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.

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.  

One Girl

Seven Chanel campaigns overall

Five in a row

Three solo campaigns

One girl

It really doesn't get any better than that. As WWD tells us, the F/W 11 12 Chanel campaign was shot in Paris and styled by none other than Carine Roitfeld. With the darker and tougher collection, Carine styling and Freja modeling, the results should be nothing short of amazing.

But wait, it does get better.....kind of. Depends on whether you enjoy Karl's short films, because he's shooting another one for the upcoming Chanel Cruise collection.

"To wit: Lagerfeld has assembled a slew of his favorite ladies — including Erichsen, Lady Amanda Harlech, Anna Mouglalis and Kristen McMenamy — to star in a movie he is making in tandem with the Chanel cruise collection he will show in Antibes on May 9. It will be shot in Monaco and other locations in the South of France."

With this 7th Chanel campaign under her belt, Freja sits firmly at the top of the modeling world. I started this blog partly so I could vent about what I saw as her wasted potential back in '08 and '09, but now that she's so successful I really don't know what this blog stands for anymore. Maybe it's segued into an homage, or a place to talk about the work free from petty gossip, or a force of writing habit, or.....I don't know. Whatever it is, I'm just so happy and proud that we've all been able to witness the changes, the ups and downs, and the transformations as they've happened.

Valentino Perfume Campaign!

Once again, thanks to a comment from one of the amazing readers of this blog, we have some great news to end the month on! Freja just shot a perfume campaign for Valentino!!

The news comes via WWD:

"Director Johan Renck, who has just wrapped filming the latest Valentino perfume ad campaign, starring Freja Beha Erichsen, said he’s eager to work with Swedish actress Noomi Rapace, of “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” fame."

Two print campaigns and now a perfume campaign!? Chiuri and Piccioli sure do love her. Anyway, no other details to report as of now. But congrats to Freja for the get. These contracts are what most models dream of and work towards. And thank you to the anonymous commenter for the tip. This blog could most certainly not run without it's lovely and perceptive readers. :)


Side note: To any readers in Japan, or readers with family or friends in Japan, our thoughts and prayers are with you.

Valentino on Repeat

The new year brings more good news for Freja fans. She's returning as one of the faces of Valentino for their S/S 11 ad campaign shot by David Sims. You can see last season's campaign here.

"For their Spring 2011 ad campaign, Valentino’s Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli tapped three of the hottest models of the moment—Freja Beha Erichsen, Caroline Brasch Nielsen, and Julia Saner—to showcase their gossamer-light collection. David Sims shot the black-and-white images in Valentino Garavani’s Place Vendôme home—what the designers call “a poetic and ultra-chic Paris setting.” It is Sims’ second campaign for the house.

“These dreamy black-and-white shots show three different beauties, each with something unique,” Chiuri and Piccioli explain to Style.com. “This is a very feminine, stylish campaign, with a light, playful twist that reveals the Spring 2011 collection’s airy atmosphere and captures the brand’s lifestyle. In cinematic style, we wanted to tell the stories of three different women enjoying private moments in the comfort of their homes.”"

The only shot released so far features newcomer Julia Saner. Freja's and Caroline Brasch Nielsen's shots have yet to be released. This is the third major blue-chip campaign of the season for Freja, which is pretty amazing and shows us that her dominance appears to be continuing strong from 2010 into 2011. If you look at her track record, the SS seasons never seem to turn out as successful campaign wise when compared to the FW seasons. But that seems to be changing this time around. Now to see if this momentum will carry on into the F/W 11/12 runway season, or if Freja will begin to slow down like her peers (see Lily, Raquel, etc...)


Side Note: I know I'm behind on my emails and posting. I still haven't tackled the LV and Chanel campaigns....the Holiday's will do that to you. :) My apologies and I hope to get things back in order these upcoming weeks. Thanks for your e-mails, tips and patience, and Happy 2011!

Random Bits: Hello Holidays!

Instead of being stuck in the cold east coast snow, I managed to escape for the holidays just in time. Woot! But that doesn't mean I've completely checked out.....yet. So here a few news bits to get you through the rest of the week, until you make it home for the holidays. :)

-Freja just wrapped up shooting in São Paulo for the Brazilian shoe brand Santa Lolla. The shoot took place today and yesterday, and she was shot by Henrique Gendre. Any Brazilians out there with encounter stories to share? (Thanks to reader Gabriela for the tip!)

