On the Fire Escape

I am all for progress, change and the democratization of fashion that the internet has brought about. It's revolutionized the industry in a very good way. But sometimes, too much is too much. Case in point: I don't see too much difference between these candid shots from the making of the Chanel F/W 10.11 campaign...

and this actual campaign shot in the current issue of W Magazine...

At the time the candids leaked, I was as happy as anyone else was to get a glimpse of Karl, Freja, and Abbey at work. But now that the ads are starting to come out, I wished I hadn't seen all those candids because the final campaign images seems less special. In fact, some of them look just like the candids but with the "Chanel" logo slapped on them. It's pretty disappointing.

But that's life. You make some sacrifices in order to make some gains. So I guess I sacrificed the element of awe in order to satisfy my curiosity early on with the candids.

Image Credits: My scan, streetlevel.com, rachel_photo flickr

First Glimpse of Chanel

Here are the first snaps of the Chanel F/W 10.11 campaign:

Way too early to make my judgment yet, but I will venture to say that things don't look so bad. I don't know what I was expecting with the outrageous collection, but the contrast of the soft furs against the hard, brick and mortar NYC landscape is quite nice. It seems to be one of those odd pairings that end up working--the qualities of one offsetting and enhancing the other's.

I just love the shot of Freja and Abbey together. Their embrace mimics the enveloping embrace of the clothing, and their facial expressions are quite wonderful in their contrast as well. A smirk on Freja's; and impenetrable gaze on Abbey's. Maybe "contrast" is the wider theme at play here. But I won't know for sure until we see the whole set.

Speaking of, I always end up liking the complete campaign after I get to look at all the images, so I'm hoping Chanel sets up a section on their website like they did for last season's Latin Lover campaign. Just from these quick snaps I can already tell that I'm inclined to like this campaign way more than the Max Mara campaign. And yes, if Fashion Week Daily is to be believed, those images are indeed the Max Mara campaign and not part of a lookbook. What a letdown....

Image Credits: snaps by tFS member nothingless

Dedicated?

The FW1011 issue of the Vogue Paris Collections is seemingly dedicated to Freja. At least that's what you can surmise by looking at the cover above. Army of Frejas in the foreground, huge Freja face looming in the background. All Freja, all the time. I'm not complaining, but I do find it very strange. The cover images for these issues are usually divided between many different models, so I wonder why this one is all Freja?

Perhaps we can expect something else big coming up? Like a cover? Perhaps Carine et al are anointing Freja as the new Daria and so we can expect to see her shot by Inez and Vinoodh for every issue? Perhaps someone at VP is a huge Freja fan like we are? Or perhaps they're just trying to capitalize on the Freja-mania that seems to be so prevalent of late? Am I missing any "perhaps's"? What do you think?

Image Credits: vogue.fr via tFS member CrisGalaxy

Chanel Eyewear

I was flipping through the current issue of W magazine and saw this new Chanel Eyewear ad.

It's slightly different from the one we've already seen:

And only the fourth image to be released from the set which already includes:

Maybe there's more? Maybe that's it? Who knows? I do love the sterile, minimalistic vibe of these shots. Pick a good, beautiful model and let the product speak for itself. No need for additional flurries and distractions. The cool, calming color tone also helps these ads pop out when you're flipping through a magazine. But I couldn't help noticing the concept recycling that Karl uses here, not that there's anything wrong with that.

Numero #81, March 2007

Anyway, you know you're living in the 21st century when a brand synonymous with tweed suits, old ladies and No. 5 perfume prominently and regularly features a model with highly visible tattoos in it's ad campaigns. I'm just loving the fact that they didn't airbrush out or cover up Freja's in the shots. They lend just the right amount of edge and bring just the right amount of modernity to such a traditional and established brand image. Society has come such a long way in terms of the acceptance of tattoos. They're not the social taboo they once were even just 10-15 years ago. And Freja really is a model that exemplifies these times because she's been able to have such a successful career despite of (or maybe because of?) her tattoos. Set her up 10 years earlier and I don't think she would have worked.

Now, perhaps she's just the very rare exception to the rule, but I do feel like I see more and more models proudly showing off their body art: Isabeli, Snejana, Karmen, and Abbey Lee immediately come to mind. Though it remains to be seen whether another model with such visible tattoos will come along and attain the quality and sustained level of success that Freja has. And I can't think of anyone else that came before her. Maybe Omahyra Mota but I don't think she was as successful as Freja is.

Perhaps Freja's career is just the product of hard work, and a lucky confluence of factors that line up only once in a lifetime. Your thoughts? Will tattoos become commonplace? Or is Freja really the only model that can get away with this?

Image Credits: My scan from May 2010 W Magazine, youkioske via Flashbang @ tFS, scan via fearless123 @ tFS, imgmodels.com, frejabeha photobucket

First Face Countdown

For those who haven't seen it yet:

Priceless, witty, comedy gold. I love that Karmen is standing there laughing her ass off during the entire interview. And maybe it's just me, but I feel like her dry humor is rubbing off on Freja here. Compare the above interview to this one from just last season and the difference is palpable, at least to me:

Gotta love FTV for these interviews. And huge thanks to tFS member Medicine Man for capturing and sharing the video in the first place, and for user T Dot at vimeo for uploading it with sound.

