Olivia Vinten first appears in Bourgeois Town from V120, our first Fall issue featuring Bella Hadid. V120 is available for sale at vmagazine.myshopify.com.

Olivia Vinten is proof that mother  knows best. The 20 year-old Danish model, a wide-eyed waif with a fiery mop of blonde hair may be a relatively recent recruit to the fashion set’s list of faces to watch, but she’s got the zest of a seasoned pro, all thanks to her mom. Vinten’s mom was formerly a model herself, and has been one of the ultimate guiding forces in her career, helping her learn and understand the industry’s ins and outs ever since being first scouted at the age of twelve.

Whether first catching eyes on the runway for Off-White or in campaigns for the likes of Etro, Olivia Vinten’s soft features and warm complexion make her just as striking as the industry’s big dogs, and her captivating gaze is what defines her thunderstriking first appearance in V. We caught up with Vinten on her life growing up in Denmark, her favorite cities, her most exciting shoots, and more.

V: I’d love to hear a little bit about your upbringing and where you’re from, what life was like for you growing up…

Olivia Vinten: I’m Danish, so I grew up in Denmark, in Copenhagen. It’s great there, I love it. It’s my all-time favorite city. When I visit family and stuff its just like, “ugh.” Copenhagen is just amazing, always lovely. I have four siblings, so I grew up in a household with a lot of kids. I just went to school—I loved school, I was really focused on school—and hung out with my friends, stuff like that.

V: Have you always wanted to be a model? I’m interested to hear how that came about.

OV: I mean, I was scouted when I was 12 years old. I started modeling later than that, but I was scouted really early, so I guess I didn’t really have the time to actually think about modeling. But my mom’s an old model, so I’ve heard a lot of stories from that and from her history. So, yeah, I guess I just heard a lot about it and I’ve always been interested to see what it was all about and the traveling part and all that stuff.

V: Do you feel like that prepared you for the industry, all the stories that your mom used to tell you?

OV: Oh yeah, it did, it did. When I was younger and I started modeling she helped me out so much, like understanding everything, understanding what it means to actually go at a job as a model, and the traveling part, and also being able to just be yourself. At the same time, say no to stuff you don’t actually want and, you know, just be like relaxed about it, but at the same time enjoy it. My mom’s been a great help.

V: What’s your favorite place that modeling has taken you?

OV: I’d say Mexico. I went there last December and its just so beautiful there. It took me like 26 hours to get there from Copenhagen and I was there for two days, but it was worth it all because it was just so beautiful, and we had so much fun. It was great. And I love New York, too. I feel like when I’m in New York, I don’t know what happens, but whenever I’m in New York, I always meet such interesting or great people. I feel like it’s just special. New York is just an interesting melting pot in some way.

V: What are a couple of your favorite projects that you have (coming up, or done in the past)?

OV: I mean, I just did a shoot… we shot it in Bordeaux, in France. And that was so, so beautiful, first of all. It was just great. It was a really amazing scene. And we shot it a bit different from what I’m used to, so I’m quite excited to see the final result and see what happens with all of that. It was really interesting.

V: When you were on set in Paris for our story that we did with you, what was it like working with everyone? Simon [Eeles], George [Cortina]…

OV: I had so much fun. We were shooting for a long time. it was a long day, but it was really good because the people were just so talented and good at what they’re doing, but at the same time, we just had a blast. Everyone was just cracking jokes all the time, and just having fun. It was great. It was just a really good day, all in all.

V: Anything you want to add?

OV: I really enjoy modeling, I have to say. I feel like there’s times where it can be hard and boring and dah-dah-dah-dah-dah, but all in all, I just love it. I think it’s so much fun and I’m so blessed to be able to travel as much as I do. That’s really great. With my traveling, lately I’ve been spending a lot of time in New York, and I actually have always been very interested in dancing so on the side I would take dance classes and stuff like that. That’s what I love about traveling, that you can actually do the modeling part, but you also get to experience the thing that you’re attached to in other places.