Come Back Round, You Sun of a Gun

In the north, there are some winter days when you wake up to find tumults of rain ravaging the snows you so adore. The pillowy frostings melt away before your very eyes from their bleached perfection until the still-green grass breaches the surface. When the rains stop, naught is left of your wonderland but the bleak and translucent patches of ice and hardening slush, hard to the touch, mottled grey with all manner of impurities. The moment is sad, but the grass is green.

It is not unlike the feeling of waking up to Freja Beha, who has finally done something. 

You see, on my phone yesterday, I alighted upon a tweet from a favourite of mine, by the name of Anders Christian Madsen. You may not know him, but he and his delightful sister (Susanne) are who my fashion world revolve around. The two partners in crime are fashion writers for the impeccable DANSK Magazine (of Denmark, don't you know), and also hold the positions senior editor and fashion features director, respectively. 

Now, said tweet was of enormous significance to my every day life, mostly because the last thirty-odd every days of said life have not been occasioned by posting on this blog (some of you know why, but the rest of you will find out all in good time). Precisely what it intoned is that our ever beloved Freja will be appearing on the cover of DANSK's S/S 2012 (10TH ANNIVERSARY) issue. Trigger: a smile that explodes.

What this means is that the magazine itself will be contemplative of a myriad of things of import, notably Justin Bieber (he had a Christmas record), Kristen Stewart (Breaking Dawn and all), and Freja, over whom I project the two will be squeeing just as much as Anders does over his weekly dose of CW tween dramas. This is because beyond simply being "dictators of taste," or whatever we are calling the fashion voices these days, these two Danes are fans of fashion and culture, and that never fails to shine through in the pages of DANSK. 

So without further ado, allow me to present to you, Freja Beha Erichsen by the phenomenal Christian Brylle for DANSK S/S 2012. 

I know right. It's fucking awesome.

Peace, love, and floating,

Gill Ford

Image courtesy of press@danskmagazine.com

* "Sun of a Gun" is the lead single from Oh Land's sophomore record, Oh Land. The former ballerina took the indie scene by storm last year with the record's release stateside after enjoying critical acclaim at home in Scandinavia with her debut, Fauna. Owning the full set, I assure you that you and Alice have never seen (or heard) a Wondøland quite like this.

If There's A Chance She'll Break, She's Gonna Smash It To Pieces

Hi pretty people! Please accept my deepest apologies for being absent lately, university can be a witch of a different letter. I advise you all to rethink that extremely snarky email you write to a teaching assistant that falsely accuses you of plagiarizing yourself. Though hilarious in its witticisms and wordplay, it may not come off as endearing to some individuals.

This is a roundabout way of telling you that I will be addressing my inbox of praise, marriage proposals, and vicious spam over the holidays with sugar, spice, and/or bitchy delights. Happy farking Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

More importantly, these last couple of weeks have been oddly eventful for Freja, with the announcement of three campaigns and a couple other odds and ends. First up was an appearance in V Magazine's model issue (aka #74, Winter 2011). She was shot by Terry Richardson for the spread, and then cropped into the shot by means of photo shop. Not the most artistic of endeavours, but they put her beside Daria, which is almost too much gorgeous northern starry-ness to handle at once.

We also have a collection of the photos Terry took of Freja for this shoot, courtesy of the man's insistence on documenting every moment he spends with anybody awesome, which is just about everybody he spends moments with. Say what you want about his morals and ethics, but that's one thing that we can be thankful for. (Dear Lady Gaga, I hope you can see how very hard I am trying here. Like really trying.)

Yeah, so that happened, and the Europeans were like "yeh yeh yeh...", and the Americans were like "Gaga, pass the cranberry sauce," and then everyone was like "FREJA HAS BREAST CANCER! THINGS WILL NEVER BE THE SAME AGAIN!". And I, sitting at my computer reading emails in a place that looks a lot like Sweden, just with snow, decided that Freja fans had officially won the Non Sequitur of the Century Award, narrowly beating out everything Jo Thornley has ever said. I mean seriously you guys, what the fuck.

