Model Stereotypes

Look! It's Daria, Lara, Sasha, Freja and lots of your other favs all in one editorial! Too bad it sounds so wonderful that it's just bound to disappoint. For things in life are never as good as they sound.....or are they?

Star Girls
Vogue UK, December 2010
Ph: Mario Testino
Styling: Lucinda Chambers
Other Models: Angela Lindvall, Carmen Kass, Claudia Schiffer, Daria Werbowy, Edie Campbell, Georgia May Jagger, Karlie Kloss, Kate Moss, Lara Stone, Lily Donaldson, Naomi Campbell, Natalia Vodianova, Sasha Pivovarova, and Stella Tennant

Freja's Part:

I kind of wish all the model were in one breathless group shot a la Annie Leibovitz and those awesome Vanity Fair covers of the early 2000s. I used to love those covers so much. They were so enchanting and fantastical. (Of course, that was also at the height of my Hollywood fascination so maybe that's why they seemed so awesome to me. But in hindsight they're still pretty kick ass. Not like those photoshop-of-horrors Vogue US top model covers.) Anyway, with each girl in this editorial being shot individually, it's difficult not to reduce each model down to some stereotyped version of herself. But short of photoshopping everyone into one picture, individual shots are the only way this concept would have worked. Can you imagine the nightmare it would have been to coordinate the schedules of Naomi and Kate, not to mention all the other models as well!? Eeesh...nightmare almost seems like an understatement.

Anyway, we have Sasha as eccentric fairy queen, Natalia as ballerina, Lara as vamp with boobs, Freja as androgynous rocker, Karlie as American sporty, etc, etc. If you look closely, you'll even find that the stereotypes are exploding out from the text descriptions of each model. Lily is an English Rose? Wow, never, ever heard that one before. As trite as this all is, I suppose it fits the theme of this editorial. They're taking the characteristics that made each girl famous and highlighting them. I assume that Vogue UK is similar to Vogue US in terms of market demographics, so the uninformed masses who know little to nothing about these models can look at their pictures and surmise the role they fulfill within the industry--the very role that made them all "stars." (But don't ask me what Edie Campbell is doing here after completing only half of a runway season. That hardly qualifies as star material.) If you already know everything there is to know about these girls (or if you run blogs or tumblrs on any of them), this editorial will most likely be comme ci, comme ca. I feel like we've all seen these pictures and poses from all these models in some form or another many times before.

Even if I'd rather see all these girls play outside their usual roles, I get it. A magazine like Vogue UK has to walk the fine line between commercial appeal and high fashion credibility. How else are you supposed to introduce these models to a public who possibly knows nothing about them? You have to make them recognizable, that's how. You have to present them in ways that might hit on some flicker of recognition in the viewer's mind. And at the very least, everyone looks pretty good, and it is a nice introduction to star models if you know nothing about them. And of course it's a great honor for Freja to be included. We can't ignore that Vogue UK has been one of her biggest and most constant supporters, even when times weren't so good. I will never forget how excited and relieved I was to finally see Freja show up in a magazine in Before the Fall, after a summer of literally no work back in 2008. Ever since then, I've always had a soft spot for Vogue UK. (On a semi-related note, I think Lucinda Chambers is a Freja fan and part of the reason why she's featured so much in Vogue UK. They've worked on a number of eds together, and Lucinda also styles the Marni show and we all know that Freja is a Marni runway fav.)

There is one thing I absolutely love about this editorial and it's the title page. It's extremely whimsical, interesting and creative. Just looking at it makes me smile. It's such a nice touch, and it elevates the whole editorial by tying everything together. Otherwise, the photos look choppy and unrelated. But with all the autographs on the front page, it feels like a collection of pictures some fan gathered together into a book. Subsequently, this fan was then lucky enough to meet all of his/her favorite models and collect all their autographs. And whenever you or I finally pick up this magazine in real life, we'll kind of have a fan book of our own. I like that thought, and I like the relational and tangible aspect of it. I don't know if it was intentional, but it's a neat way to engage the viewer.

