Aussie Love

Freja seems to have a knack for connecting with Australians. Not only is she good friends with Abbey Lee, but it appears that she's also taken newbie Aussie model Julia Nobis under her wing. Julia made quite the impression this past season with her laid-back, tomboyish demeanor when she debuted as a Calvin Klein exclusive in New York. Watch the following interview with her starting at 1:00 for the Freja shout out:

Stuff like this makes me happy. I always love hearing good things about the models I admire, and I'm just so glad that Freja isn't too jaded or apathetic after half a decade of modeling to care about guiding the younger generation. After all, I'm sure she's just a well of knowledge considering all her experiences at such a high international level for all those 5 years. Lucky Julia. Lucky any new model who gets to pick the brain of a successful model like Freja.

We hear so many stories about how hard it is for young models to start out, how hard it is to adjust to the crazy lifestyle, how hard it is to keep the momentum and hype going without losing your head, how hard it is to keep your feet on the ground. I'm super relieved and glad that some of the veterans are watching out for the young ones because somebody has to. Makes you wonder what other mentoring relationships exist out there. I think I've heard Anja and Karlie? Have you heard of any?

Anyway, speaking of Australia...if you miss the excitement that comes with fashion week and you need your model fix, you can take comfort and solace in the fact that Australia's Rosemount Fashion Week has started. So check it out. Lots of girls are walking. Granted they're not huge model names, but girls who made impressions during FW1011 like Lauren Brown and Ali Carr are there. If you're interested you can see looks from the shows at vogue.com.au. And maybe it will tide you over until May 11th and the Chanel Cruise show. :)

Walking Patterns

Freja has a funny predilection for doing something different from the norm for her final walks during runway shows. I talked about this last season with Sonia Rykiel and Hermes. Now this season brings us Isaac Mizrahi. Take a look:

@ 8:00 with Marina

@ 0:58 with Lara

@ 9:40 with Abbey

I guess it shows a comfort level on the runway and sense of ease that only comes with walking in hundreds of shows over an 11 season period. And it must be a nice way to catch up with your model friends after not seeing them since last season. ;) Anyway, this goes to show you that the show isn't over until it's over. If you stop watching after seeing all the looks, you could miss funny and cute moments like the ones above that happen during the final walk. So keep your eyes peeled!

Circle of Friends

Following up this old post about Freja's model friendships, check out this excerpt from a new interview Abbey Lee did with i-D Magazine:

Living away from home have you found it easy to make new friendships with girls and boys in the industry? Are there other models you're particularly close to?
This job demands constant spontaneous travel with very little notice. That makes it incredibly hard to be reliable and committed to friends so unfortunately I've found it difficult to be part of a friendship family. I'm tight with Miss Daisy Lowe who is like a soulmate, Karlie Kloss is like my baby sister and Cat McNeil is my true mate. I'm also close with Freja when we are both in the same city and Karmen Pedaru. Jonatan Frenk is a male model friend of mine, he has a golden heart so he's especially good for the hard times.

I think it's so sweet that a little model friendship circle is slowly emerging here with Abbey, Freja and Karmen as the major players. It's nice to know that many of the models I admire also admire each other. And it's also reassuring that there's seems to be a support system here, because (as recent events remind us) fashion can be a very tough, lonely and harsh world.

Since all three models now live in New York, all you New Yorkers better keep your eyes peeled for what would be the best model sighting ever. Can you imagine that? Abbey, Freja and Karmen all walking down the street together?

Anyway, here's the full interview for anyone who's interested in reading it (as always, click through to enlarge):

And if you watch the video here, at 2:45 you can hear Abbey talk about her model friendships and at 3:02 you can see a clip of Abbey and Freja hanging out backstage at Sonia Rykiel.

Image Credits: Scan by tFS member Northern Star, video courtesy of lamagnifiquemode @ youtube

Straight From the Mouth

Freja has a little mention in a new interview with Karmen Pedaru on the W Magazine Editor's Blog.

Aside from cookie-baking Karlie, who are your other model friends?
I love Abbey Lee [Kershaw] and Freja [Beha Ericksen]. They are just the coolest girls to hang out with.

Misspelling of Freja's name aside, I think this is adorable. Cool girls flock together like birds of a feather. And it confirms what we already saw during fashion week. Forget Frily, Freidi and all the rest...Farmen is it.

I guess we know who Freja will be hanging out with now that she's moved to NY. Moving cities isn't so bad when you already have friends there to smooth out the transition. :)

Making New Friends

It's no secret I love backstage pictures. I love them because they're usually so chaotic and fun - very different from the serious veneer of runway pictures. I also love them because they give us a good indication of which models are friendly backstage.

Yes, sometime models pose together in backstage pictures because they're in the lineup next to each other, but most of the time you see actual model friends hamming it up in front of the lens. And this season Freja seems to have found some new ones. As much as I love Frily and Freidi, I have to say that I'm a bigger fan of Frabbey and Farmen (although I think those names could use some work).

Karmen is one of my favorite models, and Abbey is in my top ten so I like the idea that Freja is friends with them. And Karmen and Abbey definitely know each other because they're both at Next. I don't know why, but I guess in my perfect world all my favorite models would hang out together like one big happy family. It's a Utopic thought, but the reality actually isn't too far away from it. After all, Karlie, Karmen and Cat all live in the same building and bake cookies together.

In addition to making new friends, Freja's connecting with old ones as well.

Here she is with Iselin back in 2007

And here she is with Iselin this season

They have a great knack for taking a succession of pictures together that perfectly capture the off-the-cuff, playful, fun moments I love seeing so much.

Anyway, I know I'm being a bit naive using backstage pictures to gauge model friendships, but it's all we really have to go on. If these girls aren't really friends in real life, at the very least I'd like to see them in an editorial together. Give me Freja, Daria, Karolin, Karmen and Abbey together and I'd be in heaven. Are there any models you want to see Freja with, either in backstage candids or editorials? What's your dream model lineup?

Image Credits: dazeddigital, gobackstage.blogspot, elle, wwd, vogue.co.uk, sonnyphotos.typepad, nymag, style.it, style.com, celebritycity, fashion_shows