Closing Moments

This great candid shot comes to you courtesy of Bobby who runs the blog Fotovalise. He was kind and thoughtful enough to share this with me, and now he's letting me share it with you. If you love model candids you most definitely have to check out Fotovalise, especially since Bobby just posted some of his shots from Paris. Lots of models there that you'll recognize but also some that you might not, which I love. I feel like most photographers tend to ignore the lesser known models which is really a shame, but Bobby does a great job of capturing a wide and diverse swath of the fashion flock.

This picture of Freja impeccably captures her unbridled joy moments after finishing Miu Miu, her last show for the FW1011 runway season. Can't you just feel the relief and sense of accomplishment shining through on her face? The perfect picture of someone ready to celebrate, utterly at ease, and without a care in the world. Bobby has tons of more pictures like this one on his blog, including another one of Freja whom he likes to call the "mighty Freja Beha." No arguments there. It certainly takes a mighty model to walk 46 shows and put out 12 editorials in the span of 2 months. Thanks so much Bobby! Also, please respect his wishes and do not repost his pics at tFS. Thanks!

Anyway, to go along with the "final moment" of Freja's season captured above, I thought it would be fitting to post some final show moments from throughout the rest of the season. Sorry for all the themed posts recently....chalk it up to a by product of my humanities educated, tendency to search out broad, connecting concepts....

The final moments of a show, where all the girls come out in one last processional walk, serve as a functional last look for all the buyers and press sitting in the audience. Makes sense because it accords people the opportunity to solidify their ideas and discern the broader theme of a collection and a designer's vision. When captured, these moments make for beautiful pictures (check out the stunning location for Dries), and cute instances if you pay attention. Proof that it ain't over until the last girl steps off the catwalk.

So much of how we view shows is one look and one girl at a time, but the final runway promenade gives us the rare opportunity to see the total vision and complete cohesion. I love it even more in videos because you also get the see the looks from behind when the girls turn around to walk back. We wear clothes in 360 degrees and designers design clothes that way too. Pity that we can't see them that way on style.com as well. Maybe one day....

Another thing I love about these final runway moments is that we can see how all the girls compare to each other in terms of height. It's only when I look at these types of pictures that I remember things like Amanda Norgaard is only 5'8", and Karlie Kloss, Frida Gustavsson and Ylonkal Verheul are veritable giants who make other models look short.

Is anyone else as fascinated with model boards and final walk pictures as I am? Or am I kind of being weird here? I guess that to me, these type of things show us glimpses of fashion's inner workings, and I just love trying to figure how things work.

Image Credits: candid via Bobby at Fotovalise, cobrasnake, corbis, coutorture, fashionologie, style.it, vmagazine

Boards of Reality

Every season I always look out for and collect pictures of designers' backstage "model boards." I feel like these usually get overlooked in favor of other backstage pictures (like ones that actually feature models), but I think they're a goldmine of information especially if you're big on models.

Aside from individual model polaroids, these model board are the closest most of us will ever get to seeing models au naturale. And the beauty of these boards is that you can see all your favorite girls in one go, and even discover some new girls that you previously overlooked. In addition to being extremely functional, these boards also serve as the fashion version of "Where's Waldo" in that it can take a few seconds before you spot whichever model you're looking for.

The boards look different from designer to designer, yet they feature nearly all the same girls. Some have the girls in their full looks, others just feature their stark head shots. On the surface these board don't appear to be anything special; but if you look closely they're full of little surprises. (And I'm personally attracted to their meta aspect in that they're pictures of pictures. I just love that!) They tell you a lot about the models, and a lot about the show process if you pay extra attention to all the notes, post-its and scribbles. For example, I noticed at least two instances where a girl was on the board, but didn't actually walk the show in the end. Let's see if you can spot who and what shows I'm talking about. ;) If anyone actually gets this I'll be impressed because that means you actually read what I write instead of just scrolling past it....haha! I'll even give clues if you ask....

You get to see how the girls look without full hair and makeup and also how they look all lined up next to each other for comparison. You begin to notice similarities, differences, who's naturally beautiful, who needs a little help from the makeup, etc... Also, I think that age tends to shine through really well in these. Some of these girls really look their age (which is really young) without the glossy sheen of the runway to hide their youthful innocence. On model boards things are laid out bare, without pretensions, without editing. Perhaps the closest thing to reality in an industry that is all about aspirations.

Have you been able to spot Freja in all the model boards posted so far? And here's one last final board for you to look over. It made quite a stir for it's realness. Freja isn't on it, but a lot of girls are and if you haven't already, it's definitely worth perusing for a good while. Some models look amazing to the point where they look otherworldly (hello Constance!)....others, not so much. I feel like this could go in a new section of US Weekly called "Models, They're Just Like Us!" they age, they get bags under their eyes, and they even get acne. Not that I think this is a bad thing at all, mind you.

Fashion is a wonderful form of escapism and fantasy; but sometimes we all need to be reminded that it's "perfections" stem from the same imperfections that bind us all together and ground us in a solid reality.

BTW, most of the images are in HQ so definitely click through if you want a better look. Also, the show and the image source are all in the image file name.

Image Credits: cobrasmake, dazeddigital, dossierjournal, elle, elle.fr, fashionista, dolcegabbana, lastnightsparty, models.com, style.com, style.it, thelovemagazineblog, videofashion twitter, vmagazine, ysl facebook