Behind the scenes at Santa Lolla

-It's the end of the year and you know what that means....lists. Freja's made it onto Vogue UK's Best Dressed List of 2010, accompanied by a quote from uber talented and revered stylist Lucinda Chambers:

"Freja is the ultimate in boy/girl cool. She’s so down-played but everything she wears is exquisite. Every girls wants to look like Freja.”

That's quite an endorsement coming from Lucinda. Freja is 1 out of the 6 models featured on the 20 person list. The others are Edie Campbell, Elisa Sednaoui, Kate Moss, Lara Stone, and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley. (Hmmm, does anyone else think that Vogue UK is determined to make Edie the next big British model export? They put her in December's Star Girls ed, and now they feature her here again, when I can think of lots of other girls more deserving.) Now we wait and see if Freja will show up on any other lists. With the year she had, I'm kind of expecting it to be honest. But we'll see.

-Remember this twitpic that was burning up the blogs and forums a while ago? I got a tip from lovely reader Kate, letting us know that it's for the campaign of a Scandinavian based, fast fashion chain store with a predilection for designer collaborations. But shhhhhhhh, you didn't read it here.

-Lastly, thanks for the shout outs models.com and Unique Denmark! It's quite humbling, and also a bit embarrassing to know that this blog is being visited (and maybe even being read....ha!) by people who actually work in the industry. So thank you for that recognition. I guess it means that I must be doing something right. But all the credit of course goes to Freja for keeping all of us enthralled with her work, and to all you out there for your constant input, encouragement, tips and well wishes. I would have given up a long time ago if it wasn't for you amazing and passionate fellow fans. So thanks most of all, to you!

Image Credits: Noctilux tumblr via tFS member Carla-A

Campaign News - LV

I'm pretty much awe struck right now by this news:

I don't know if it gets any better than this. Kristen, Raquel and Freja by Meisel? Holy crap! Talk about talent overload. I just hope the results live up to the reputation of all those involved. And even if it doesn't, the pedigree of this job is enough to make me so excited and proud that Freja is included. She isn't the first name to come to mind when you think Louis Vuitton, especially since the last few campaigns have conditioned me to think of big name celebrities (Madonna) and traditional super models (Christy). But Freja can do glamorous, and she can do luxury; so under the guidance of Meisel I have high hopes for something great.

With Chanel and now Louis Vuitton on her campaign list, the S/S 11 season is turning out pretty well for Freja. Not as good as last season, but I think most of us know by now that the F/Ws seem to suit Freja and her aesthetic better anyway. And who knows....maybe we'll be surprised by more campaign news. After all, this entire year and has been nothing if not chock full of surprises. :)

Random Bits: The End of SS11 Edition

I finally had the time to catch up some on non-runway related Freja news, with the help from a few fellow Freja fans of course! Nowadays, there's entirely too much too keep track of, which is a very good thing I guess. Maybe it's not so good if you're trying to be comprehensive. But all any of us can do is try our best, especially coming off the runway season when every other model that you could possibly like has new updates to catch up on every single day. Anyway, here's what's happening off the runway for Freja. Some of it may be old to you, but it's all news to me:


-Freja will star in the upcoming campaign for Danish Jewelry label Georg Jensen. Always nice to see the Danes supporting their biggest model export since Helena Christiansen. TV 2 News in Denmark aired a feature on Freja a little over a month ago, which featured footage from the campaign shoot:

Thanks to the translation skills of AIHBA at tFS, you don't have to feel completely clueless while watching the clip.


-In other campaign news, Freja appears in the Harry Winston Jewelry campaign for Asian Markets. (At least I'm pretty sure it's only in Asian markets since I've never seen such an ad over here in the States.....I could be wrong though.) What's with the sudden proliferation of Jewelry campaigns? Regardless, it's a great step for Freja. Yeah, they're not exactly fashion forward, but they're stable, good paying jobs that require expensive, elegant looking models. Freja is expanding outside her stereotypes yet again, and looking good while doing it. This is why I gripe so much about wanting to see a feminine Freja....because the results looks like this!!