All of this was spurred on by what should have been like really happy news, being the reveal of paparazzi photos of Freja and Arizona Muse in matching Chloe dresses somewhere in California, which was later identified as a shoot for the French fashion house's spring 2012 campaign. But you know, it was an honest mistake by worried fans, so don't worry about this time too much. Just keep in mind that the moment you believe one rumour, the less likely you are to see the next one coming on the horizon.

The moral of this story is that Freja has armpits and a Chloe campaign, not mammogram scars.

So getting back to important business, what do we think about Freja bagging Chloe? Any Sigrid fans totally pissed off? While I commiserate with my second favorite Frenchie, I'm pleased that Freja has gotten another Chloe campaign: she's always been able to carry off the minimalist 70s look rather charmingly.

Finally, we also learned that Freja will be starring in the S/S 2012 campaign for HUGO by Hugo Boss! All that has been released thus far is a solitary photo of her playing at 30 seconds with Sean O'Pry, but there will surely be more along shortly with the German fashion darlings being so promotionally driven.

Well, that's it for now, but I'm sure I'll be back with more news in a mo... If you're feeling  particularly bored between this and the next post, you can play "I spy with my bionic eye something referring to Melanie C" with this post. In the meantime, I hope you all have an excellent Christmakah/Ramadan/Kawanza/Festivus/etc!

Peace, love (actually), and floating,
Gill Ford

P.S.: Hats off to Atlantic Canada for being an excellent Christmas destination. City of Lakes for the win!

Photos courtesy of models.com, terrysdiary, and tFS user Bigmax


* "Think About It" is the lead single from Melanie C's fifth studio album, The Sea, just released the past September. Written and recorded in Copenhagen, it probs would have been even more successful if she released the remixed version (a la "I Turn To You"), but we love the Katy Perry-esque track anyway. The Sea has been quite well received by critics, and is probably one of her better records to date. You should buy it. Not just because it's great, but because Mel is an absolute sweetheart, and we were BFFs at a German airport once in 2007. Sometimes, I'm jealous of me too.

The World Tied in the Palm of Her Hand

Never let the doubt get you down friends. It was only a matter of days ago when everyone was proclaiming the end of Freja's professional relationship with Karl Lagerfeld, but to say such preconceived notions of demise were premature were obviously, well, premature. I think it's time we all surrendered ourselves to the fact that in the Kaiserchief's band, Freja is the metaphorical cowbell, and we just can't get enough (re: we just can't get enough).

All of this is a roundabout way of retelling you all how the Great Dane is now featured in the newest Karl-shot campaign for French luxury department store, Printemps. I'm sure you will all be pleased to hear that Freja is bedecked in the glory of Chanel for the campaign, so that connection seems to remain semi-stable as well.

The Christmas campaign, which is visible even now on Printemps' website, depicts Karl's eternal muse holding the world, like every other heavily-depended-upon individual, in the palms of her hands. If you didn't catch the subliminal message I projected there, the moral of the story is that Karl thinks Freja's awesome, Printemps thinks Freja's awesome, and the advertising world thinks Freja's awesome, so I still have a job, and you lot still have orgasms. What seems to have been lost along the way are Freja's pants, but that's okay, because it means I can mention Lady Gaga in what is becoming a stream of pop music/culture references.

If any of you are interested, Karl is also designing the store windows for la grand magasin. You can have a peek at the frightful results (I'm not going to be judgmental, but there are dolls. So I judge "psychologically disturbed".) and Vanessa Paradis (who is there for no apparent reason, beyond being a pretty, French lady, or a pretty French lady) over at the linked website, or by clicking here. You can also rock on over and check out the windows for previous seasons, which were more fun, and will inspire less mental distress.

