The Dark Side of Calvin Klein

If Calvin Klein's Fall/Winter 2012 show is anything to go by, this year is shaping up to be the year of the brunette. Francisco Costa's line-up featured a predominance of brunettes including faces of the season, Kati Nescher, Lara Mullen, Marte Mei van Haaster, Mackenzie Drazan, Ava Smith and Nadja Bender. Casting duo Maida Gregori Boina and Rami Fernandes, who are known for their uncanny ability to forecast model trends, selected Berlin native Franzi Mueller and Polish newcomer Agata Rudko to open and close for Costa's modestly restrained collection. Also featured in the cast were Martinique beauty Cora Emmanuel, comeback kid Ymre Stiekema, Hungarian ingenue Kate Kondas and the revitalised Patricia Van der Vliet sporting a razor sharp, blunt bob. With a client roster that includes Jil Sander, Costume National and Hakaan, Maida and Rami can change a model's prospects from woe to go in a nanosecond.

Show Opener - Franzi Mueller
Calvin Klein - F/W 2012

Closing Proceedings - Agata Rudko
Calvin Klein - F/W 2012

Kate Kondas
Calvin Klein - F/W 2012

Lara Mullen
Calvin Klein - F/W 2012

Mackenzie Drazan
Calvin Klein - F/W 2012

Kati Nescher
Calvin Klein - F/W 2012

Patricia Van der Vliet
Calvin Klein - F/W 2012

Ava Smith
Calvin Klein - F/W 2012

Cora Emmanuel
Calvin Klein - F/W 2012

Marte Mei van Haaster
Calvin Klein - F/W 2012

Ymre Stiekema
Calvin Klein - F/W 2012
Photographer - Monica Feudi
Source - style.com

Orient Express

Deciding which models and shows to highlight is in itself an almost impossible task. Almost that is, until I saw Australian model Shanina Shaik opening for Jason Wu's Chinese themed collection. Wu, who is in fact Taiwanese and immigrated to Canada at the age of ten, was inspired by a trip with his father to Taiwan. Asking himself "What is Chinese?", Wu came up with three distinct reference points; the military China epitomised by Mao jackets and shirts, the historical China of the Qing dynasty, and forties Hollywood version of China.

To fulfil this brief, Wu enlisted the services of casting director James Scully to assemble a line-up of models who could embody the many sides of Chinese culture as reflected in the collection. The challenge for Scully lay in casting models with strong enough looks and conviction combined with a womanly allure, to pull off the military style jackets, cheongsam dresses and silk tassel earrings. With the gonging of a cymbal, Shanina Shaik entered the fray via a strobe of red light signalling the beginnings of a visual feast. Red hot newcomers Katryn Kruger, Kati Nescher, Julia Frauche, and Marte Mei Van Haaster joined the procession alongside established stars Joan Smalls, Aymeline Valade, Kate King, Emily Baker and Candice Swanepoel. The line-up was one of the most ethnically diverse of NYFW with Cora Emmanuel, Jourdan Dunn, Anais Mali, Liu Wen, Tao Okamoto, Lais Ribeiro and Jasmine Tookes all landing coveted spots.

In the final moments before the show is about to start, Scully corals the models together for a pre-show motivational pep talk informing them, "It is the year of the dragon ladies at Jason Wu and you're his bitches, so make sure everybody knows. We want you confident, strong, gorgeous. I don't book you for your size, I book you because of who you are and you're all beautiful and never let anyone make you feel less than skinny or not big enough. You're all fucking gorgeous and I want you all to feel that way when you go out there and make the show happen." 

Jason Wu's Model Army
Jason Wu - F/W 2012

Shanina Shaik
Jason Wu - F/W 2012

Candice Swanepoel
Jason Wu - F/W 2012

Cora Emmanuel
Jason Wu - F/W 2012

Anais Mali
Jason Wu - F/W 2012

Katryn Kruger
Jason Wu - F/W 2012

Jasmine Tookes
Jason Wu - F/W 2012

Kati Nescher
Jason Wu - F/W 2012

Jourdan Dunn
Jason Wu - F/W 2012

Liu Wen
Jason Wu - F/W 2012

Emily Baker
Jason Wu - F/W 2012

Lais Ribeiro
Jason Wu - F/W 2012
Photographer - Monica Feudi
Source - style.com

Super Contenders

Joseph Altuzarra's Paris meets Marrakech collection was brought to life on the runway by an extraordinarily beautiful group of newcomers. Last season's breakthrough faces Sui He, Nyasha Matonhodze, Xiao Wen Ju and Julia Frauche led the charge alongside some clear contenders for the current Fall/Winter 2012 collections. With only a few more days left of New York Fashion Week, Kati Nescher, Maria Bradley, Marte Mei Van Haaster, Nadine Ponce, Nadja Bender and Ava Smith have clocked serious runway mileage at only the most influential, trendsetting shows. From Alexander Wang, Altuzarra, Prabal Gurung, Helmut Lang, Jason Wu and BCBG Max Azria, one thing is clear a new generation of models is primed to takeover with equal measures of attitude and beauty.

