Balenciaga Beckons

We have touch down in Paris! After a disappointing absence at Dries Van Noten yesterday, Freja finally made her first runway appearance in Paris at the Balenciaga show, walking in the second to last look before Gisele. Not too shabby. And with two looks at Balmain already under her belt as well, Paris is turning out to be as we expected.

What I didn't expect from Paris is the general lackluster feel of the collections so far. After a brilliantly colorful week in Milan, rocker chicks, leather, and studs all seem kind of passe to me. Even Dries didn't bring the usual eccentricity that I've come to love and expect from him. What gives? Have Milan and Paris traded places this season? I guess it's too early to tell, but I hope the rest of the designers step it up a bit.

Image Credits: style.it

Portraits

We have our first look at Freja's role in the Balenciaga F/W 10.11 campaign:

I really think I love this. If it looks this eye catching in these low-res images, then I can only imagine how great it will look in the magazines. Things always look better in print, especially Balenciaga ads that seem to be made with the two page magazine format in mind. Remember last season's cut and paste job? Perfect example of how to engage readers by utilizing the inherent qualities of the format at hand. Not everyone liked the ads visually, but as tactile and tangible pages, I felt they were immensely successful.

Anyway, I also really love the unconventional model choices. Each girl is unique enough on her own that you really don't think they will all mesh well together to create one coherent campaign. But when you see the full set of images, you begin to understand that it's their quirks that bind them together. It's like one magnificent family portrait series. The focus on each girl is so serious and intense that it feels like a psychological study. And even though the aesthetics are nothing alike, I get a sense of Johannes Vermeer and his portrait work. I feel it most in the quiet gravity of the atmosphere and the heavy presence of the individual persons. In the following comparison, the use of clothing is of particular interest.

Maybe I'm the only one that sees any relation, but I do. It's by no means obvious; just more about the feeling I get, the response I have and the associations my minds draws up. Modern day women wearing very modern clothes, yet posed and captured in such traditional ways. It's this collision (no pun intended) of old and new, traditional and progressive, classic and modern, that makes these images quite captivating. But enough analyzing for now. I can't wait to see these in HQ!

In other news, if you want to read a great piece of writing on Freja and the impact of her latest VP editorial, please check out Fashion Does It Better. It's thoughtful, beautiful and it really says it all.

"In the recent rush for breaking the rules or boundaries, many actually miss the start and often forget that the actual backbone of fashion (and fashion photography) is its ability to let one's face and body express and feelings explode."

When I read something like this I feel refreshed and inspired again by the insight and intelligence that fashion is capable of breeding.

Image Credits: balenciaga.com via tFS member tarsha, artnet.com

Freja is Back for Balenciaga

Add another brand to Freja's campaign count this season! The news comes from vogue.it (via tFS), so it's legitimate and confirmed instead of just speculations and hearsay:

"A bevy of top-model beauties and top-notch photographer: these are the ingredients behind Balenciaga's Fall-Winter 2010 campaign.

The legendary maison under the creative direction of Nicolas Ghesquière for more than a decade, features some of today's youngest and most successful supermodels: Freja Beha Erichsen, Stella Tennant, Mirte Maas, Karen Elson, Julia Step, Meghan Collinson (sic), Eliza Cummings and Iselin Steiro.

Steven Meisel, who photographs regularly for Vogue Italia and Vogue America, has already photographed the ads for a lot of French brands.

The styling has been overseen by Marie Amelie Sauvé, Ghesquière's friend and muse, along with being the stylist for the Italian and American editions of Vogue."

It will be great to see Freja modeling for Balenciaga again, along with the likes of Iselin, Karen and Stella (talk about flashback to the early 2000's!) As for the rest of the cast....I'm definitely apprehensive. On an individual model basis, my feelings run the gamut from absolute love to strong dislike. So I really don't know what to expect from a campaign combining all these girls with such differing aesthetic appeals. To make this more digestible, pictures arranged in alphabetical, first name order for those who don't know their models:

Now imagine how they will all fit into one campaign. Can you see it? I'm having a hard time discerning an overarching vision and cohesion here. Then again, maybe they'll be shot separately like the models were for SS09. Regardless, I'm happy that Freja has finally landed in a Meisel Campaign. Even though her two previous Balenciaga campaigns were both shot by David Sims, I still have high hopes for this one. The strange combination of models all put together might actually just work. Don't let us down Meisel. You have a lot to live up to, because it would literally be heaven to see something as good as these again:

SS06


FW0506

And talk about being at the top of your game. Congrats Freja on being both a Chanel and Balenciaga girl this season. You're as in demand as you ever were and finally making up for all those skipped seasons. :P

Image Credits: style.com, bwgreyscale

Balenciaga and the Case for Change

I realize my posts lately have revolved more around shopping and clothes rather than Freja. I guess this must be a result of fashion month having just ended, the season changing from summer to fall (and thus necessitating a new wardrobe) and fall sales starting in anticipation of the holiday shopping season. Anyway, I thought some of you might want to know that Freja's wearing Balenciaga boots in this picture.

