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

Around the World with Ads

Not only can you see Freja in the pages of mainstream magazines ads for Chanel, Louis Vuitton and Valentino; you can also see her all over the world in ads for regional fashion brands. She has Brasil, Japan and Korea covered with ad campaigns for Santa Lolla, AZUL by moussy, and Obzee respectively.

Pictures come courtesy of tFS and the fans over there with great sleuthing skills:

Santa Lolla (Brasil)

It's so rare to see Freja play the glamorous vamp. This isn't my favorite campaign out of the three, but I respect her uninhibited attitude here. I do find it strange that in order to sell shoes to women, this brand is using a....naked woman. Maybe the difference between marketing to men and marketing to women lies in the model choice. For men, it would have been someone like Candice Swanepoel because it's all about the body. For women, I guess it's Freja because it's all about the attitude, the empowerment and a different kind of sex appeal.


AZUL by moussy (Japan)

Take away Cole Mohr and this would be a simple, beautiful and appealing campaign. Add Cole Mohr and......well, no comment. Freja looks great, and I love her hair here. Although I do feel like buying her a shirt.


Obzee (Korea)

This is my favorite campaign out of the three. You can't beat clean, sleek, modern femininity.

Now that we've traveled the world and back, which campaign is your favorite? And why? I challenge anyone who looks at all three campaigns above to tell me that Freja isn't versatile or capable of a wide spectrum of looks. Those who think she's just androgynous or masculine or tough looking clearly don't pay any attention to the work she consistently puts out. They have an idea of the kind of model Freja is and they can't be bothered to look beyond that idea to the reality of her existence. It takes great subtlety and mastery of skill to be able to go from lounging naked on a couch, to frolicking with Cole Mohr, to power-posing with Amanda Laine with the same believability and effortlessness. That's a true model for you and that's why Freja's still working and kicking ass to this day.

After a quiet few weeks filled with much speculation and no realizations, it's nice to see that Freja fans finally have something concrete to talk about once again.

Image Credits: santalolla.com.br via tFS member locofoco, azul-m.com via tFS member candlebougie, obzee.com via tFS member jess93

She Will!

After all the speculation and worries, we only had to wait a few days for all our questions to be answered, for Freja finally made her FW1112 appearance today on the Paris runway of Hakaan.

It's great to see her in Paris, walking the shows. The break did her well, as I'm actually really happy to see her face. As they say, absence makes the heart grow fonder. Anyway, as per my usual MO, I'll update on Freja's runway shows only at the end of the city/season, as updating for every show gets pretty repetitive and boring. But don't worry, I'll be keeping track......I'm sure all of us will be keeping track.

Until then, enjoy Paris and the prospect that Freja will walk more shows. :)

Image Credits: vogue.it

Will she or won't she?

It's been quite entertaining and informative to keep up with all of your comments on the previous post. I guess I didn't realize exactly how much some of you care if Freja walks this season or not. For me, I just kind of accepted the fact that she wasn't going to be walking, welcomed the break from chronicling her season, and took the opportunity to follow the shows more closely. But if Freja is your absolute, hands down favorite model, then I can absolutely understand the unwavering hope that she will eventually turn up this season.

So to stoke that hope even further, models.com has put up IMG's Paris showcards and Freja's is included in the bunch. But don't necessarily take this as confirmation of anything, for Freja had the same showcard for Milan and didn't show up at any shows. At this point, all we can do is wait and see.

Even if Freja ends up skipping the season entirely, her career won't be much affected. She's cemented her status as a top model, working icon and cult figure. She's reached the point that all models hope to reach: the point were her career is self sustaining based on her reputation, extensive oeuvre, and all the hard work she put in for 12 straight seasons. One missed catwalk season isn't going to push her out of the minds of the photographers, editors, and stylists who have worked with her before, and who want to work with her in the future.

Some of you might still remember SS08 when she missed most of Paris, or SS09 when she missed most of Milan and ALL of Paris. That was earlier in her career and she managed to bounce back, no problems. In fact, she came back stronger than ever. I guess if you're a seasoned Freja fan, you've come to expect and learned to deal with her runway absences.

So in the meantime, let's enjoy her Vogue Brasil cover shot by Henrique Gendre, and be happy that she's being given the opportunity to display all the other facets of her modeling abilities. Feminine Freja FTW! ;)

Image Credits: models.com

Skipping the Season

This post is brought to you entirely by the courtesy of the readers of this blog. :) In the comments section of yesterday's post, some news bits came to light:

-According to a tweet by one of Freja's mother agents, she's skipping the entire show season. The tweet has not been found or linked to yet. I don't know how to even go about searching the vast twitterverse for it, so put as much stock into this as you want. But with her absences at Gucci and Fendi, I believe it to be true. So enjoy the break Freja. It's completely well deserved.


