A Flood of Ads

When it rains, it really pours. Much like the deluge that those in California experienced these past few weeks, the fashion industry has seen an out pouring of the campaign variety. And not one to be left out these days, Freja makes her (newly cheery) presence known in campaigns for three brands:

Chanel by Karl Lagerfeld
(Nothing too special, but I guess the formula works for Chanel customers, which is why Karl has stuck with it for the past few seasons. Last two shots are my favorites.)

Louis Vuitton by Steven Meisel

Georg Jensen by Unknown Sebastian Faena

Sometimes I still can't believe how popular Freja got. All of these campaigns? Three Vogue Italia covers within a year? Status as a Meisel favorite? A few years ago all of this would have been unimaginable to me as a fan, and maybe that's partly why I started this blog. Because I just couldn't understand why such a wonderful, versatile, enthralling and intriguing model was being overlooked by nearly everyone except Karl Lagerfeld. So I just had to write about it. And now here we are and Freja is definitely no longer overlooked (but I do not take credit for this, lest you misread my words). She has worked with nearly all the top photographers and been featured in nearly all the major magazines. She also has plenty of stans, tumblrs and sites dedicated to her; enough that I continually question myself about keeping this one running because it feels like there's less and less of a reason to do so.

Anyway, lots of people say that she is overexposed and I actually completely agree. But you know what? I'm just going to go with it because she is a great model (those who say otherwise have no knowledge of her complete oeuvre) who deserves to be acknowledged after 6 years of hard work in the industry, and truth be told I'd rather see her face plastered everywhere than some 16 year old's. The requisite backlash and bashing that comes with this kind of model success has already started in the tFS campaign threads, and I only expect it to get worse. But c'est la vie. You don't survive for half a decade in the industry without developing a very thick skin. And let's face it, most of that anger is displaced disappointment about people's own favorite models not getting certain campaigns or not being featured in certain magazines.

It's no secret that I have my own love/hate relationship with Freja's image in the modeling industry. Maybe hate isn't the right word....annoyance is more like it. I've been guilty of expressing my fair share of criticism, but it comes from a place of respect, admiration and a complete belief that Freja is capable of being more than just the stereotype that she's been saddled with. I think we're seeing signs of a sea change now, as a few of these ads show a new direction for Freja. A direction where she is allowed to be happy and radiant instead of only tough and morose. If so, then this underexposed aspect of her modeling is another welcomed chapter in her already illustrious career. And I hope it means that 2011 will be a year of continued evolution and more surprises, instead of overexposure and hackneyed concepts. Whether I'll write about it as much as I have been is up in the air, and I guess subject to my own whims and boughts of inspiration. Then again, maybe this is all just the post-holidays blues talking, so we'll see!

Image Credits: scans by tFS members gossiping, rox_yr_sox, style_expert