Image Credits: Scans by tFS member gossiping.

More Than a Clothes Hanger

Maybe my perception is a bit skewed, but doesn't it seem like models are once again back in the spotlight as individuals with personalities? Definitely not back to the level of the 1990's Supermodels, but no where near as cold and dismissive as the early 2000's felt. These days it feels like people everywhere want to hear what models have to say, wear what they wear, and follow every turn of their career.

I know this is all anecdotal evidence, but the model threads on tFS are exploding with hyper activity. Just think of a model (besides Freja) in your head and you can bet that someone has created a "fuckyeah" tumblr in her honor. It just feels like models at all levels of the industry are gaining in recognition and success (i.e. Rosie HW cast in the new Transformers movie and models edging out celebs in campaigns). Does it feel like this to anyone else, or is it just me?

I realize that my perception might be more than a bit skewed because I keep up with a lot of agencies and new models for fun (yes, for fun...I'm weird like that), so I always have models on my mind. And maybe this is why they seem to be more prominent to me, buoyed along by an internet culture conducive to the cultivation of niches that are otherwise too specialized to have warranted attention before. We can practically trace Freja's career from the very beginning, with only a few holes here and there. But with a model like Missy Rayder, who's career height came before the internet played such a huge role in fashion and models, the early days of her career aren't nearly as well documented. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I sense a new era where models are once again becoming celebrities in their own right.

The eminent Cathy Horyn seems to sense a small part of this as well. Just read the opening sentences of her write up on the Valentino HC show:

"A thick mob of people, mostly young and nearly all clutching cameras, stood in the blazing 6 p.m. sun outside the entrance to the Valentino Show in the Place Vendôme. They extended to the curb, and guests had to walk through a narrow path the onlookers seemed reluctant to provide. Liz Hurley was inside, in a pretty fuchsia slip dress, but most of the other V.I.P.’s were young socialites and, of course, models. The throng was waiting for them, a glimpse of someone famous and beautiful."

So maybe I'm not too off the mark here. For when did a model like Freja, a model who isn't Kate Moss or being touted as the next big thing a la Lara Stone, become popular enough to garner a two page cover feature in one of the big Vogues?? Just think about it for a moment, and you'll see how amazing it is all things considered. She's popular to be sure, but definitely not what you would call "mainstream." So the fact that Vogue UK put her on their cover and wrote a feature story on her says something, don't you think? Model as an individual. Model as a voice. Model as role model. Model as more than just a clothes hanger.

A few excerpts stuck out to me:

"Face to face, Freja's personality is harder to discern. Although she embodies an intoxicating cool, she's shy, reserved and defensive about her privacy in a way that doesn't invite girly conversation. While her slouch suggests someone who isn't entirely at east with her five feet 10 inches (she was 5ft 9in by the age of 12), she has fantastic command of her body in front of the camera."

Taking the above into account, I wonder how Freja would feel if she knew this blog existed? Now I'm SO glad that I've always made it a point to stay away from her private life and focus instead on her work. But if she's as private as they say she is, even such an intense focus on her work is probably disconcerting. People say work is work, but as a model your work is your body. You model long enough (do anything long enough for that matter) and it becomes part of you, nearly inseparable from the way you define yourself. So maybe the intense scrutiny over Freja's work on this blog constitutes a different kind of invasion of privacy? I don't know. I haven't received any ceased and desist letters yet so.....

"'Freja is entirely her own person,' says photographer Josh Olins. 'I love to photographer her. What you see at first is this tough boyishness, but then comes something else, a sensitive, softer side. She's beautifully androgynous.' For all this boy-talk, though, Freja is very pretty, with baby-soft olive skin, a high forehead and deep brown eyes that flicker when her fringe skims her lashes. 'Freja's innate sense of style somehow translates into the way she is photographed,' adds Vogue's fashion director Lucinda Chambers. 'She is one of only a handful of models who have this unique combination of a strong personality and look, while at the same time being a total chameleon.'"

