Master Stroke

Dutch model Laura Kampman is a marked woman following her stunning debut on the cover of Vogue Italia's February 2012 issue. Model maker Steven Meisel captures the versatile newcomer in a series of artistic portraits which pay tribute to the surrealists. Kampman looks positively enchanting in elaborate head pieces, lacy veils and capes, and full length gloves. Represented by New York Model Management, Kampman is ticking off all the right boxes including exclusives for Calvin Klein and Balenciaga at the Spring/Summer 2012 collections, editorials for British Vogue and Vogue Italia, and a Balenciaga campaign lensed again by Meisel. With New York Fashion Week less than a week away, you can bet that Ms Kampman will be the most coveted name on the list of the most influential casting directors and designers.

Model as Muse
Vogue Italia - February 2012
Photographer - Steven Meisel
Source - models.com

Vogue Italia - February 2012
Photographer - Steven Meisel
Source - models.com

Vogue Italia - February 2012
Photographer - Steven Meisel
Source - models.com

Vogue Italia - February 2012
Photographer - Steven Meisel
Source - vogue.it

Vogue Italia - February 2012
Photographer - Steven Meisel
Source - models.com

Vogue Italia - February 2012
Photographer - Steven Meisel
Source - models.com

Smells Like Teen Spirit...

Balenciaga taps into the very essence of the teen model with its Spring/Summer 2012 campaign starring four relatively new faces. Photographed by model maker Steven Meisel, the campaign features newcomers Juliane Grüner and Laura Kampman alongside fifteen year old unknowns Rosie Tapner and Kirsten Liljegren. The campaign features the models sporting unkempt tresses, chillaxing in what could be mistaken for a shared model apartment. Liljegren hails from Denmark and is represented by mother agency Scoop Models whilst British native Tapner is on board with Ford Model Management in New York. The Balenciaga gig marks the first blue chip booking for both Tapner and Liljegren with a major fashion house and a major photographer.

Kirsten Liljegren
Courtesy of Scoop Models
Source - thefashionspot.com

Rosie Tapner
Photographer - Andrea Carter Bowman
Source - thefashionspot.com

Juliane Grüner
Courtesy of Scoop Models
Source - models.com

Laura Kampman
Photographer - Unknown
Source - thefashionspot.com

Juliane Grüner
Balenciaga - S/S 2012

Juliane Grüner & Kirsten Liljegren
Balenciaga - S/S 2012

Lauren Kampman & Rosie Tapner
Balenciaga - S/S 2012

Kirsten Liljegren
Balenciaga - S/S 2012

Juliane Grüner
Balenciaga - S/S 2012

Rosie Tapner
Balenciaga - S/S 2012
Photographer - Steven Meisel
Source - fashiongonerogue.com

The Exclusive Laura Kampman

Seventeen year old Dutch model Laura Kampman was the most buzzed about model of the recent Spring/Summer 2012 season. Kampman who is represented by New York Model Management, scored the two most coveted runway spots of the season thanks to her Calvin Klein exclusive in New York and her Balenciaga exclusive in Paris.

Listed by models.com founder Wayne Sterling as a Top Ten Newcomer of the S/S 2012 collections, Kampman has an unique look that is mix of masculine, tomboy edge and delicate, feminine features. It is this juxtaposition coupled with an amazonian 180 cm frame which has industry pundits marking her as a newcomer with credible staying power. Already photographed by Paolo Roversi for the January 2012 issue of British Vogue, Kampman has also been shot recently by Steven Meisel for the Spring/Summer 2012 Balenciaga campaign and has an upcoming Vogue Italia editorial in  the works.

Looking at Kampman, I get the same vibe that I got when I first laid eyes on model Freja Beha Erichsen. It's that combination of sensuality and nonchalance which makes Kampman so alluring and intriguing. Watch for Kampman to explode in 2012 as a defining model amongst the next generation of models.

Laura Kampman
British Vogue - January 2012
Photographer - Paolo Roversi
Source - models.com

Laura Kampman & Francisco Costa
Calvin Klein - S/S 2012
Source - vogue.com

Calvin Klein - S/S 2012
Photographer - Filippo Fior
Source- style.com

Balenciaga - S/S 2012
Photographer - Unknown
Source - thefashionspot.com

Backstage at Balenciaga S/S 2012
Photographer - Unknown
Source - thefashionspot.com

Balenciaga - S/S 2012
Photographer - Steven Meisel
Source - models.com

Photographer - Felix Wong
Source - thefashionspot.com

Photographer - Unknown
Source - thefashionspot.com

Comp Card
Courtesy of New York Model Management
Source - thefashionspot.com

A-List Talent

Lane Crawford, Hong Kong's premier specialist store enlists an impressive cast of top tier Asian models for its Fall/Winter 2011 campaign. Shot by Mert Alas & Marcus Piggott, the cast includes Liu Wen, Shu Pei Qin, Fei Fei Sun, Ming Xi and Xiao Wen Ju. Stylist Marie-Amélie Sauvé decks out the Asian beauties in luxury looks from Haider Ackermann, Azzedine Alaia, Balenciaga, Givenchy, Celine, Alexander McQueen and more. What I find most refreshing about this campaign is that the models are not depicted in a way which fetishises their ethnicity. Sauvé deserves major kudos for presenting Liu Wen et al. instead as modern day beauties with mass market appeal.

