Compulsive Viewing

Vogue Italia brings out the closet home shopper in us all with a satirical tongue-in-cheek editorial for the January 2012 issue featuring a cast of established models. Steven Meisel shoots Joan Smalls, Sigrid Agren, Natasha Poly, Daria Strokous, Caroline Trentini, Karlie Kloss and Gertrud Hegelund in the Spring/Summer 2012 collections from Gucci, Alexander McQueen, Balenciaga, Versace and others. The juxtaposition of the screen blurbs, the plastic fantastic QVC presenters and the straight off the runway garments injects this editorial with a dose humour that is so bad it's good.

Sigrid Agren, Joan Smalls, Natasha Poly, Daria Strokous,
& Caroline Trentini
Vogue Italia - January 2012
Photographer - Steven Meisel
Source - fashiongonerogue.com

Gertrud Hegelund & Karlie Kloss
Vogue Italia - January 2012
Photographer - Steven Meisel
Source - fashiongonerogue.com

Sigrid Agren, Daria Strokous & Natasha Poly
Vogue Italia - January 2012
Photographer - Steven Meisel
Source - fashiongonerogue.com

Joan Smalls & Caroline Trentini
Vogue Italia - January 2012
Photographer - Steven Meisel
Source - fashiongonerogue.com

Caroline Trentini, Karlie Kloss & Daria Strokous
Vogue Italia - January 2012
Photographer - Steven Meisel
Source - fashiongonerogue.com

Joan Smalls & Natasha Poly
Vogue Italia - January 2012
Photographer - Steven Meisel
Source - fashiongonerogue.com

Joan Smalls & Natasha Poly
Vogue Italia - January 2012
Photographer - Steven Meisel
Source - models.com

She's Got the Look

What do top models Erjona Ala, Nyasha Matonhodze, Ming Xi, Julia Saner, Fei Fei Sun, Constance Jablonski, Sigrid Agren and Eniko Mihalik all have in common? Aside from their obvious stunning DNA, they all got their start in modelling as finalists in the Elite Model Look competition. With this year's final due to commence in Shanghai in a few hours, I thought I'd give you a heads up on my top picks out of the 65 finalists. I had an extremely tough time deciding which ten models to include in my top ten, however after having sifted through the online portfolios and having watched the model interviews, I'm hoping to see Lenka from the Czech Republic, Leona from Slovakia and Mily from the Dominican Republic place amongst the final three to take out the title. Which of the faces below will you be hedging bets on?

Lenka - Czech Republic
Age - 18 years

Leona - Slovakia
Age - 14 years

Li XiaoXin - China
Age - 20 years

Agata - Russia
Age - 18 years

Dijora - Lithuania
Age - 15 years

Elsa - Angola
Age - 17 years

Mily - Dominican Republic
Age - 14 years

Jenna - USA
Age - 14 years

Lieke - the Netherlands
Age - 14 years

Barbara - Serbia
Age - 15 years
All images courtesy of elitemodellook.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

In the Mood for Fall

David Sims delivers what is without a doubt my favourite Fall/Winter 2011 campaign for Chloé. The gorgeous, whimsical campaign features a stellar cast including Sigrid Agren, Arizona Muse, Zuzanna Bijoch and Malgosia Bela in a series of outdoor and studio shots. Sims captures the essence of Fall with the models caught frolicking in the woods with wind swept hair whilst bathing in the soft golden sunlight. Agren et al. look effortlessly beautiful in Hannah MacGibbon's snakeskin print free-flowing shirt dresses, sweaters and pleated skirts from the latest Chloé Fall/Winter 2011 collection.

Zuzanna Bijoch & Sigrid Agren

Sigrid Agren & Arizona Muse

Zuzanna Bijoch & Sigird Agren

Zuzanna Bijoch

Sigrid Agren & Malgosia Bela

Sigrid Agren

Malgosia Bela
Chloé - Fall/Winter 2011
Photographer - David Sims
Source - fashiongonerogue.com

Timeless Beauty

The modelling industry is like a magnet drawing beautiful women from all over the world in pursuit of fame, adulation and fortune. Every few years distinct modelling trends emerge reflecting consumer needs and demand, and the socio-economic climate. From the sexy Brazilians, to the androgynous Belgians, the ubiquitous Russians, and the current wave of models from Asia and Scandinavia, it's no wonder at times castings can resemble a veritable United Nations beauty summit.

