sports illustrated: Curve Ball

Hervé Leger's Fall/Winter 2012 presentation featured a refreshing line-up of models that kept me guessing with each turn on the runway. Generally each season, you get used to seeing the same predictable groupings of models traipsing down the runways, so much so that it all starts to become a little staid. Not so at Hervé Leger, thanks to the brilliant casting of duo Barbara Nicoli and Leila Ananna who were on the lookout for models with a "straight forward kind of beauty". The only familiar faces on hand at Hervé Leger were models on somewhat of a comeback trail like Kendra Spears, Elsa Sylvan, Yulia Kharlapanova, Irina Kulikova, Ginta Lapina and Marike LeRoux. Citing "eighties glamour" as a reference point, Nicoli and Ananna threw models du jour, Shu Pei Qin, Jasmine Tookes, Kate King, Emily Baker, Julia Frauche, Jacquelyn Jablonski and Juju Ivanyuk into the mix alongside brand spanking newcomers, Tilda Lindstam, Carolina Thaler, Katryn Kruger, Lina Zhang, Nadine Ponce, Sharam Diniz, Daniela Mirzac and Mackenzie Drazan. The combined effect was a line-up which captivated, enthralled and intrigued as much as the Leger's equestrian themed signature bandage dresses.