I knew I loved Lucinda for a reason. This is exactly what I've been saying, and what I try to explore, on this blog. I feel justified, and not so crazy for posting all my long babbling posts. :) Anyway, the article is a great read so make sure to check it out if you haven't already. There are lots of great tidbits about Freja in there, including bits about her upbringing, her family and her hobbies. She comes across very well on the page, just like she did on film. Memorable, funny and endearing enough to convert the naysayers and win over new fans.

Image Credits: scans by tFS member fearless123

A Winning Combination

Great editorial to match a great cover. No complaints from me here. I love everything about this, especially the second shot with Freja reclining so haphazardly. She's looking as fresh faced and beautiful as ever, very much the woman I've always known her to be. Freja, Lucinda and Josh is a combination I can get used to:

Colour Shock
Vogue UK August 2010
Ph: Josh Olins
Styling: Lucinda Chambers

Part of the reason I love Freja's work with Josh is that he seems to draw out a fluidity of movement in her that no one else does. If you look at all three of their editorials together (first on here, second one here), Freja has expanded her posing repertoire and been more innovative in her movements. I really believe that's a result of Josh's direction and what he wants/requires from the models he shoots. This vibrancy is quite kinetic and maybe sometimes a little awkward, but always organic to the story at hand. The lines of the body draw your eye in, and while you look at the angle of limbs or the skewed positions of hands and feet, you also begin to see the clothing. It's a great way to display clothes on a model's body. A lot better than just dressing her up in one designer from head-to-toe and telling her to jump.

The styling is perhaps a little safe, but the first few editorials showcasing new season looks always have to be. These are the first time the clothes are displayed in the magazines and to the "general public," so of course you don't want to over style them or mix and match them too much to the point where they're unrecognizable. Expose them and show them in all their glory, and cultivate that desire for consumption that you do so well Fashion.

The colors are a dream though (as well as those Balenciaga heels), proving the talents of Lucinda once again. So bright, fresh and light. Not only does she manage to take Fall/Winter clothing and create a story appropriate for the summer release of this issue, she also makes the clothes express a whimsy and cool, refreshing quality that belies their colder weather purpose. Lucinda is the type of stylist who makes you realize that it isn't always just the photographer or model who makes or breaks an editorial. Styling plays a large, albeit much less obvious, role as well. From the first time Freja and Lucinda worked together back in September of 2005 to this time nearly 5 years later, I can honestly say it's a working relationship that I love and always look forward to seeing because it never disappoints me. Think of all the great work Freja has done for the magazine, and nearly every instance you'll see Lucinda credited as the stylist. It's really an amazing history and I never want to see it end.

Well folks, after a bit of a quiet spell for the months of May, June and July, it appears that Freja is back in full force and ready to tackle the Fall fashion months ahead! Couple this with all the ad campaigns breaking and Haute Couture shows starting shortly (Monday, July 5th!!) and we've got enough Freja news to hold us over until the SS10 runway show season.

Image Credits: scans via tFS member fearless123

A Modeling Model

One of the things I enjoy the most about Freja's recent panoply of editorials is that they have given us the opportunity to see her work with people she doesn't normally work with. Patrick Demarchelier is the example here, and even though this new editorial isn't the most brilliant breakthrough of Freja's career, it is solidly decent, something different and shows us another side to her modeling skill.

Urban Renewal
Vogue UK April 2010
Ph: Patrick Demarchelier
Stylist: Lucinda Chambers

I'm a big fan of Lucinda's work and this editorial is no exception. It also helps that I absolutely love, love, love the trend towards modern, wearable, minimalistic clothes that real women who have real jobs can seamlessly integrate into their existing wardrobes (thank you Phoebe Philo!!). The clothes are straightforward and the styling, photography and model poses coincide with that aesthetic. Freja was the perfect girl for this shoot because I think her face personifies the mood of the layout; sleek, refined and modern, but not at the expense of being interesting.

