INTERVIEW & PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY David K Shields
At just 21, Luca Harrington is no longer an emerging talent – he’s a defining force. First profiled in It’s Interval 5: VANGUARD, Luca now arrives at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy as one of the favourites for success, carrying with him a season that has already rewritten New Zealand freeskiing history.
KSUBI jacket. NOM*D t-shirt.
Crowned Freeski Big Air World Champion and winner of the FIS Big Air Crystal Globe for 2024/25 – the first Kiwi ever to do so – Luca’s rise has been anything but incremental. X Games gold in Slopestyle, silver in Big Air, and a string of World Cup podiums have confirmed what the sport already knows: he’s not chasing the pace, he’s setting it.
BEACH BRAINS jacket.
KSUBI jacket and jeans. NOM*D t-shirt. VANS sneakers.
Ranked world number one in Big Air and among the top three globally in Slopestyle, Luca’s skiing blends rare technical precision with an ease and fluency that feels instinctive, and almost inevitable. This is what the Vanguard looks like in motion – a new generation defining excellence on its own terms, and Luca Harrington is a perfect embodiment of this philosophy.
BEACH BRAINS jacket.
With today’s Bronze Medal in Slopestyle for Team NZ, Luca has achieved an ambition he’d only dreamed about until now – with next weeks Big Air still to come, we celebrate his success so far and are with him all the way, through this competition and onwards. His journey is now only in it’s initial stages, and he is truly an exceptional ambassador for his sport, his generation, and is a shining example of the qualities and attributes we champion! Great things, for and by, great people!
KSUBI overshirt. STOLEN GIRLFRIENDS CLUB t-shirt.
BEACH BRAINS jacket. STOLEN GIRLFRIENDS CLUB pants. MONSTER cap.
Follow the below link to hear in this incredibly talented young man’s own words, what drives and inspires him to be his very best self – not just for himself, but for all those he holds dear and carries with him..
Featured in It’s Interval VANGUARD – view full story and more from this issue!