Sui He
Altuzarra - Fall/Winter 2012
Photographer - Marcus Tondo
Source - style.com

Nadine Ponce

Ava Smith

Julia Frauche

Maria Bradley

Kati Nescher

Nyasha Matonhodze

Nadja Bender

Marte Mei van Haaster

Xiao Wen Ju
Altuzarra - Fall/Winter 2012
Photographer - Marcus Tondo
Source - style.com

BCBG's Forecast

BCBG Max Azria held its eagerly anticipated Fall/Winter 2011 show on Thursday, revealing a stellar line-up of stunning brunettes. Returning to the fore were last season's Kate King, Zuzanna Bijoch, Daga Ziober, Sara Blomqvist, Amanda Ware, Juju Invanyuk, Nimue Smit and Brenda Kranz. Red hot newcomers Lara Mullen, Maria Bradley, Katryn Kruger, Kati Nescher, Josefien Rodermans, Mackenzie Drazan, Ella Kandyba, Othilia Simon and Katlin Aas were joined by surprise package, Sharam Diniz. Diniz who hails from Angola, was one of only two models of colour (the other being Shu Pei Qin) featured in BCBG's cast. A complete unknown, Diniz was the Portugal Ford Look of the Year winner in 2009 and has only walked previously at Portugal Fashion Week. With Max Azria and Hervé Leger to show next week it will be interesting to see who else casting duo Barbara Nicoli and Leila Ananna throw into the mix.

Sharam Diniz

Katryn Kruger

Shu Pei Qin

Lara Mullen

Kati Nescher

Juju Ivanyuk

Josefien Rodermans

Maria Bradley

Brenda Kranz
BCBG Max Azria - F/W 2012
Photographer - Yannis Vlamos
Source - style.com

Better With Age

Hot on the heels of Saskia de Brauw and Aymeline Valade comes twenty three year old classic French beauty Julia Frauche. Frauche was the standout star of the Spring/Summer 2012 collections in September with "who's that girl" appearances at Calvin Klein, Altuzarra, Jason Wu, Reed Krakoff, Marc by Marc Jacobs, Gucci, Celine, Balenciaga, Chanel, Chloé, Givenchy, Stella McCartney, Roberto Cavalli, Dolce & Gabbana and Marni. With a show list that reads like the who's who of the fashion elite, you could be forgiven for assuming that Frauche was yet another overnight modelling success story. Scouted at the age of sixteen in the south of France, Frauche had zero interest in modelling and was focused instead on her education. Upon graduation, Frauche relocated to Paris to attend college and was approached again to model. It was at this time that Frauche chose to give modelling a try.  

Intermission - December 2011
Photographer - Greg Harris
Source - models.com

Dazed & Confused - January 2012
Photographer - Yelena Yemchuk
Source - models.com

Intermission - December 2011
Photographer - Greg Harris
Source - models.com

Following five years of grunt modelling, scraping by with commercial editorial work and money jobs to pay the bills, Frauche switched representation to Next Model Management and decided to give the show circuit one final shot. In an interview with the Cut, Frauche explains "I have been doing this job for five years and I was like, "Okay this is my last chance. I'm going to try the shows and this is going to be the last time for me." The gamble paid off, with Frauche charming casting agents and designers with her mature outlook and womanly allure. Dubbed "baby Raquel" by casting agent James Scully for her likeness to Brazilian supermodel Raquel Zimmermann, Frauche is self-effacing in spite of the buzz surrounding her new found success. Speaking again with the Cut, Frauche recalls "This season, everyone was like, "Oh you're baby Raquel." But it's a really good compliment for me; I'm really happy about it because I love her. She's beautiful, and I hear she's nice, too."

US Vogue - January 2011
Photographer - Mariano Vivanco
Source - thefashionspot.com

Julia Frauche & Olivier Rousteing
US Vogue - January 2011
Photographer - Mariano Vivanco
Source - thefashionspot.com

Frauche has since landed on the pristine pages of American Vogue, Paris Vogue, German Vogue, Dazed & Confused, Intermission, and French Numero, displaying an insouciance and a versatility that women of all ages can relate to. The recent success stories of models well into their twenties, like Kati Nescher and Frauche, heralds a shift in the fashion paradigm towards models that women can identify with rather than a fifteen year old playing dress-ups. As Frauche reveals succinctly to the Cut, "I was a really shy person when I started, so it took time for me to learn how to communicate with people. I learned by travelling, being by myself all the time. I'm more mature now and I know what I want to do." It is this confidence and innate sense of self, coupled with a beauty that is mesmerising which will have Frauche marked as one of the definitive models of the next generation.

US Vogue - February 2012
Photographer - Raymond Meier
Source - thefashionspot.com

US Vogue - February 2012
Photographer - Raymond Meier
Source - thefashionspot.com

Numero - November 2011
Photographer - Liz Collins
Source - models.com

Numero - November 2011
Photographer - Liz Collins
Source - models.com