Julia van Os on Motherhood, Love, and What Matters Most

For Mother’s Day 2026, SARAH & SEBASTIAN presents A Portrait of Her, a campaign featuring model Julia van Os, photographed by her partner Max Papendieck alongside their daughter Maia. This intimate series explores modern motherhood in its most natural form, revealing subtle connections between identity, legacy and design.

Originally from Amsterdam, Julia now lives in New York with Max and their eight-month-old daughter. She moved to the city at eighteen to pursue modelling, a decision that quickly placed her on the international fashion circuit. From New York to London, Paris and Milan, fashion weeks exposed her to new cultures and perspectives, an experience that, as she reflects, “really shaped who I am.”

Over time, New York became more than a place to work. It is where Julia met her husband Max, and where they are now raising their daughter together.

Today, Julia introduces herself first as a mother. Modelling and art direction continue to shape her professional life, but motherhood has shifted her perspective in ways she did not anticipate. “Becoming a mum made me aware of a bigger purpose,” she says. “Someone else becomes more important. It is refreshing and grounding.” With that shift has come a new understanding of her own mother, and a deeper appreciation for everything motherhood holds.

“BECOMING A MUM MADE ME AWARE OF A BIGGER PURPOSE.”

During pregnancy, Julia began journaling as a way to process the experience. What started as a small habit soon became a personal chronicle of that time. She wrote throughout her pregnancy and into the months that followed, capturing thoughts and emotions as they unfolded. Looking back now, those pages offer a rare glimpse into her transition into motherhood.

Jewellery, she says, holds meaning in a similar way. Certain pieces gather significance over time. Her wedding ring remains the one she feels most connected to. “It signifies the life I built with my husband and now my daughter,” she explains, a symbol of the family they created together in a new country.

“IT SIGNIFIES THE LIFE I BUILT WITH MY HUSBAND AND NOW MY DAUGHTER.”

Another piece carries a different kind of history: a delicate gold chain given to her by her mother in law, once belonging to Max’s grandmother. For Julia, it represents the maternal line and the importance of passing something meaningful from one generation to the next.

For now, motherhood shapes Julia’s world. As she puts it simply, “Motherhood is the centre of my life right now. Everything else revolves around that.”

A portrait of her captures a moment within that chapter.