-In the strangest bit of news, Freja made Rolling Stone magazine's Hot List for 2010. I'm sure she must be thrilled, being the huge music aficionado that she is, but this is just so odd to me. For years I think we've all dealt with, and learned to come to terms with, the fact that Freja is a pretty niche model and relatively obscure person in general. (Isn't that part of what made her so special in the first place? You really felt like you discovered something and someone so unique who wasn't tainted by overexposure and extreme public scrutiny.) Now I wonder if and how that will change? Rolling Stone is a major magazine and this is undoubtedly good press and great exposure for Freja. But I'm going to proceed with caution. Either nothing changes and we all continue on like we did before, or we get a sudden influx of fans who are only interested in the "persona" that comes across in the accompanying article, instead of the model who does some really great work. I know I'm probably in the minority, but it's about the work for me and not about the personal life and all that it entails.

-Speaking of persona, Japanese magazine SPUR has a little feature on Freja in their November issue that shows you how you can emulate her style. It's cute, and I think it shows us that Freja is really starting to become a modeling trope, and I mean that in the nicest way possible.

I did a similar feature about a year ago, and looking back you can see how much and how little Freja's style has evolved. It's all basically the same, except now things are just a bit more polished, refined, and probably expensive. :)

Image Credits: bbs.sfileydy.com via tFS member candlebougie, frejabehalove.tumblr.com, twenner.com, vvshu.com via tFS member Flashbang

I Love You Karl

Yes, you Karl Lagerfeld. You, who have been the biggest and most loyal supporter of Freja. You, designer of Chanel, Fendi and up until this season Karl Lagerfeld. You, drinker of Diet Coke and wearer of sunglasses inside.

It's because of you Freja never faded away, even when she wasn't doing too well a few years ago. It's because of you that we get to see her in magazine ads every season. It's because of you that we can take comfort knowing she'll always be at at least one runway show during Resort and Couture seasons.

Thank you Karl and I love you Karl, no matter how ridiculous you may seem. My favorite model owes a large part of her career status and a record 4th consecutive Chanel campaign, amazing 6th overall, to your constant, unwavering support. I was a little bit worried when it seemed like your favor had swung over to Natasha, but I should know better than to doubt you.

Congrats on six Chanel campaigns Freja. You're a true Chanel woman and the perfect modern embodiment of the brand. I think you've most definitely secured your place in fashion history with this.

Direct from the source:

"Inès de la Fressange, the face of Chanel in the Eighties, will be back on the runway for the French brand at its show on Oct. 5, WWD has learned.

What’s more, Karl Lagerfeld has booked her to appear in Chanel’s spring/summer campaign, along with modeling greats from the two subsequent decades, Stella Tennant and Freja Beha Erichsen.

“She is beyond stunning,” Lagerfeld enthused about De la Fressange. “Also, she is the Parisienne.” Lagerfeld said the advertising shoot would take place in the south of France.

De la Fressange parted ways with Chanel in 1989 after a fracas over her lending her likeness to the French republic. But Lagerfeld and his former muse have recently enjoyed warm relations.

Today, De la Fressange is Roger Vivier’s brand ambassador."

More Max Mara Images

I really hope these aren't the campaign images because the gross overuse of Photoshop in them is criminal. Why even hire a model like Freja if you're going to alter her face so much?

After seeing this whole set I want to believe that these are just lookbook images, because these as a campaign would be pretty disappointing. I mean, when was a Max Mara campaign ever shot in black & white? And I know their campaigns are usually pretty minimal, but this would be taking things to an extreme. The images also seem too raw and bland to be a fully formed ad campaign. I don't know....what do you think? Actual campaign? Or something else?

Also, thanks again to the anonymous commenter for the tip! You're like my very own fairy god mother. :)

Image Credits: Max Mara Mexico Facebook

More Unexpected Camapaign News

Fresh from the WWD front (via tFS member tarsha) comes news that Freja will also appear in the upcoming F/W 10.11 Valentino ad campaign:

"One doesn’t usually equate the word “shocking” with the house of Valentino, but there’s a radical image change afoot there. The fall campaign, which breaks in the July issue of Italian Vogue, has a new photographer — David Sims, who replaced Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott, making this his first Valentino campaign, and mixes nudity in with clothed models. Creative directors Maria Grazie Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli opted for black-and-white and, for the first time, chose to shoot in the house’s historic Parisian headquarters in Place Vendôme. “The idea is that of an unexpectedly intimate black-and-white portrait with candid shots of unconventional, delicate and individual beauty and a more dangerous undercurrent,” said Chiuri. Added Piccioli, “We believe it is a very modern and feminine vision and we wanted to show each woman’s unique personal allure.”