Perhaps another take-away from walking the show? Her style really has evolved since the beginning of her career. Gone are the Kawasakis and Rag & Bone leather jacket. In their place we have Balenciaga nearly from head to toe. Change is good. It's a sign of growth, maturity and acceptance of the evolving world around you. No one wants to be the same forever. I'm just surprised we didn't see this change happen sooner. Most new girls seem to buy into the hype and perks surrounding them almost immediately, not that that's a bad thing at all. For example, new face Keke Lingard is already sporting Acne wedges, the season's hottest shoe. During Freja's first season, she was still wearing her Kawasakis.

It seems like it took a little longer for Freja to accept her place in the fashion industry and her role as a model. She debuted during the FW0506 and we only started to see designer duds creep into her wardrobe last FW0910 season, starting with this Balenciaga leather bag.

I realize it may seem ludicrous to some of you that I'm using Freja's sartorial choices as an indicator of where she is in life and her relationship to fashion. I'm probably projecting, but I think you'd have to be blind not to notice a marked change in Freja over the last two seasons. Her approach to work, the type of work she doing and the quantity of it are different and I'm just curious as to why. I see evidence of this change most obviously in her style so maybe that's another reason why I've been doing so many clothes posts recently. I don't purport to know the real facts or give definite answers...I just want to make observations and provoke some thought.

Image Credits: coolhunt.net, barneys.com, superfantasticpicturetime, pic taken by tFS member devondevore

Model Perks

As if being tall, gorgeous and genetically blessed weren't enough, models get to enjoy some additional perks from the job. Many designers will pay girls in trade for walking in their runway shows. With some shows topping 60+ models, it's a way for designers to keep costs down. Now, whether you think this is a fair exchange is another story...

I guess it just depends on how you look at it. For girls like Freja, it's a definite perk. She's established and with 5 campaigns just this season, you could say that she's already set financially. (And often times established girls will actually get paid and then get free clothes on top of that.) For a girl just starting out, it's a different story. Agency fees take up what little she makes on various shoots, so only getting paid in clothes, shoes and/or accessories for endless hours of work (fittings, go-sees, etc...) is pretty much a rip-off. As you get older you begin to realize that one of life's biggest ironies is that things come free to people who can afford to pay for them. And if you can't afford to pay, things will cost you an arm and leg. Comme ci, comme ça...

Anyway, before I veer way off topic, Freja got some awesome perks this season and I'm totally jealous.

Balenciaga Leather Motorcycle Jacket


Rag & Bone Motorcycle Boots

Notice a theme here? Should we be on the lookout for an actual motorcycle now? :) The appearance of the jacket mid-fashion month tells us she picked it up after walking the Balenciaga show. Or it could have been a present, like some jackets last season. And most likely the same goes for the Rag & Bone boots. You can't deny, girl's got good taste.

Image Credits: shopbop.com, matchesfashion.com, coolhunt.net via tFS member slow_hands

Balmania

I normally don't update after every show Freja walks in because it would get very repetitive since most of you are already glued to tFS. However, I just had to make an exception today in honor of Daria returning to the runway! In probably the best surprise of the season, Daria walked in the Balmain show held earlier today, opening and closing it. Too bad this will be her only show of the season.

Freja also walked the show of course, in addition to walking Balenciaga early this morning. Daria is only second to Freja in my book, so I'm thrilled they're on the same runway together again. The last time this happened was the Versace FW0809 show nearly 2 years ago. I just love it when my favorites walk the same shows because it makes things that much more memorable. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we get some good backstage pictures. Paris is shaping up to be a dream so far, isn't it?

How amazing does she look?! When I see someone like Daria on the runway, all the newer girls suddenly become inadequate and completely pale in comparison.

Image Credits: catwalking.com via tFS member Nils, style.it