The Lucky 13

Ok so I'll admit that I am just a tad bit excited about the 2011 Victoria's Secret Fashion show. This year, Victoria's Secret are bringing a mega dose of high fashion moxie to the runway amidst all of the over the top pouting, blowing of kisses and runway theatrics. Amongst the thirteen new faces who have been confirmed for the show are several of my favourite catwalkers, Joan Smalls, Karlie Kloss, Anais Mali, Toni Garrn, Sui He, Jessica Clarke, Caroline Brasch Nielsen and Karmen Pedaru. Rounding up the lucky thirteen are Bregje Heinen, Ieva Laguna, Shanina Shaik, Elsa Hosk and Cameron Russell. I'm doubly excited to see Anja Rubik, Constance Jablonski, Liu Wen, Lily Donaldson, Lais Ribeiro, Magdalena Frackowiak and Lily Donaldson, amongst the former Victoria's Secret girls returning this year. With the show due to commence any minute, the following backstage and rehearsal shots should whet your appetite for the spectacle ahead.

Candice Swanepoel & Tom Pecheux

Newcomer Sui He

Newcomer Toni Garrn

Emanuela de Paula

Newcomer Bregje Heinen & Orlando Pita

Newcomer Karlie Kloss

Adriana Lima

Doutzen Kroes

Newcomer Jessica Clarke

Lindsay Ellington, Alessandra Ambrosio, Lily Aldridge
& Miranda Kerr

Rehearsal Time - Anne Vyalitsyna

Newcomer Joan Smalls

Lais Ribeiro

Miranda Kerr

Shanina Shaik

Sui He

Anja Rubik

Candice Swanepoel

Caroline Brasch Nielsen

Izabel Goulart

Karmen Pedaru

Lily Donaldson
All images - thefashionspot.com

Paris Escapades

I must apologise for the scarcity of posting of late but I have been making the most of the last few weeks of Summer by travelling abroad to Spain, France and Denmark. I was in Paris for the last few days of Paris Fashion Week and was treated to a smorgasbord of model sightings including Sigrid Agren and the very lovely celebrity model Alexa Chung. I was very proud to see a number of Australians blazing a blistering trail on the Parisian catwalks. The biggest surprise for me was Miranda Kerr, who cemented her status as a model with true high fashion cred by appearing in no less that seven blue chip shows. Kerr made up for her no show at Balenciaga with sublime appearances at Christian Dior, John Galliano, Chanel, Viktor & Rolf, Loewe, Stella McCartney and Lanvin.

Miranda Kerr
Australian Harper's Bazaar - November 2012
Photographer - Simon Lekias
Source - fashiongonerogue.com

John Galliano - S/S 2012
Photographer - Filippo Fior

Loewe - S/S 2012
Photographer - Marcus Tondo

Chanel - S/S 2012
Photographer - Yannis Vlamos

Lanvin - S/S 2012
Photographer - Yannis Vlamos

Stella McCartney - F/W 2012
Photographer - Yannis Vlamos

Christian Dior - S/S 2012
Photographer - Yannis Vlamos
All runway images courtesy of style.com

Meisel's Menagerie

Steven Meisel assembles a diverse group of Supermodels and up-and-coming stars for US Vogue's August 2011 edition. The eclectic group consists of familiar and newer faces ranging in age from twenty to forty six years. The cast of models includes veterans Kristen McMenamy, Audrey Marnay, Guinevere Van Seenus, Liya Kebede, Raquel Zimmerman, Karen Elson, together with faces of the moment; Candice Swanepoel, Miranda Kerr, Arizona Muse, Fei Fei Sun and Anais Pouliot. Each model has posed previously for Meisel's lens hence the editorial title "Double take".

Liya Kebede

Kristen McMenamy

Audrey Marnay

Candice Swanepoel & Miranda Kerr

Fei Fei Sun

Raquel Zimmerman

Arizona Muse

Karen Elson

Guinevere Van Seenus

Anais Pouliot
US Vogue - August 2011
Photographer - Steven Meisel
Source - models.com

Victoria's Secret Takeover

Victoria's Secret high fashion takeover continues with Rosie Huntington-Whiteley's sizzling British Vogue cover and Candice Swanepoel's Vogue Italia cover coup. Swanepoel's crossover from mainstream commercial modelling to the high fashion arena was kick started in 2010, with her editorial appearance in the Winter issue of V Man lensed by Mario Testino. Swanepoel turned more than a few heads, with Testino giving his seal of approval, "Candice is an amazing new find for me. Gorgeous, free, fun. She was awesome and did not feel inhibited. She made the shoot an amazing experience."

Indeed 2010, was the year of the Victoria's Secret high fashion ascension with Miranda Kerr and Alessandra Ambrosio amongst others, making their mark. Kerr landed three Vogue covers (Italian, Spanish and Australian versions of the magazine) and appeared in multiple fashion editorials for US Vogue. Ambrosio transformed into a glamourous Goth for the cover of Love Magazine and was cast in the Dolce & Gabbana Spring/Summer 2011 campaign alongside fellow Victoria's Secret models Isabeli Fontana, Maryna Linchuk, and Izabel Goulart. Victoria's Secret Angels Doutzen Kroes, Chanel Iman, Adriana Lima, Ambrosio and Kerr, were the subject of a feature editorial in US Vogue shot by Peter Lindbergh, dissecting the return of sexy curves to the catwalk. With the lines between commercial and high fashion modelling becoming ever increasingly blurred, what Swanepoel et al prove, is that a little va-va-voom and a whole lot of personality are the just what the world of high fashion needs right now.

Rosie Huntington-Whiteley
British Vogue - February 2011
Photographer - Mert Alas & Marcus Piggott

Candice Swanepoel
Vogue Italia - February 2011
Photographer - Steven Meisel

Miranda Kerr
Vogue Italia - September 2010
Photographer - Steven Meisel

Alessandra Ambrosio
Love Magazine - Fall/Winter 2010
Photographer - Mert Alas & Marcus Piggott

Rosie Huntington-Whitely
Love Magazine - Fall/Winter 2010
Photographer - Mert Alas & Marcus Piggott

Candice Swanepoel
V Man - Winter 2010
Photographer - Mario Testino

Candice Swanepoel
Vogue Italia - February 2011
Photographer - Steven Meisel

Rosie Huntington-Whitely
British Vogue - February 2011
Photographer - Mert Alas & Marcus Piggott

Miranda Kerr, Doutzen Kroes, Chanel Iman,
Adriana Lima & Alessandra Ambrosio.
US Vogue - September 2010
Photographer - Peter Lindbergh
Source - vogue.com