But for those of you only here for Freja, here's the making of for her side of the campaign. It is documented proof of everything I have said in this post. It's also always interesting to see the interactions between model and photographer. Personally, I was expecting Karl's instructions to be much more descriptive, as opposed to whistling and to-the-pointedness, but the man is German, after all.

So given the theme of the campaign (globe-trotting and stuff), what are you all doing for Christmas/the holidays? Any big plans? Please keep in mind that if you are leaving your present location for the tropics in order to avoid the snow, I will have no choice but to think of you as less than a person. Even Karl's evil little clone dolls like snow.

Peace, love, and floating,
Gill Ford

*"Spirit" is a totes brill song from Eric Burdon & War. It is one of the few songs in history that should never be criticized for a lack of cowbell. Incidentally, if you haven't heard of War, it will be declared upon you. Here's a Copenhagen performance from 1971, because we love Denmark so much.


Photos courtesy of printemps.com

Via, Via, Vieni Via Con Me

I've received a few requests to review Freja's spot for Valentino's Valentina fragrance, so I suppose that is what I'll do now in this spare minute. Directed by the incomparable Johan Renck, it's totes brill. But first of all, you lot should watch it, seeing as you probably haven't already. If you like, you can interpret that as a generalized slight at your collective inability to find shit on your own without my help. Now SHUT YOUR WHORE MOUTHS, Paolo is singing:

I especially like the 49-second segment where they shout "VALENTINA!" with varying amounts of vocal and auditory strain. Not only did they save money on script writers, they ensured that viewers went away with a solid memory of what the product was called, which is more than I can say for those various commercials concerning erectile dysfunction. Now, we can split hairs about how I can probably relate more strongly to an admirably rebellious birthday girl than I can to a depressed man with a broken penis, but in the grand scheme of things, we're talking about good advertising here, not semantics.

Sorry for the crude language, I haven't met my Sunday quota.

What I think is particularly interesting about this commercial is that as opposed to selling just a product, Valentino is clearly marketing a lifestyle, or personality, if you will. With many brands, we see the discrimination between the product and the individual who is selling it to us; in this case, Freja is playing the role of a girl named "Valentina". So what we learn from the commercial is that buying the Valentina fragrance is like buying the essence of this girl we see ditching the public celebration of her birthday for a night out with friends. She's wealthy and glamorous, but she's not phased by running about through Roma in her heels. She's fun, she knows what she wants, and she will bloody well get what she wants when she wants it. Even if she has to leap out a window.

But I'm not too snazzy when it comes to advertising. The blatant stuff, anyhow. Preferring the more artistic side of things, I have always been a little dismissive of campaigns, with the exception of the odd one that is just beauteous. This one is wonderfully shot, with the dark tones vibrant with a warmth that you feel with the elevation of yellow tones as opposed to blues (which would provide a much darker atmosphere.

Camera views are dynamic, which allow the viewer to feel like they are trotting along through the entire sequence. But this is an important thing: We are always following Valentina, always viewing things from the perspective of someone who isn't quite on her level, whether it be tracking her from above on a terrace, or from across the street. We see her progress, but we are not a part of her world. And what does this do to us? It makes us want to be (I use "us" loosely, because most of the people reading this already wanted that anyway. But I'm just saying, Valentino covered their bases excellently.).

You wanted my opinion. Well that's all I have to say. So I'll throw in Freja's as well. She probably says something about it being "rock 'n roll" (because honestly, doesn't she always?), but I'm sure you will appreciate her perspective as well.

Yeah, so what she said, and what I said, that's all that's been said. So what are you lot saying?

Peace, love, and floating,
Gill Ford

"Via Con Me" is a song by an Italian fellow name Paolo Conte. We like him. 

O! How The Mighty Hath Fallen!

...

Yeah, I'm just kidding. The news was released yesterday via Tweety Bird and fashion journalist Jim Shi that Freja "Face of Chanel" Beha will NOT be the face of Chanel for 2012. Well, he didn't say so explicitly, but he didn't really have to. Whatever, here's the tweet:

I'm guessing you are all well pissed off right now right? Like on a Richter scale, you're the equivalent of that earthquake in Turkey? And to think, you're all just walking about, ready to explode at any unsuspecting stranger...

