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

All In Her Strijd

Sixteen year old Dutch model Romee Strijd is being touted as the next big thing following an impressive debut at the Spring/Summer 2012 collections. The DNA model left all in her wake with an exclusive show list which included Nina Ricci, Yves Saint Laurent, Louis Vuitton, Balmain, Celine, Hakaan, Alexander McQueen, Prada, Jil Sander and Burberry Prorsum. The 178 cm willowy newcomer appeared in a total of 16 shows and was recently listed by COACD and style.com as one of the Top Ten Newcomers for the Spring/Summer 2012 season.

Blessed with golden flaxen hair, bee stung lips and an immaculate complexion, it is Strijd's impeccable runway swagger which has industry pundits in a spin. With editorial appearances in British Vogue lensed by Daniel Jackson and Paolo Roversi as well as a slated appearance in Love shot by Solve Sundsbø, all signs are pointing towards Strijd becoming one of the defining models of the next generation. Strijd recently appeared at the Calvin Klein Pre-Fall presentation and looks set to implode during her first New York Fashion week come February.

Stepping Out
Photographer - Phill Taylor
Source - thefashionspot.com

Photographer - Unknown
Source - thefashionspot.com

Photographer - Pablo Delfos
Source - thefashionspot.com

All the Right Moves
Prada Backstage
Photographer - Unknown
Source - tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com

Opening Slot at Cacharel
Photographer - Sonny Vandevelde
Source - sonnyphotos.typepad.com

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

British Vogue - February 2012
Photographer - Daniel Jackson
Source - models.com

British Vogue - February 2012
Photographer - Daniel Jackson
Source - models.com

Perfect Match

Nineties supermodels Shalom Harlow and Amber Valletta reunite for the first time in over a decade for the January 2012 issue of American Vogue. Photographer Steven Klein's stunning imagery illustrates why Harlow and Valletta remain today two of the most compelling faces in fashion. The celebrated duo emerged on the modelling scene in the early nineties riding on the wave of the success of the original supers and were photographed together habitually by the likes of Steven Meisel, Paolo Roversi and Patrick Demarchelier for US Harpers Bazaar and the British, Italian and American editions of Vogue. Valetta's blonde, sunny disposition and earthy, ethereal-like beauty were the perfect antithesis to Harlow's exotic, mysterious gypsy-like allure. The pair would become steadfast best friends and their contrasting beauty and personalities served as a source of inspiration for a generation of photographers, designers and stylists.

US Vogue - January 2012
Photographer - Steven Klein
Source - models.com

US Vogue - January 2012
Photographer - Steven Klein
Source - the fashionspot.com

US Vogue - January 2012

Photographer - Steven Klein

Source - models.com

US Vogue - January 2012

Photographer - Steven Klein

Source - models.com

US Vogue - January 2012

Photographer - Steven Klein

Source - models.com

Perfect Match

US Vogue - January 1996

Photographer - Steven Meisel

Source - thefashionspot.com

US Harper Bazaar - June 1997
Photographer - Patrick Demarchelier
Source - thefashionspot.com

US Vogue - September 1995
Photographer - Steven Meisel
Source - thefashionspot.com

Uk Vogue - May 1996
Photographer - Paolo Roversi
Source - fashiongonerogue.com

US Vogue -  March 1997

Photographer - Steven Meisel

Source - thefashionspot.com

British Vogue - May 1995
Photographer - Nick Knight
Source - thefashionspot.com

Vogue Italia - January 1996
Photographer - Steven Meisel
Source - thefashionspot.com

It's Gonna be a Happy New Year!

Happy Holidays Everyone! I must apologise for my slackness with posting of late but I have just spent the past few days holed up in a lakeside cabin in Bavaria without internet access. Now don't get me wrong - I love nature and all, but there is only so much hiking and fresh air that I can take before I start to get a little stir crazy for a healthy dose of fashion and modelling. British Vogue gets 2012 off to just the right start with a gorgeous editorial lensed by Daniel Jackson and styled by Francesca Burns, featuring an eclectic cast of beauties. Veteran models Elise Crombez and Doutzen Kroes lead the charge alongside newcomers Kati Nescher, Emily Baker, Codie Young, Romee Strijd, Maria Bradley and familiar faces Ymre Stiekma, Vika Falileeva and Bette Franke. I love this editorial for its unpredictable line-up of girls and the fact that the models are allowed to imbue each image with a hint of their personality.

Romee Strijd

Maria Bradley

Emily Baker

Elise Crombez

Bette Franke

Codie Young

Ymre Stiekema

Kirsi Pyrhonen

Kati Nescher

Doutzen Kroes

Maria Bradley

Kirsi Pyrhonen

Vika Falileeva

Emily Baker
British Vogue - February 2012
Photographer - Daniel Jackson
Styling - Francesca Burns
Source - models.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

America's Sweetheart

America's favourite sweetheart Karlie Kloss turned nineteen this past August and appears to be embracing adulthood, displaying a more provocative side in recent editorials for Allure and British Vogue, lensed respectively by Mario Testino and Terry Richardson. I have always been a fan of Kloss' gamine beauty and was blown away by her seamless transition into adulthood as evidenced at the recent Spring/Summer 2012 shows. Kloss who has been modelling since she was fifteen, looked riveting on the runway as she opened for Blumarine, Jean Paul Gaultier and John Galliano, and closed for Christian Dior, Lanvin, Elie Saab, Blumarine and Rodarte, displaying a sophisticated and stealth-like beauty that is simply breathtaking. 

Karlie Kloss
UK Vogue - May 2010
Photographer - Alasdair McLellan
Source - models.com

Puttin' on the Glitz
UK Vogue - November 2011
Photographer - Terry Richardson

UK Vogue - November 2011
Photographer - Terry Richardson

UK Vogue - November 2011
Photographer - Terry Richardson
Source - models.com

Roland Mouret - S/S 2012
Photographer - Yannis Vlamos

Donna Karan - S/S 2012
Photographer - Yannis Vlamos

Christian Dior - S/S 2012
Photographer - Yannis Vlamos

Anthony Vaccarello - S/S 2012
Photographer - Yannis Vlamos

Lanvin - S/S 2012
Photographer - Yannis Vlamos

Hakaan - S/S 2012
Photographer - Marcus Tondo
All runway images courtesy of style.com