous with the storied ‘90s modeling scene as Brittany Spears was to the pop music scene. As one of the “Magnificent Seven,” Christensen redefined a new era of supermodels, starring in fashion campaigns for Chanel, Versace, Prada, Valentino, and Karl Lagerfeld, and appearing on the covers of many a magazine, including Vogue, W, and Harper’s Bazaar.
It’s her pure naturalness that has always been her signature superpower—something she’s translated to her passion for interiors well before her collaboration with BoConcept. The Danish supermodel, who has properties in Denmark, Manhattan, and upstate New York, has imbued the same effortless style and easy elegance seen in her sartorial looks to her home interiors, which are characterized by lived-in furniture, bohemian flourishes, and eclectic finds.
“The way I decorate my home is as important as how I dress myself,” Christensen said in a statement.
Christensen will be bringing her signature elegance to the BoConcept brand.
In 2006, she launched the concept store Butik in New York City with Leif Sigersen. In 2018, she also co-founded the interior design and lifestyle studio Staerk & Christensen alongside long-term collaborator Camilla Staerk. Recent design projects include collaborations with New York-based studio Bower on a range of home accessories and creating a special edition of the Runner Chair’ with Danish designer Kasper Salto. The duo has also been working on an ongoing prefab project of three structural houses with Revolution Precrafted, alongside the architect Gulla Jonsdottir.
Through BoConcept, Christensen will be sharing a collection of her botanical photography prints.
In her new role at BoConcept, Helena will be designing furniture and developing fabrics for the brand, in addition to producing and featuring in brand campaigns. Through the brand, Christensen will also be sharing art prints from her personal photography archive (yes, she’s also an accomplished photographer), starting with the launch of Flora, a curated collection of botanical prints.
It’s a natural extension, she says, of what she’s been doing her whole career. “My whole career has been about “what the eye sees and how it makes you feel.»
Rachel Silva is the associate digital editor at ELLE DECOR, where she covers all things design, architecture, and lifestyle. She also oversees the publication’s feature article coverage, and is, at any moment, knee-deep in an investigation on everything from the best spa gifts to the best faux florals on the internet right now. She has more than 16 years of experience in editorial, working as a photo assignment editor at Time and acting as the president of Women in Media in NYC. She went to Columbia Journalism School, and her work has been nominated for awards from ASME, the Society of Publication Designers, and World Press Photo.