Well. I understand the anger, truly, I do. Freja has been the Chanel girl for what, the last five seasons? It has become a constant, expected thing. Some of you might not have been there at the beginning of fashion season, but I was, and this is what happened:

Naive Person: "Will Freja open Chanel? Will she close? Will she be in the campaign?"
The Voice of Reason: "Uhm derrrrrr; is the Pope a Catholic?"
Naive Person: "I think he is, actually, yeah."

Of course, the rest went down in history like The Flintstones and now everyone's wondering what the shit just happened. This is the part where I confess that I have NO idea. But somehow, I'm not worried.

Freja has been the Chanel girl for ages, but I think it is really important that we don't become reliant on that single image of her. Despite what advertisers would have us believe, Freja and Chanel are not synonymous. They can exist in unison, or independent of one another harmoniously. It's not as if Freja's career is now over; in fact, I would almost argue that it is quite the opposite: now that Freja is not entirely tied to Chanel, it opens up the opportunity to work for a wider variety of haute couture clients.

Allow me to elaborate on this brilliant little seed germinating in my mind.

For the last two and a half years, the fashion world has been fixated on this notion of Freja being Karl's muse. She is involved with just about everything he does, whether it be magazine editorials, shows, campaigns... even one of those calendars where you strip down and don a strategically-placed yamaclaus as Ms. December in the name of charity. Except that this one had a more artistic spin and was sold to make money for a wealthy tire company in Italy, instead of the children in third world countries.

Golden cod pieces aside, my point is that Freja and Karl have been nigh inseparable for this whole period of time. The problem this poses is that the implicit associations between Freja and Karl, or Freja and Chanel mean that no matter what brand name is on the ad, we will see Freja's face and immediately think "Karl" or "Chanel". I dub this the Lara Stone Conundrum.

For those of you who don't know, Lara Stone is BIG. Big boobs, big lips, big tooth gap. Big eyes that will stare into your guilty little soul. (She used to have a big forehead too, but then her eyebrows rematerialized.) Big attitude: a girl was loitering in front of her once during a show, so she shoved her out of the way. Of the incident, she replied "It was only a few stairs." Lara Stone, to be completely blunt, is sex appeal. And until extremely recently, she had a monopoly on almost EVERY campaign Calvin Klein produced. You used to think "Brooke Shields" or "Kate Moss" when you thought of Calvin Klein, but now it is "Lara Stone".

Fortunately for CK's bank account, this genius marketing ploy goes both ways. If you see Lara somewhere, you don't think "Prada" or "Versus". You think "Calvin Klein". This will take time (and perhaps the new found eyebrows?) to change. So Tom Ford, until further notice, is doing free advertising for Calvin Klein. Just so that you know.

Fortunately for Freja, she has not been as pigeon-holed as Lara Stone. Where the terms of Lara's contract essentially meant she was promoting ONLY Calvin Klein each season, Freja has been busy with campaigns for other labels, not just Chanel. A strong relationship with Valentino has been developing for the last few seasons, as well as a string of H&M and Harry Winston campaigns. Freja is even setting up shop with Denmark's oldest luxury jewelry label Georg Jensen, not just as the company's face, but also as a designer. Earlier this month, she even became a philanthropist, which was totally rad (do we want a post on this?).

Suddenly, Freja and Chanel are looking more like biffles than conjoined twins, am I right?

So in response to the frantic emails pouring into my inbox even as I type this, no, I am not worried. Freja's career will live on for many years, whether she continues to appear in Chanel ads or not. (In fact, chances are that she'll pop up in the eyewear campaign, or maybe even a perfume ad?) Who knows, I wouldn't be surprised if she gets a single-girl campaign for F/W 2012. If Freja and Chanel are done forever, I will happily eat a bolt of tweed, but I hardly think that that is the null hypothesis in this situation.

