Axel Hermann grew up chasing a place on Germany’s track and field team, with an Olympic run as the goal before that door closed. A modeling scout redirected him into fashion, and his first major credit came fronting a Gucci campaign at the turn of the millennium.

Editorial work followed fast, with spreads in L’Officiel Homme and Vogue Italia, and campaigns for Brunello Cucinelli, Zegna, Cavalli, and Valentino filling out his book across the following decade. The houses that cast him then are largely the same ones still calling.

That consistency is the story now. Axel has stayed inside the orbit of brands, such as Brunello Cucinelli and Zegna, with the work sitting alongside a run of editorial credits in Madame Figaro, Forbes, Les Echos, and L’Officiel Hommes Italia.

Banana Republic has brought him to a broader American audience alongside the European luxury houses that have relied on him since the beginning. Axel remains the model European luxury and American ready-to-wear both keep calling when a campaign needs a face that has already proven itself.