Elias de Poot

Elias de Poot is a Belgian model and electronic music producer from Leuven. His fashion career began in 2015, when scout and booker Ruben Debuck discovered him on a street in Brussels. He was studying animation at KASK in Ghent, bringing an interest in making images to a profession that would put him inside them.

His first international show season arrived in January 2016. Elias opened Topman Design’s fall show in London and also walked for Burberry and Craig Green. Speaking to De Standaard that month, he singled out the runway as his favorite part of modeling, calling it “an adrenaline rush” in translation from Dutch. The fittings and makeup interested him too; the waiting, less so.

That debut year quickly brought advertising work. Elias appeared in Etro’s fall 2016 campaign and was photographed by Collier Schorr for IRO’s fall campaign. His lean frame and sculpted features became recognizable across magazine editorials and designer collections, including photographs for Dior Magazine by Patrick Demarchelier.

Tom Ford became another significant connection, with Elias appearing in the house’s fall 2020 advertising. A subsequent Canali campaign added to a portfolio in which Italian tailoring has been a recurring setting. His runway work continued with Etro and Bottega Veneta, followed by a closing appearance at Paul Smith’s spring 2027 show.

Music predates his modeling career. Producing under the name Sokoto, Elias makes electronic tracks built around atmosphere and rhythm. It gives him a parallel creative identity, with his own compositions accompanying a working life spent interpreting other people’s designs.