I, for one, am happy for the girls who did get the campaign. Saskia has been getting a lot of hype the last two seasons, and I am looking forward to seeing how this all turns out for her. And Joan Smalls? When was the last time Chanel had a black girl in their campaign? Racism has been a huge topic in fashion for such a long time, and I think it's great that we are beginning to see some of these barriers broken down.

This is my take on it all, but I know there's a wide range of opinions on this particular subject, so I'll leave the rest to you. If you agree, or disagree, or differ in opinion, I would love to hear what you have to say, and I'm sure everyone else would appreciate another perspective. So please take full advantage of the comment section below!

If you're not comfortable with discussing this at the present time (for whatever reason: shyness, anger-induced silence, carpel tunnel, lack of fingers, whatever), I'll leave you with this: If you can't be happy for Saskia and Joan, be happy for the bright future Freja has ahead of her. She's facing the sun now, but she's definitely not casting any shadows.

Peace, love, and floating,
Gill Ford

P.S.: I'm pleased to see that you are taking full advantage of my email address, and encourage you all to continue to do so as you feel the need. I'll do my best to answer any questions you have, whether they be Freja-related or otherwise. If I'm stumped, I'll try to refer you to someone who's smarter than me (I keep tabs on all three of them) so you can get your business sorted. Today I dealt with some fun issues that included anorexia, lesbians, and what I did on Vladimir Putin's birthday. So you know, anything goes.

P.P.S.: I'm also aware that the night is dark and full of terrors, and you were all left in it for the last five months. So if there is anything that you know happened, or suspect might have happened while you were flailing about like headless chickens, give me a shout and I'll wiggle my fingers about with some scented candles and tea leaves and we'll see what happens.  

The Tale of a Fairy: A Study in Frejanomics and the Catherine McNeil Effect

So, the reviews are already pouring into my inbox and the comment section, and I'm happy to report that you all love me. My ego and I agree that we like you, Freja fans. To be precise, we think each and every individual one of you are a cornucopia of awesomeness (that one's for you, Canadians).

Because I'm just raring to go, I'll chuck this article at you. Written back around the time this blog stopped being updated, it is my own reaction to Karl Lagerfeld's The Tale of a Fairy. On my blog, it generated a fair bit of discussion, and that was just a small group of Freja followers, so no doubt putting it here will give you all something to mull over.

I mentioned a little while ago that this blog would not be about Freja's personal life. I suppose this post makes me a liar, but I think it is necessary to confront this topic specifically at this point in Freja's career, which is quite clearly reaching a tipping point. While initially a sort of cult model, Freja is moving fast towards supermodel status, and with that comes a host of new factors with the potential to influence the future of her life in the fashion world.

So chew on this for a little while. Spit it out if you don't like it. But when you're done, come back and post the bits that got stuck in your teeth. I want to know what the after taste was.

*******

There is little else in the world of fashion that is more exciting than the Chanel Cruise collections, which are shown in wealth-laden/fantastic/breath-taking locations each year. But this event is not anticipated for the clothes so much as for the inevitable euphoria that comes in the form of Kaiser Karl's endeavours into the world of cinema. Last year, he took us to St Tropez with the gripping feature Remember Now. But for 2012, he has really given it his all, travelling down the coast to the Antibes for The Tale of a Fairy (Part 1, Part 2), starring a frighteningly high-strung Kristen McMenamy, a gorgeous-as-ever Anna Mouglalis, and a curiously talkative Freja Beha Erichsen. There's some pretty boys as well.

Karl's filmmaking skills have certainly improved since last season; in terms of the cinematography, it was very well done, and the acting wasn't quite as horrendously embarrassing and discomforting as it was last time around. Of course, nobody really payed any attention to any of that sort of thing. I mean, I would totes magotes have found those facets interesting. I might even have paid attention to the clothes if Anna's numerous admirers were ever wearing any. As it was, I was distracted by the same thing as everyone else, being the Sapphic shenanigans that completely dominated the final 25% of the film, during which 90% of Freja Beha's fans sighed with cathartic satisfaction.