The three models chosen to pose for the moody images are Freja Beha, Monika Jagaciak and Tati Cotlar, while Alex Gilbert provides the male presence. Each photo features two side-by-side shots of the same girl, one where she’s decked out in fall attire and the other naked, but cropped or posing to discreetly conceal her more intimate body parts — so magazines will run the ads."

Perhaps this news is a little less surprising than the Tom Ford Eyewear campaign news, but having Freja in a Valentino campaign is still out of the ordinary. Nevertheless, if this season is teaching us anything it's that Freja is truly one of the models of the moment.

Her campaign count so far is amazing:

Chanel Mainline
Chanel Eyewear
MaxMara
Balenciaga
Tom Ford Eyewear
Valentino

Quantity and quality of the brands, as all of them are top blue chip companies. As a longtime fan I'm overjoyed, but as always a little skeptical. Being "of the moment" carries an implicit connotation that the moment will end and you will be of the past before too long. Yes, I know I'm a strange fan because these are the first thoughts that run through my head. I think I've said it before on here, but market over saturation is never a good thing for the long term.

But maybe at this point it doesn't matter. Freja has proven herself to be indefatigable for the past five years, and all the success now is just part of the payoff, and part of the signs telling us she'll be around for another five years.

I guess I should just relax, revel in the moment and look forward to seeing the images roll in. Thoughts?

Tom Ford Eyewear

In other news, add one more campaign to Freja's impressive list this season:

"Tom Ford liked directing actor Nicholas Hoult in “A Single Man” so much that he recast him again in the role of fashion model. Ford photographed Hoult and model Freja Beha Erichsen in London for his fall campaign, composing the images with ravens. Hoult models Tom Ford men’s wear and eyewear, while Erichsen wears only eyewear and a strategically placed scarf. The new campaign breaks in the International Herald Tribune during Men’s Fashion Week in Milan and will run in September books."

I believe this marks their first time working together, as Ford had already left Gucci by the time Freja started walking its runways. This is a rather interesting choice for Ford. No offense to Freja, but she doesn't really fit the mold of a typical Tom Ford beauty. But maybe that's what he's going for with this campaign; he wanted to put forth a different aesthetic and move away from the extremely glamorous and sexy vibe he's so well known for. Or maybe this campaign will see Freja transforming into someone we've never seen before. After all, this past year has given us lots of unexpected moments and pairings as we've seen Freja's career rise to heights and achievements previously thought to be unattainable for her.

Images should be released shortly so I guess we'll soon find out the reasoning behind this interesting casting choice. I'm thrilled of course, but I still find it pretty strange to go from girls like Anna Maria Jagodzinska and Caroline Murphy....to Freja. Whatever, get it girl!

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

Campaign Rumblings

Edit: Apparently it is not Freja in Balmain or IM. Sorry for the false alarm. I should know better by now than to perpetuate unsubstantiated rumors, but it's hard not to get caught up in the frenzy. It still doesn't change the way I feel about campaign distribution. Anyway, continue along with your saturdays.....

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Three names, one model......two more campaigns? Balmain and Isabel Marant if you believe the hints and sly suggestions.

And I definitely do. Just take a look at the opening and closing exits in the FW1011 shows, and keep in mind who led the final promenades.

Also remember that Max Mara is already a given....just another brand with strong connections to Carine, Emmanuelle and the VP universe. Need I mention that both Balmain and IM are in that universe too?

Now take a look at the Vogue Paris Collections Cover, and the pieces begin to fit into place.

So the only thing I'm left wondering is, which month can we expect to see Freja on the cover of VP?

But for the sake of covering all the bases, there are lots of other models with three part monikers: Abbey Lee Kershaw, Anna Maria Jagodzinska, Caroline Brasch Nielsen, Hanne Gaby Odiele....but my mind keeps returning to just one: Freja Beha Erichsen.

Am I happy? Yes. But do I have reservations? Of course. I just never think it's a good thing when one model has a ton of campaigns because her work tends to lose impact when it's spread out over so much. And there is a lot of truth to the saying "you have to leave them wanting more." Over saturation usually leads to disappearance of the product or apathy from the consumers soon enough. So I guess we'll just see how this all plays out. Yeah, I know I'm not a very good fan because I should be all like "omg, this is amazing and the best thing ever." But I can't help feeling the way I feel....

