Axel Swan Maldini, a valuable, highly sought out asset to the modeling industry and his talents were showcased throughout the editorial – “Lucha Libre” – for renowned fashion magazine, Fucking Young! Online.

Fucking Young! Online is a Barcelona-based menswear magazine featuring various campaigns, beauty, editorial, runway, and street style fashion. The platform features exclusive content and conversational interviews, a source its audience can count on for the latest news in fashion.

The exclusive editorial, “Lucha Libre,” featured leading models Axel Swan Maldini and Rasmus Nielsen Fisker.

“Lucha Libre was definitely dynamic,” Maldini said. “Poses were dynamic yet playful, contrasting the world of Lucha Libre with the world of Love.”

Photographed by Szilveszter Makó and styled with pieces from Barbara Sánchez-Kane, Maldini played an integral role as the starring model, his looks varying in nearly every photograph.

“Throughout the collection, Axel dawns various colorful and intricately designed clothing while sporting various Lucha Libre – Mexican style wrestling totems and items,” said stylist Sánchez-Kane, whose work is motivated by her Mexican heritage and has been featured in various fashion publications including Huf Magazine, Polimoda Mag, Positive Magazine.

At times throughout the shoot, Maldini’s face is completely covered in blue makeup, with cartoonishly drawn yet poignant lipstick on, accentuating a sad clown aesthetic.

“I was super excited when I got told I was going to be part of such a fun shoot,” Maldini said. “It was one of the most playful shoots I’ve done. Poses were switching between more static ones and some cheeky ones that recalled a playful erotism, as the typical Mexican wrestling wanted to be re-imagined by the designer. It definitely felt more like creating another persona. The clothes and the make-up made me interpret at best the concept of the shoot.”

Sánchez-Kane said, “Axel’s strengths as a model are unique when considering the expected features of a model. His naturally brooding look has a chilling effect; the most successful photos from the collection are of him staring directly into the camera, as if in a stand off with the view. His cold gaze, matched with his blue face highlights the inherent contrast between him as the subject, and what he is wearing as a model. The added presence of wresting paraphernalia, namely various wrestling masks and personalized wrestling belts, fixates Alex within a distinctly masculine lens, furthering the contrast of his expressions.”

After working together on “Lucha Libre,” Maldini and Sánchez-Kane collaborated again for the editorial shoot and press events of Sánchez-Kane’s presentation of “Catch as a Catch Can” at Villa Favard during Pitti Uomo in Florence, Italy.

“Axel’s collaborations with internationally renowned publications and brands, namely Catherinelle Bags, Cult Shoes, Papercut Magazine, and Lui Magazine, have proven that he is a natural talent in the fashion industry, but also more than capable of enhancing the meaning and tone of any editorial, shoot, or runway he involves himself with, I am thankful for our work together,” said Sánchez-Kane.