I mean, as scandalous as it is, who really gives a shit that Kristen McMenamy is apparently carrying on with Baptiste Giabiconi, who is apparently her godson? Who cares about how 'pretty' the film looked, or how 'creative' the collection was, or how 'improved' Karl's cinematic skills are? Keeping in mind that we have not been enticed to look forward to this annual event in the expectation of anything Oscar worthy, one would think that the latter might have been noted more by all the highly educated, realistic, and critical viewers who turned up for the affair. As this was not the case, The Tale of a Fairy will be from hereafter referred to as The Time Where Freja and Anna were Pashing in the Lou. Or, for a multitude of others, The Time Where Freja Was Pashing Someone I Didn't Know, But Imagined was Me, in the Lou. 

I don't know what Chanel herself would have to say about all of this, but I have a feeling that it's not really a good sign when the clothes you have made are not just overshadowed, but entirely ignored because you've filmed FBE enjoying the taste of another girl's cherry chapstick. I read an article a few days ago that I found rather interesting, and actually quite relevant to this case here. Under the title "Skinny Again, Crystal Renn," David P Dykes (the irony is killing you all right now, I know) of fashionising.com muses over the famous anorexic-turned-plus-sized model's recent shoot for TUSH with Ellen von Unwerth, and the concept of the "celebrity model," pioneered by (who else) Kate Moss and attempted by various others, none of whom have managed similar success. He notes that "the Catherine McNeil effect" (a.k.a., when the celebrity of a model takes precedence over their work) is one that a number of models have unfortunately fallen victim to as models become ever more interesting to the public. Renn, who is perhaps the most well known plus sized model in fashion right now (seriously, Tyra, shut the fuck up), is remarkably un-plus sized in the shoot. I would particularly like to draw attention to the final part of the article:

[...] when you're a model your career is dependent on helping fashion houses sell clothing and accessories but their target market sees your photos and take in solely the shape of your body, there's a danger for your career.

In the same vein, I am wondering whether Freja's personal life may threaten the longevity of her career. There are many brands making money off of her at the moment (Georg Jensen and Harry Winston, to name a few), and I am curious to know what about her appeal appears to be driving the sales (assuming that there are no confounding variables in the correlations between her being the face of a brand and that brand's sales spikes). Does Freja sell because of her 'look', or does she sell because of the asterix note that reads "lesbian"?

I find it hard to believe that enough people are aware of the numerous rumours surrounding her personal life for there to be any reason but the former. She is (in)famous across the fashion industry and it's followers, but I think it would be ridiculous at this point to suppose that the majority of the general public even know what her name is, let alone what team she purportedly bats for, and that seems to be the best thing for a model. But with Freja's ever-rising popularity and notoriety, I fear that she may find herself falling victim to a similar fate as her rumoured ex (Side note: if this ends up happening, how incredibly tragic is the tale of McBeha? Someone tell Karl. Sure, a tragic film might get you a SAG award, but a tragic film about lesbians? Charlize Theron and Natalie Portman will be the first to attest that those ones win freaking Oscars.). What happens when people do know her name, and even more dauntingly, care enough to investigate what's going on behind the scenes? How will designers (other than Karl, obviously) react to a model who the public views increasingly as "the lesbian model"?

If the most recent pigeon-holing of Freja as "the androgynous model" is anything to go by, labels are hard to shake in an industry where models are meant to be blank canvasses. The boyish cut Freja sported for a couple of years resulted in a drop in her workload that rattled her loyal fanbase. But hair grows back, and once hers did, the pigeon-holing began to happen less frequently, to the point where she is now garnering more attention from designers with more feminine aesthetics. It is my hope that the growing publicity surrounding Freja and her sexuality does not become a limiting factor in what is an already stellar career, but as Dykes so eloquently indicated, fashion is not supposed to be about the model, but the clothes and the message of the brand that model is promoting. Freja is a good model to be sure, but is she good enough for designers to risk including the (sometimes dangerous) term "lesbian" in their list of attributes? I certainly don't care, but then, I am not a market scientist.