Sure, it isn't ground breaking, but not every thing has to be. Sometimes you just want to see a good fashion spread with desirable clothes modeled by someone who knows what she's doing. Someone who's using her body in the best possible way to display the clothes. And lest we forget, that is the foundation of Freja's job after all, and she's damn good at it. For all the focus that's put on her personal life, who she's seen with and what she looks like off-duty, I can't help but feel that her abilities as a model are just an afterthought. I hope I'm wrong about this...and now that I think about it, that's probably the best summation as to why this blog exists. It's to bring the focus back to the work! Sorry for the tangent....

Anyway, Patrick's style can get very boring and repetitive, but under the styling hands of Lucinda I think this editorial is able to escape the mundane pitfalls of being just another plain studio edit. His style is distinct though. I see similarities between this editorial and the editorial that resulted from the last time Freja and Patrick worked together.

Proof that a photographer's direction has a lot to do with the way a model models? Yes, I definitely think so. Proof that Freja takes direction well and it easily malleable to different visions? Yes, I absolutely think so. Her body and her face are the creative vehicles and here she shows us that they are tuned up and in fine driving form.

By the way, who else thinks that Freja is waaaaay past due for a Vogue UK cover? Alexandra Shulman, the Freja fans are watching you. Don't let us down! You too Jaime Perlman. I know you're a fan....make it happen! (Hey, the return to femininity eventually happened after I griped about it many times last year. Maybe this will happen too, after I spend all of this year complaining about it. Ha!)

Image Credits: Beautiful scans of April issue of Vogue UK by tFS member fearless123, other scans by me

Freja, Lucinda and Josh

Freja continues her long running Vogue UK relationship with a new editorial.

Cyber Tribe
Vogue UK, March 2010
Ph: Josh Olins

The colors! The feminine styling! Freja has finally moved firmly away from the androgyny that was (in my opinion) stifling her abilities and limiting the work she got. It's great to see her in a beautiful editorial like this. Even though it might not be the most inspired one ever, it's a welcome change of pace. And the people at Vogue UK sure do know how to do a studio editorial right.

A thing that immediately struck me about this is the prominence accorded to Freja's tattoos. In some pictures they seem to be as much of a focal point as the clothes are. I suppose when you've been in the industry for half a decade, the people who book you know what they're getting and are more apt to let your personal aspects shine through. Anyway, it takes an editorial like this to remind me what a great print model Freja is. Her face is just subtle enough that she can take a variety of looks, yet powerful enough that she doesn't get overwhelmed by her surroundings. All the different angles of her face photograph well, and she's gotten better at posing too. But that's probably partly attributable to the photographer. If you compare this editorial to the last one Freja shot with Josh, you'll see some similarities.

You rarely see Freja like this in, say, an editorial by Karl. So it shows us that she's capable of giving the photographer exactly what he/she wants, which is something all great models can do. It doesn't matter if you have the right look; if you can't work well with people then you're nothing more than a one-season wonder at best.

This piece was edited/styled by Lucinda Chambers, who also styled one of my favorite Freja eds from last year. I think she has this signature style that seems haphazard at first glance, but quickly moves into wonderful cohesion the more you look. Anyone can throw black on black on white together, but successfully styling prints, patterns and colors together is a completely different story. It takes a bold eye and lots of experience, which Lucinda has. After all, she's been working with Freja since the beginning of her career with the first editorial she shot for Vogue UK. Since then she's basically styled/edited almost everything Freja's done with the magazine. So with their amazing track record of working together (especially in what has to be my favorite Freja editorial ever), I truly look forward to the next thing they'll produce because you can bet it will be visual wonder.

Image Credits: Scans by tFS member fearless123 and tFS member Carla-A