sports illustrated: Steven Meisel

Showing posts with label Steven Meisel. Show all posts

Sunday, February 12, 2012

We Will Always Love You

I must have been about eight years of age when I first saw a singer by the name of Whitney Houston performing her hit "I Wanna Dance with Somebody." I remember being transfixed by Whitney, not only because of her mesmerising voice but also because I thought that she was possibly one of the most beautiful women I had ever laid eyes on. I grew up listening to Whitney Houston's music and I spent countless hours dancing and singing to her songs, in both good times and bad.

Aside from her many musical accomplishments, Whitney was also a model in the early eighties and was signed to Wilhelmina Models. Throughout her career as a singer, Whitney was photographed by many of the greats including Richard Avedon, Patrick Demarchelier, Steven Meisel and Francesco Scavullo. Whitney Houston's talent, illuminating beauty and humanity brought so much joy to our lives and I am grateful to have had the opportunity to see her perform in Australia three years ago. I am deeply saddened to hear of her passing. We will always love you Whitney.

Whitney Houston's Debut Album
Photographer - Garry Gross
Source - bellazon

Photographer - Unknown
Source - vagalume.com

Seventeen Magazine - November 1981
Photographer - Unknown
Source - bellazon.com

US Harpers Bazaar - January 1996
Photographer - Patrick Demarchelier
Source - just-whitney.com

Ebony - October 2009
Photographer - Unknown
Source - thefashionspot.com

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

By Invitation Only

What do you get when you throw a bunch of massive pythons, bejewelled masquerade masks, tuxedo suits, Steven Meisel and models Aymeline Valade, Marte Mei van Haaster and Othilia Simon into the mix? Well..., Lanvin's Spring/Summer 2012 campaign and my idea of the perfect dinner party. Donning Lanvin's sleek, figure-hugging silhouettes and incognito shades, Valade, van Haaster and Simon bring an air of excitement, mystery and danger to the table flanked by male models Aaron Vernon, Johannes Schulze and Angus Lowe. The brilliant casting of Valade, van Haaster and Simon, each of whom possesses that rare mix of androgyny and womanly allure results in a campaign that is intoxicating and transfixing.

Aymeline Valade, Marte Mei van Haaster &
Othilia Simon
Lanvin - Spring/Summer 2012
Photographer - Steven Meisel
Source - fashiongonerogue.com

Lanvin - Spring/Summer 2012
Photographer - Steven Meisel
Source - fashiongonerogue.com

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 - vogue.it

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

Friday, January 27, 2012

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

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

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

La Coquette

At age twenty-one, Anais Pouliot is already a modelling veteran having been discovered when she was only fourteen. Pouliot initially began modelling locally in Montreal and in 2007, at age sixteen, signed to New York agency Trump Model Management to further her modelling career. Realising the potential of their young protegé, Trump Model Management took their time to develop Pouliot before unleashing the model at the Fall/Winter 2010 collections where she walked in a number of shows in New York and London before landing a Miu Miu exclusive in Paris.

Intermission - December 2011
Photographer - John Scarisbrick
Source - models.com

Pouliot's voluptuous pout, coquettish looks and curvaceous body are clearly distinguishable however it has only been on the past year that she has truly been able to make the most of those attributes. At the Spring/Summer 2011 collections, Pouliot's sophisticated presence made her the darling of the Milan and Paris shows where she walked for the likes of Prada, D&G, Marni, Versus, Missoni, Loewe, Nina Ricci, Yves Saint Laurent and Chanel. Pouliot's appeal on the runway has since translated into major campaign traction with appearances in the Fall/Winter 2011 Louis Vuitton, Nina Ricci and Sonia Rykiel campaigns.

Vogue Germany - August 2011
Photographer - Horst Diekgerdes
Source - models.com

Interview - September 2011
Photographer - Mert Alas & Marcus Piggott
Source - models.com

Numéro - May 2011
Photographer - Sean & Seng
Source - models.com

American Vogue, Interview, Intermission, Numéro, German Vogue and French Revue de Modes all seem to agree, having recently featured Pouliot in decidedly more risqué editorials. I have to admit that it has only been in recent times that I have come to appreciate Pouliot's overall look and appeal. Or maybe perhaps, I felt uncomfortable seeing her portrayed from such an early age in such an adult light. No doubt Pouliot's brooding, sultry looks and natural feminine allure will only intensify as she grows and matures into a fully-fledged woman.

US Vogue - December 2011
Photographer - Steven Meisel
Source - models.com

Vogue Nippon - February 2011
Photographer - Daniel Jackson
Source - models.com

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

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Everything Old is Suddenly New

Roberto Cavalli pays homage to Richard Avedon's classic Versace imagery from the late Eighties and early Nineties for its Spring/Summer 2012 campaign. Model-maker Steven Meisel teams up with iconic models Naomi Campbell, Kristen McMenamy and Karen Elson alongside relative newcomer Daphne Groeneveld. Kudos has to be given to Cavalli for casting such an eclectic line-up with each model possessing a look that is uniquely distinct and individual. The pairing of new modelling sensation Groeneveld with supers Campbell, McMenamy and Elson, brings a freshness and interesting dynamic to the shoot. Cavalli's underlying message appears to be that beauty at any age can be fierce.

Naomi Campbell, Kristen McMenamy, Karen Elson
& Daphne Groeneveld
Roberto Cavalli - S/S 2012
Photographer - Steven Meisel

Daphne Groeneveld
Roberto Cavalli - S/S 2012
Photographer - Steven Meisel

Karen Elson
Roberto Cavalli - S/S 2012
Photographer - Steven Meisel

Naomi Campbell
Roberto Cavalli - S/S 2012
Photographer - Steven Meisel

Daphne Groeneveld, Karen Elson, Kristen McMenamy
& Naomi Campbell
Roberto Cavalli - S/S 2012
Photographer - Steven Meisel
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.