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Portrait · Model, Belgium
Nova
1.60 m tall, tattoos, learnt on the job: on 18 September 2026, in Arlon, she wore the Phœnix wings in a show devoted to behind-the-scenes trades.
Text The info-shooting editorial team
Photos Vincent Gallez · Picture Flo
Based on articles published by info-lux.com in September 2026
She crossed the Lux Fashion Week 2026 runway wearing golden wings, in the role of La Lumière, the Phoenix. Nova (Novalie Gillet) is 22. She is Belgian, a fashion model, photo model and art director.
It was on 18 September 2026, at the multipurpose hall in Arlon, in “Les talents de l’ombre”, the show by make-up artist Adeline Laubach and hairdresser Océane Van Damme.
Both sides of the lens
She has just finished art school, where she worked on image and creation. In front of the camera, she poses; behind it, she is interested in “creating an image, art direction, staging, photography and building a world”. She also does a little acting and, more recently, calisthenics, “a sport based mainly on bodyweight training”.
Beyond the usual criteria
I’m 1.60 m tall, so I don’t necessarily fit the industry’s traditional criteria. I also have tattoos, which can sometimes be an obstacle for certain contracts or productions looking for tattoo-free profiles. But it has never held me back.
Nova
She learnt the trade “on my own, by watching, working and above all experimenting”.
A role accepted sight unseen
When she is offered the “talents de l’ombre” (unsung talents) project, a few months before the show, she accepts without knowing which character she will play: the message, “shining a light on behind-the-scenes trades”, is enough for her. Then the role of the Phœnix comes along:
It’s a very strong, symbolic image that matches my values closely: always keep trying, even after a fall, get back up and rise from the ashes.
Nova
For me, giving up doesn’t exist.
Nova, September 2026
She sums up what the show set out to convey: “We often see the models and the clothes, but behind a show there are a huge number of people working to build that image.”
Four hours of transformation
Preparation took about four hours, covering make-up, hair and the full transformation. It was cold; she accepted it, thinking of the “months of work on Océane's and Adeline's part”. “As the transformation went on, I really saw my character appear. […] I really felt it was part of me.”
The make-up focuses on the skin. “I went all out on a pearly, shimmering effect on the body,” explains Adeline Laubach, who wanted to let the eye travel to the character’s large wings.
Posing with wings
The biggest challenge, she says, was the size of the wings: “A proper safety perimeter had to be set up.” The weight mattered less, thanks to sport, “which helped me hold the structure and keep a good posture”. Another rule: keep people dressed in black at a distance, because in her white bodysuit “the slightest contact could leave a black mark”.
On the catwalk, she aimed to give the character “a strong, almost majestic presence, with a confident walk”. The show gave her, she says, “far more artistic freedom than a classic fashion show”.
Of the four models, she goes last, after a ballerina, Youness Nouader and Marine. At the final bow, she stands in the centre, wings and all.
Rebirth. The image of the phoenix rising from its ashes is the one that stays with me most. For me it stands for falling, learning, then getting back up even stronger.
Nova, September 2026
Heading for Paris
Nova is getting ready to move to Paris, “to continue [her] development in modelling and take [her] artistic projects further”. What she takes away from the show comes down to one word, rebirth, and one conviction about life backstage:
Without the work of the hairdressers, make-up artists, stylists and everyone else backstage, the model wouldn't have the same look, the same presence or the same confidence on the catwalk.
Nova
Nova in the media
The show, her portrait, her make-up: three articles published by info-lux.com on 25 September 2026 (in French).
· info-lux.com
“Les talents de l’ombre”: Adeline and Océane at Lux Fashion Week 2026 in Arlon
Report on the show, where she plays La Lumière, the Phoenix.
· info-lux.com
Nova, model and Phœnix of the “behind-the-scenes talents” at Lux Fashion Week 2026
Her profile and written answers, on which this article is based. Photos by Vincent Gallez.
· info-lux.com
Adeline Laubach, make-up artist for the “talents behind the scenes”, Lux Fashion Week 2026
The make-up artist describes the pearly effect of La Lumière. Photos by Picture Flo.
Nova’s gallery
Tap or click a photo to open it full size, then scroll through with the arrows, the keyboard or by swiping.
18 September 2026 · On the catwalk, by Vincent Gallez
18 September 2026 · On the catwalk, by Picture Flo
18 September 2026 · In the studio, after the show
Model profile: Nova (Novalie Gillet) on info-shooting. To propose a photo shoot or casting, write to the editorial team, who will pass it on.
Photographers: Vincent Gallez’s portfolio and Picture Flo’s. Behind the scenes of the show: forty hours of preparation for three minutes on the catwalk.
On info-lux.com (in French): Nova, model and Phoenix of the “unsung talents” and the report on the show.
Sources: written answers from Nova (Novalie Gillet) to info-lux.com (September 2026); account of the show and portrait of Adeline Laubach published by info-lux.com on 25 September 2026. Photos: Vincent Gallez for info-lux.com and Picture Flo; each photo is credited in its caption.