Campaign News - Max Mara

She's done it! Freja has landed the F/W 10.11 Max Mara ad campaign shot by Mario Sorrenti. Perhaps not the biggest surprise considering she opened and closed the runway show, but a surprise nonetheless as it's a new campaign for her and she's not really known as a Sorrenti fave. Beside, we all know that opening and closing a show doesn't guarantee a model anything. (How many times has Freja opened and closed Akris? And instead Daphne Guinness has the campaign once again.)

Thanks to mikel at tFS for breaking the news:

"The face belongs to the Danish top model Freja Beha Erichsen: large, dark eyes, an angular face, a slim figure. Immortalized by the legendary photographer Mario Sorrenti. These are the two protagonists of the fall-winter 2010-2011 campaign by Max Mara, shot in Paris, which depicts the essential elegance of the label with an all black and white look at the collection. Hair and make-up have been created by Luigi Morenu and Aaron De Mey fpor Streeters. This is an "encore" performance for Sorrenti who also shot the fall-winter 2009 campaign featuring the model Eniko Mihalik."

I think it speaks loads to Freja's modeling ability that two labels generally thought of as very classic (Chanel and tweed suits, and Max Mara and camel coats) have her as their campaign girl. Classic isn't exactly the first thing that comes to mind when people think of Freja--edgy, modern, and androgynous are more the norms. But the classicism is there in the refined lines and structure of her face. The clean beauty that Freja is capable of portraying is the perfect compliment to the simple but elegant clothing of Max Mara. It's a pity that her off-duty persona has grown so much that it overshadows the many different facets that she's capable of expressing in her modeling work.

Even though the campaign might look similar to last seasons' as Max Mara always seems to have the same look to it's campaigns, I can't wait to see it. And just for the record, Freja also opened and closed the Isabel Marant runway show this past season.....

Image Credits: style.it

Cruisin

The FW shows are barely over and we already have news about Cruise Collections. According to Vogue.com:

"Lagerfeld is already at work on his next film, which will debut in St.-Tropez in May along with his [Chanel] cruise collection."

Chances are that Freja will walk. She hasn't missed a Chanel show in a long time, and she is the campaign girl for the third season in a row, fifth time over all. But I wonder who will be in the video? Perhaps Freja and Abbey since they're both staring in the FW campaign? Maybe Edita because she's been in all the past videos? (But she hasn't really been walking the Chanel runway recently.) Maybe Heidi? Baptiste for sure of course.

If Freja is in it, I just hope it's better than her last foray into acting. At least we know that she won't be asked to play a Chinese courtesan or peasant, so that's a start. Maybe with St. Tropez as the setting (and possibly inspiration?) we can expect a video of gorgeous models lounging around on a beautiful beach? Now that is a video that I can get behind 100%.

Speaking of Chanel, pictures of Karl, Freja and Abbey shooting the campaign have been all over blogs recently. But just in case you haven't seen them, here they are:

And tons more good ones here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rachel_photo/
Plus a wonderful, detailed writeup here.

They were shooting on Wednesday and Thursday down in Soho on Orchard street apparently, so for all the New Yorkers out there, this is your best chance to do some model watching and Karl watching. Maybe you'll spot him drinking Diet Coke without his sunglasses on, or listening to one of his hundreds of iPods....

Interesting choice for the campaign setting too. I bet you all were expecting a cold locale considering the big iceberg at the show and all. But Karl wouldn't be that predictable. With a barn as his setting for the SS10 show, you'd think he would have made use of his Vermont country house again for the campaign. But instead, he went all the way to Argentina. Anyway, I'm very excited to see how this campaign turns out given the setting. A little reminiscent of the old Daria Chanel campaign with that last shot, non? And I'm anxious to see how Abbey will fare as a Chanel girl. She isn't an obvious choice; but then again, neither was Freja when she was picked and look at where she is now. Five campaigns and counting....

Image Credits: elleuk.com and ajchen.com. streetlevel.com, thelodownny.com, misschico.com, fringesocial.blogspot.com all via tFS member slow_hands

Chanel Campaign News?

This might be a little pre-mature, but the source is pretty reputable. I think Freja might have the upcoming FW1011 Chanel campaign with Abbey.

"On the catwalk, practically every model sported some element of fur, beginning with two dashing couples who looked like wild Siberian polar explorers. Yet, while the intrepid voyagers, they also looked stunningly beautiful, Freja Beha in a leather bomber jacket with huge white faux fox trim and Australian model Abbey Lee in a head-to-toe patchwork polar bear mix. Lagerfeld will use both models in Chanel’s next ready-to-wear campaign."

