Numero and Videos

Hooray! We finally have some proper scans of Freja's Numero editorial:

Bal de la Couture
Numero #121 March 2011
Ph: Karl Lagerfeld
Styling: Capucine Safyurtlu
Other Models: Arizona Muse

No wonder Freja and Arizona were photographed together so much this past runway season in Paris. They probably became fast friends after working in such close and intimate conditions. "Why yes, you're naked and pressed up against me....where are you from again? And what's your son's name?" Nothing like some good old fashion nudity and gender bending to bring people together and get them to drop their pretenses.

Starting with a Vogue Italia cover and editorial back in January, editorials in Vogue US and W magazine for March, and now this Numero cover and editorial, Freja and Arizona have worked together so much I'm beginning to wonder if they're a package deal or something. If they were actually at the same agency, the idea wouldn't seem too far fetched.

Anyway, I don't mind Arizona at all. In fact, I'm quite in love with her print work. She's wonderful in front of the camera and I have a soft spot, lots of admiration and respect for single mothers. Every time I see her in another editorial or campaign or whatever, I have the urge to yell "you go girl, you get that money," while Destiny's Child's Independent Women Part 1 plays in my head......but I'm just weird like that. Damn, I used to love that song. Still do!

So back to the work. This editorial is nothing to write home about aesthetically. Though I do think it's quite beautiful in it's simplicity. Nothing to distract from the clothes, yet the subtle interactions of the models make things interesting enough. (And is it just me, or does Karl have a thing for Freja as a guy and conversely, Baptiste as a woman?) I'm just happy to see Freja being photographed for an editorial by Karl again. Maybe he's getting ready for another Chanel campaign? ;) I sure hope so...... And I also hope for more work with Freja and Arizona because they have good chemistry on the page, and they compliment each other pretty well.

In other, semi related news, I have a few videos to post. The first is a behind-the-scenes look at the recent Chanel F/W 11 show via vogue.co.uk. You get a good sense of the atmosphere and a glimpse of Freja towards the end during the runway rehearsal:

The second video is yet another H&M tv spot. I swear they churn these things out like butter, but it's nice to see Freja finally getting her due and recognition on the commercial front. It's something that I've wanted to have happen for quite a while now, so it's awesome to actually see it come to fruition:

Image Credits: scans by tFS member skalty, videos courtesy of vogue.co.uk and hm.com

Campaign Videos

It's a video day today. We have three new videos to go with some of Freja's recent campaigns. First, thanks to a lovely anonymous commenter on the previous post (thank you!), a new Harry Winston behind the scenes campaign video has surfaced:

This videos accompanies the gorgeous and cheerful print campaign that was released late last year. Freja is just as cheerful and radiant on film as she is in the campaign images. Definitely a nice treat for any Freja fan, especially since we get a rare glimpse of her lighter side, with a cute baby and yummy looking cake thrown in for good measure.

The second two videos are part of Freja's recent ad venture with H&M. We already saw two videos featuring Freja in dresses, and now we have this one featuring her in trousers alongside Anne and Martha:

The last video is part of H&M's newly released "The Pants Collection" campaign:

Freja looks particularly great in this video. She's charming, effusive, quirky, and spontaneous. She looks just as comfortable dancing around in those pants as she does strutting down the street in her boots and leather jacket. She's come a long way this past year and I'm just so happy that I get to witness this change in her career direction because it's what I've been longing for. No longer pigeonholed, but instead exploring new avenues, new opportunities and new expressions of her many sides: feminine, commercial, mature, modern, and playful.

Freja is indeed the girl that can seemingly do everything and anything. Her career seems to have rebirths and rejuvenations just as often as she cuts and changes her hair. So where will we be in a year? I have absolutely no idea, but I'm betting that it will be somewhere new, exciting and unexpected. :)

Image Credits: hm.com
Video Credits: Harrywinston Youtube channel, hm.com

Coming to a TV Near You

We first got word back in November, and then confirmation back in December. Now, finally, the H&M TV spots are here.

Freja is accessible, commercial, yet still totally herself. Which one do you like better? I prefer the first spot myself, because at the end of the second one Freja looks like she wants to kill me, or hurt me, or beat me in a staring contest, or all of the above. It would have been nice to see a more playful expression from her to match the youthfulness of the clothing. After all, yellow ruffles and semi jazz hands are pretty incongruous with death stares.

But maybe it's the unexpected pairing that makes it work? Maybe that's what makes people linger over it....what sells the clothes? I don't know, but I do know that I have a sudden hankering for some yellow ruffles to mix into my all-black wardrobe. Or maybe just a black t-shirt with some yellow on it. ;)

Video Credit: hm.com via youtube user BijuBRANDO

H&M

Are you there fashion gods? It's me, Margaret. Ok, seriously, my name's not really Margaret, but someone must have heard my repetitive musings on the triteness of Freja and androgyny, because this is everything that I could have ever hoped for and wanted in terms of an antidote.

Smiling and frolicking (sort of) in ruffles and lace? Why yes, of course. Looking easy, breezy and oh so commercial? Most definitely. This is a far, far cry from the rough and tough tomboyish image that made Freja "famous" and won her the adoration of drooling fan girls everywhere. But this is much, much closer to the image of Freja that I fell in love with all those years ago. If this is a sign of things to come in 2011, then color me excited. With a refreshed image comes refreshed ideas. :)

By the way, I must say that Raquel looks amazing with her new short hair. The two of them together in this ad is giving me serious nostalgia for the fashion landscape circa 2006. Those were simpler, purer times; but then again, everything seems that way in hindsight.

Image Credits: zinio.com via tFS member FRANCY ITALY