-Apparently there was exhibition of Karl's photographs in Rome on the 15th of February. Video has surfaced from the event, and in it you can catch glimpses of a lot of the work Freja has done with Karl including some never before seen Chanel SS11 ad campaign shots/outtakes.

Screengrab:

Video:

Thanks to the anonymous commenters for the tips!

March Editorials

Exactly one year after her US Vogue debut, Freja scores her second appearance in the magazine. Is March the Anna Wintour month for doing things out of the ordinary? How else can we explain that Freja's only two times in the magazine have both been in March? Coincidence I guess....

Punk'd
Ph: David Sims
Fashion Editor: Grace Coddington
Other Models: Arizona Muse, Raquel Zimmermann

I never thought I'd be so happy to see Freja jumping against a gray background in US Vogue. :) Maybe because I absolutely love the styling, all three models, and their whimsical facial expressions. When fashion doesn't take itself too seriously, and lets its hair down so to speak, the results can be charming and lovely. The juxtaposition of the absurd faces with the tough modernity of the clothes: leather, spikes and studs mixed with bug eyes, fish lips and exaggerated expressions. You see an editorial like this and you just want to smile.

And thank goodness all three models match each other in terms of ability in front of the camera. How off-putting would it have been to insert some 15 year old newbie who looks as awkward as she probably feels? I know some people don't get the hype about Arizona, but I think she's a dream in print, so I really don't mind her at all. In fact, I find myself right-click-saving nearly all her editorial images. And it's refreshing to see someone older and more mature getting hyped.

Speaking of Arizona, she also poses in Freja's second editorial of the month, along with French model (and my current model love) Aymeline Valade.

The Change Agent
Ph: Steven Meisel
Styling: Nicolas Ghesquiere

The three make such a wonderful team that I find myself lamenting the fact that they only have this one shot. I want more. More. MORE! Eeeek! Lol, can you sense the sheer excitement that I feel from having Aymeline and Freja together in an editorial? I love when my favorite models work together.....I don't know why, I just do. And in some ways, Aymeline reminds me a lot of Freja. They both have this innate toughness that expresses itself in features both androgynous and gorgeously feminine. Both are instantly recognizable on the catwalk with their sharp features and modern lines. Yes both are beautiful in a classic way. Both give off a sense of individuality, maturity, and ease that comes from a fully recognized sense of self. These features are rare and develop over time and with experience. So even though Aymeline is a "new face," she's actually older than Freja and has been diligently working away at the lower rungs of the fashion industry until she broke through this year.

Hmmmm, I kind of went off on a tangent here. Sorry! In sum, Aymeline is like Freja except with blue eyes, a French accent, and strong runway walk. ;)

After a quiet month so far, things are beginning to amp up. And with the start of Milan today and Paris soon after, the promise of more things to get excited about lingers on the horizon. But for now, Freja runway sightings remain elusive. And so they should, since Freja deserves a break after 12 straight runway seasons. Right? So wherever you are Freja, your fans wish you well! Just make sure to show up for at least one show...*cough* Chanel *cough*.

Image Credits: My scans

Numero

Elsewhere and otherwise, it's not all quiet on the Freja front, for she just landed the new Numero #121 cover with Arizona Muse, shot by Karl Lagerfeld.

The sly smirk on Freja's face gives the cover just the right amount of intrigue. And it plays in nice contrast with Arizona's hard stare. So what would otherwise be a simple, straightforward cover concept is made quite interesting with the interplay of the models' gazes. Don't you feel like you could be intruding on a moment? Like they were just about to whisper secrets to each other. But Arizona is pissed off at your intrusion, while Freja invites it with her coy look.

And how great is it to see Freja being photographed by Karl again? If my memory serves me right, the last time they worked together off the runway was back in December for the Pirelli calendar. But the last time they worked together editorially was all the way back in April for Vogue Germany....nearly one year ago. I have to admit I was getting a bit worried about their editorial hiatus. I don't care if Karl isn't the best photographer, or if his fashion stories can be boring and hackneyed; I just like to know that Freja's still one of his favorites. What can I say? It's brings me comfort and stability when everything else around me changes faster than I can flick through a collection on style.com.

Anyway, are Freja and Arizona fashion's newest "it" pairing? Cover of January's Vogue Italia, editorial in March's US Vogue, and now this? I definitely don't mind as their looks mesh well together, and they seem to be good friends off the catwalk too. And maybe it's only appropriate to pair the two, as Arizona's new star status shines brighter and brighter each day, while Freja's never seems to diminish. Put the two together and it results in a wattage nearly too powerful to resist. And no one seems to be trying.

Image Credits: nmpp.fr via tFS member Dieselmax, vogue.it via tFS member IamLordZen