!!!! I don't even know if I should be posting this because it just seems way too early. But Fashion Wire Daily is an actual, legitimate source so take the news which ever way you want to. :) If this is true, it's three times in a row as a Chanel girl for Freja.

Campaign Predictions

Each day more and more campaign news for the upcoming season leaks. And each day I get more and more disappointed. Aside from a few gems like Vanessa Hegelmaier and Kelsey van Mook for DKNY, Ginta Lanpina for Derek Lam, and Jacquelyn Jablonski and Valerija Kelava for Celine, the forecast does not look good if you're model obsessed like I am. Most campaigns are going to celebrities (Madonna), pseudo-celebrities using their last names to cash in on the accomplishments of their relatives (Dree Hemingway, Georgia May Jagger), and the older generation of models (Natalia Vodianova, Claudia Schiffer, Carmen Kass).

As much as the fashion industry prides itself on being a predictor of future trends and styles, it ironically lags behind in adjusting to events that take place in the real world. And so I believe the industry is finally feeling the full impact of the economic recession that started over a year ago, and campaign casting for the upcoming season especially reflects this. Few brands are willing to take risks with lesser known models. And almost all brands are going with familiar and conventionally beautiful faces. So where does that leave Freja? I'm afraid the answer to that question doesn't sound good, as models at her level are seemingly being left out of the shuffle for the most part.

So far she only has Chanel, but it seems to be a supporting role. And I don't think she's likely to repeat any of her other campaigns from last season. Gucci was already shot in Miami (possibly while Freja was still in Argentina) by Mert & Marcus and they don't usually work with Freja. In fact, they've only worked with her once back in 2005 at the beginning of her career. And like Inez and Vinoodh, they make a habit out of using their favorite girls in their campaigns which means Freja is out. Word is that newcomer Jacquelyn Jablonski landed the Gap campaign, which is great news for the New Jersey native, but not great news if you were hoping for Freja to repeat.

We probably won't know who landed Pollini and J Brand until those ads come out, but Pollini didn't even put on a runway show this season so I won't be surprised if they forgo a campaign altogether. But even if they do have a campaign, judging by their history, they would most likely go with a new model as they are not apt to repeat faces.

Not to be pessimistic, but the outlook is pretty bleak. What other campaigns do you think Freja could possibly score, if any? On a positive note, each season she does seem to surprise us by appearing in unexpected campaigns at the last minute. Last season it was Pollini and J Brand. The season before that things looked hopeless but then she showed up in Karl Lagerfeld and Roberto Cavalli. Maybe this season it will be Akris? A brand whose runway show she's opened and closed many times. Or maybe Chloe will bring her back just like Gucci did last season? What do you think? Your guess is as good as mine. At this point, all we can do is sit back and wait.

Chanel Campaign News

Argentina here we come. In a complete change of direction, Karl will be shooting the SS10 Chanel campaign in Buenos Aires. The Vermont countryside had it's moment in the spotlight, but now it's South America's turn. Here's the excerpt from WWD:

TRAVEL, NOT LEISURE: Karl Lagerfeld will soon have a new stamp in his passport: Argentina. The designer is shooting the next Chanel campaign on location in Buenos Aires with Claudia Schiffer, Freja Beha Erichsen and Baptiste Giabiconi. It will be Lagerfeld’s first time in the South American nation. “I only go to places if I have a professional reason. I’m not a tourist,” he said. The multitasking designer said he would also work on a forthcoming book about architecture in Argentina. — Miles Socha

Unpredictable move for Karl in both location and model choice. Seeing as the runway show was centered around a big barn, one would think Vermont would be the natural location in which to shoot the campaign. So I'm very interested to see how things will turn out and what the final concept will be, especially shooting in a city as beautiful as Buenos Aires. Let's just hope the end result is better than what Karl turned out shooting in Monaco.

With Claudia in the mix (perhaps substituting in for Lara as the blond milkmaid), I think there could be potential for something good. I can't wait to see how everyone works together and how their looks mesh. Leave it to Karl to keep us on our toes, all while remaining somewhat predictable at the same time.

And now, let us have a moment of silence for Heidi. You will be missed but hopefully we'll see you in another campaign.