Photographer Peter Farago and stylist Ingela Klemetz Farago celebrate the beauty of models hailing from Nordic and Baltic countries in their new photographic tome entitled Northern Women in Chanel. The photographic travelling exhibition and accompanying coffee table book features 46 of the most sought after models from Nordic and Northern Baltic states in archived Chanel collections from the past ninety years.

Freja Beha Erichsen
Source - nymag.com

Iselin Steiro
Source - thefashionspot.com

Carmen Kass
Source - thefashionspot.com

Over a period of a year the creative duo worked in close collaboration with Chanel, gaining unrestricted access to the fashion house's archives of haute couture collections. Helena Christensen, Carmen Kass, Louise Pedersen, Freja Beha Erichsen, Sigrid Agren, Iselin Steiro, Edita Vilkevicuite, Caroline Brasch Neilson, Kirsi Pyrhonen, Frida Gustavsson, Siri Tollerod and Suvi Koponen amongst others, pose for Farago amidst tundras, arctic plains and native forests in an epic visual story which melds together the worlds of photography, art and fashion.

Ginta Lapina
Source - nymag.com

Caroline Brasch Neilsen
Source - nymag.com

Sigrid Agren
Source - trouvaillesdujour.blogspot.com

Dorothea Barth Jorgensen
Source - trouvaillesdujour.blogspot.com

Kirsi Pyrhonen
Source - thefashionspot.com

Klemetz Farago's meticulous styling draws inspiration from dance, opera and art, whilst matching each model to a particular Chanel creation and setting. The resulting visuals are breathtaking and capture a unique universe in which timeless fashion is reinvented amidst ethereal and startlingly beautiful Scandinavian landscapes. The 384 page photographic book has a limited edition release of 2112 copies with profits of sales going towards the Save the Children organisation. The exhibition is currently showing at the centre of contemporary photography Fotografiska, in Stockholm, and will tour the world throughout 2011 to 2013.

Edita Vilkevicuite
Source - r1ma.blogspot.com

Iselin Steiro
Source - thefashionspot.com

Frida Gustavsson
Source - r1ma.blogspot.com

Louise Pedersen
Source - door121.files.wordpress.com

Julija Steponavicuite
Source - trouvaillesdujour.blogspot.com

Julia Hafstrom & Linnea Regnander
Source - trouvaillesdujour.blogspot.com

Vicky Andren
Source - trouvaillesdujour.blogspot.com

Linn Arvidsson & Theres Alexandersson
Source - trouvaillesdujour.blogspot.com

Fever Pitch

What do you get when you combine the talents of Mert Alas & Marcus Piggott with a stellar cast of models including Joan Smalls, Abbey Lee Kershaw, Sigrid Agren, Emily Baker, Lenz Von Johnston, Anthon Wellsjo and Duco Ferwerda? Pure Magic. As the images below attest, glamour was the order of the day for Gucci's Fall/Winter campaign. The casting for this campaign is my favourite for the season. I absolutely adore Smalls who is back again for her third consecutive Gucci campaign. Also returning to the Gucci camp is Lee Kershaw who looks beguiling and mysterious. Rounding out the cast are Agren with a divine Rita Haywardesque hairstyle and newcomer Baker who was undoubtedly the standout star of the Fall/Winter 2011 shows in February. The clever use of projections and shadowed lighting create the illusion that the cast are being observed by their alter egos. 

Sigrid Agren, Lenz Von Johnston & Joan Smalls

Emily Baker & Joan Smalls

Abbey Lee Kershaw

Joan Smalls

Sigrid Agren & Abbey Lee Kershaw

Sigrid Agren & Abbey Lee Kershaw

Sigrid Agren & Lenz Von Johnston

Abbey Lee Kershaw & Sigrid Agren
Gucci - Fall/Winter 2011
Photographer - Mert Alas & Marcus Piggott
Source - fashiongonerogue.com