Cometh the Catherine, cometh the Freja.

Peace, love, and floating,
Gill Ford

By Way of Introduction

Hello, darling Freja fans...

This is one of the less awkward things I have done in my life, but do not take that to mean it is not an uncomfortable feeling to suddenly take over another girl's blog. My predecessor Rrose Selavy (Chanel bless her soul) has seen fit to leave the Freja Beha blog to me.

As I'm sure you have all been wanting to know for a very long time whether the Freja Beha blog will be continuing, allow me to clear that bit up first and foremost: the answer is YES. Having said that, pertinent readers will note in the byline that this post is not being written by your ever-beloved blogger, but some other person that you've never heard of before, unless you actually read the three or four books she submitted as comments on a few posts here. As opposed to seeing the block of text and making a mental note that reads "tldr". Or you know, maybe you just don't read comments in general.

Well, for those of you in the former group, I am afraid to tell you that chances are optimistic that you should be overwhelmingly pessimistic about what I am going to do to this blog. I am overly fond of words, and do not intend to develop short-windedness any time soon.

Everyone of the latter club, you can stick around. I am very fond of narrow-minded blog readers. Why? Because as long as you're reading what I'm writing, my ego stays bigger than Napoleon's, I keep writing, and the little Frejanites continue to squee. Are you picking up what I'm putting down?

I'm leaving my favorite blog readers for last. These are those readers who I positively adore. It will surprise those of you who have discerned my narcissism to know that these are the readers who are not here for my opinion. These are the readers that are here to discuss. It could be a comment here and there, it could be simply thinking critically about the presented material. Who knows, some of you nutters might even write a thesis on Frejanomics or something.

I say all this because if there is one thing I appreciated about Rrose's blog, it was not just the blogger's opinions, which I always found wonderfully insightful and informative. It was that Madame Selavy encouraged the growth of a community of fans around Freja Beha Erichsen. This meant that visiting her blog was not just an exposure to her musings over Freja's work, but also provided an opportunity to explore the interpretations of other fans who were likewise thoughtful.

This is something that I would like to continue during my residency here. I cannot stress enough how much value I place in the interpretation of art. That is, after all, what we do here. The dedication of this blog to the activities of one model in particular has never meant that this is an avenue for gossip about Freja's personal life. This is not a tabloid. I would prefer the descriptor not-for-profit academic journal. Given that we are discussing the artistic world, I am sure the pretentiousness of that can be excused collaterally.

I am looking forward to blogging for you all with every fibre of my being, though it would seem that Freja has been eating a few Kit-Kat bars of late. I will be keeping an eye out for news of new work from our Danish Dame, but until such a time as any arises, feel free to check out my personal blog at http://notsoswedish.blogspot.com (I post there. Sometimes.). If you are wanting a better idea of what my work with regards to Freja will be looking like, have a peak at http://thebrasch.blogspot.com.

Oh, it just so happens that I have Twitter too @notsoswedish. Do not follow me. I'm dreadfully unhilarious.

If it happens that you hate what you're reading, give me a shout, and I'll see if I can't find a better blog for you to read. Which is a backhanded way of telling you to SHUT YOUR WHORE MOUTH, which is something I would obviously never say unless we were speaking in person. All jokes aside though, I do intend to take your criticisms to heart, and if you have any concerns about my writing, please let me know. I can be reached most directly at notsoswedish@gmail.com.

Well, I guess that's all I have to say to you all for now. Except that you should probably go wax your legs, seeing as you've been reading this for two weeks or so.

Peace, love, and floating,*
Gill Ford

*It all makes total sense to you guys now, doesn't it?