Fei Fei Sun, Liu Wen, Shu Pei Qin, Xiao Wen Ju & Ming Xi
Lane Crawford - F/W 2011
Photographer - Mert Alas & Marcus Piggott
Source - models.com

Shu Pei Qin, Fei Fei Sun & Ming Xi
Lane Crawford - F/W 2011
Video still - Mert Alas & Marcus Piggott
Source - fordmodelsblog.com

Fei Fei Sun, Ming Xi, Shu Pei Qin, Xiao Wen Ju & Liu Wen
Lane Crawford - F/W 2011
Photographer - Mert Alas & Marcus Piggott
Source - models.com

Ming Xi
Lane Crawford - F/W 2011
Video Still - Mert Alas & Marcus Piggott
Source - fordmodelsblog.com

Sensory Overload

French newcomer Aymeline Valade is fast becoming one of my favourite faces of the moment. Valade appears in two compelling editorials for Numero and Vogue China lensed respectively by Tom Munro and Camilla Akrans. Munro's feitsh inspired editorial for Numero, taps into Valade's sultry beauty and depicts her as a woman not afraid to show off her brazen sexuality. Aymeline's versatility as a model is demonstrated further as she reveals a softer, more winsome, romantic side for Vogue China's editorial. Akrans captures Valade in a sun dappled garden setting amidst cherry blossoms and hydrangeas. Valade looks simply divine wearing creations by Yves Saint Laurent, Balenciaga, Celine and Maison Martin Margiela. 

French Numero - Issue 125
Photographer - Tom Munro
Source - fashiongonerogue.com

Vogue China - July 2011
Photographer - Camilla Akrans
Source - fashiongonerogue.com

Mix & Match

Model veterans Liya Kebede and Liisa Winkler join forces with newer faces Julia Nobis, Carla Gebhart, Juliane Grüner and Milou Van Groesen for Balenciaga's Fall/Winter 2011 campaign. Steven Meisel captures each model individually in a futuristic-looking black and white tiled change room and then collectively as the models traipse up and down the arched hallways of an old-world cathedral. The combination of established and newer faces is a master stroke of casting genius very much in sync with designer Nicholas Ghesquiere's futuristic vision with references to the past.

 Juliane Grüner, Julia Nobis, Carla Gebhart, Milou
Van Groesen & Liya Kebede

Juliane Grüner, Carla Gebhart, Julia Nobis, Milou Van
Groesen & Juliane Grüner

Julia Nobis, Juliane Grüner, Carla Gebhart, Milou Van
Groesen & Liisa Winkler

Milou Van Groesen, Juliane Grüner, Carla Gebhart,
Julia Nobis & Carla Gebhart

Julia Nobis, Juliane Grüner, Carla Gebhart & Milou Van Groesen
Balenciaga - Fall/Winter 2011
Photographer - Steven Meisel
Source - fashiongonerogue.com

Great Dane

Danish model Juliane Grüner has had the kind of introduction to the modelling industry that most aspiring models can only dream of. Fifteen year old Grüner made her debut at the Fall/Winter 2011 collections as a Prada exclusive. What ensued is a stunning trajectory that has seen Grüner scoring an only girl Vogue Italia cover and a spot in the Fall/Winter Balenciaga campaign, both shot incidentally by model-maestro Steven Meisel. Represented by Scoop models in Copenhagen, 177 cm tall Grüner bears a striking resemblance to Dutch model Ymre Stiekema from her strong jawline, right down to their identical beauty spots. With such an auspicious start it will be of particular interest to see if the ever-fickle fashion industry continues  to embrace and nurture Grüner in the seasons to follow.

Great Dane
Photographer - Unknown
Source - scoopmodels.com

Vogue Italia - July 2011
Photographer -  Steven Meisel
Source - fashiongonerogue.com

Vogue Italia - July 2011
Photographer - Steven Meisel
Source - models.com

Test shot
Photographer - Unknown
Source - scoopmodels.com

Balenciaga - Fall/Winter 2011
Photographer - Steven Meisel
Source - models.com

Polaroid
Photographer - Unknown
Source - scoopmodels.com

Prada backstage - Fall/Winter 2011
Photographer - Unknown
Source - vogue.com