A Contributor

Here's a little addendum to the Interview Magazine editorial I just posted. Continuing on with the trend of model emerging as a personality in her own right, Freja's featured in the "contributors" section of the magazine:

Even if the model appears in the main editorial, she doesn't always get this spotlight. In fact, it's more a rarity than a common occurrence. I think the models that get this feature are ones like Kate Moss, Lara Stone and Daria Werbowy. So no matter how inconsequential something like this may seem, I think it's a pretty big deal and speaks loudly of Freja's rising status as a model.

Image Credits: My Scan

The Beauty of Modern Love

Continuing on her path towards utter domination, Freja has a magnificent editorial in Interview to cap off this whirlwind of a month:

Modern Love
Interview Magazine August 2010
Ph: Craig McDean
Styling: Karl Templer
Other Models: Dan Kling
Casting: Michelle Lee @ KCD

This is just a beautiful story perfect for some escapism. You can lose yourself in the narrative and let the portrayed emotions wash over you. This is as sentimental and delicate as we've ever seen Freja. It's the type of fashion story that seeps into your consciousness slowly, imbuing your mind with thoughts of loves lost, loves who never were, and loves who could have been.

This is so beautiful because of these implied emotions. Love stories have been done many times over in fashion editorials, but when it's done right it hits an emotional chord that makes us forget that what we're seeing has been seen before. Old associations become new, powerful and very raw again.

McDean/Freja is most definitely my new favorite photographer/model combination. The work Freja has done under the scrutiny of his lens has been some of her best. It's been the work that stands out in my mind as superb, and when I think back on the year that was 2010, I'll inevitably return to their collaborations.

There come times when I think I've seen it all in regards to Freja, but then she surprises and delights me with facets and subtleties of her modeling I never knew existed. Whether it's the intensity and sheer dexterity she displayed in Tough Ballerina, or the delicacy and wistful contentment she displays in this story; it's clear to me that her best editorial work happens under McDean's guidance. Feel free to argue with me on that point but you'll be hard pressed to sway my opinion. Oh, and how about giving it up for Michelle Lee? Kudos to her for the brilliant casting and for envisioning Freja in a role most other people wouldn't or couldn't envision.

Freja plays the role here convincingly, and with aplomb. The chemistry she has with Dan is palpable and they could have fooled me. Not to mention they share eerily similar features and have the same type of presence, making the role of lovers that much more distinguished, albeit a little disturbing. I'm always surprised by people who are surprised to see Freja express any type of femininity. The type she displays here is the kind that's ever so slightly tinged with an undertone of modern androgyny (which is itself present in a good majority of models working today), and I think this is what has defined the better part of her career save for a few seasons. However, I suppose that once you cut off your hair and become the poster child for androgynous, rebel bad girl, you can't easily shake that stereotype even if the work you've been doing for over a year is completely counter to that old meme.

Anyway, no boyishness from Freja to be seen anywhere on these pages. All I see is a woman and a model growing into her own self and being allowed to express a different aspect of that self that she might otherwise never get to express. And isn't that what modeling is about? Successfully taking on different roles, but never completely losing yourself in the process? If so, then Freja is most certainly one of the best and her number 2 rank on models.com proves it.

Image Credits: My scans

Busy Ballerina

Freja's April is turning out to be just as busy as her March was in terms of magazine editorials. In addition to features in Japanese SPUR, Vogue UK, Vogue Germany, W Magazine, i-D Magazine, and Vogue Italia we can now add Interview Magazine to the list:

Tough Ballerina
Interview Magazine April 2010
Ph: Craig McDean

For me, this is Freja's best work of the year; yes, even better than her Vogue Italia cover and edit. Everything here is just pitch perfect down to the tiniest details. And it's wonderful to see her shoot a proper editorial with McDean, and not just the one-shots she did before in 2006 for Vogue Paris, and earlier this year again for Interview. Judging by the results, Freja by McDean is definitely a collaboration that I want to see again and again.

The combination of Freja's raw sensibilities and the delicate, soft construction of the clothes makes this editorial work. (I also love the pairing of black leather and pink silk.) Even though it's a bit cliche, this hard/soft juxtaposition is alluring, and I can't think of a better model to carry it out with aplomb. After all, Freja is herself a juxtaposition of many seemingly opposing characteristics.

The furrow of her brow, her scowl and the slight sense of unease portrayed on her face fit the concept, and for once I'm not disappointed to see Freja's toughness shine through. Her long, slender body lines (made even more so by the criss-crossing ribbons) serve to make the ballerina concept believable. And I really love the makeup job here. The white-chalkiness covering her hands, arms and legs make it seem as if she's ready to get down to serious business. Like she's preparing her body to undertake a grueling session.

The fifth shot is practically unreal. Just look at how precarious Freja's feet are! Yet, if you take a look at the posture of her upper body and face she looks completely at ease like she's staring off into space--as if she isn't teetering on ridiculously small toe-points. Pulling that off only comes with experience folks. Well, that and a good sense of balance.

And the last shot with Freja's thumb hooked onto the buckle loop is exactly the kind of attention to detail that takes an editorial from great to superb in my book. It's this type of calculated spontaneity that produces an editorial you can look at again and again without getting bored. In fact, the more times you look the more you discover. I didn't even realize this was a regular, old studio edit because I was so enamored with it's execution and Freja's delicately strong performance.

Lately I've been trying to organize the archive that you see at the top of this blog so I've had the opportunity to re-visit almost all of Freja's old work. When I see an editorial like this, I'm so proud and impressed at just how much she's grown as a model. The movements, the expressions, the ease, and the familiarity are second nature to Freja now. There is something to be said for taking the time needed to hone your craft and develop your skills through years of experience. And this makes me sad to think about all the models who are never given that time because we've moved on from their look in one or two seasons. Yeah, when Freja first started out she was awkward and probably couldn't have produced something like this. But the beauty here lies in the fact that we've seen her stick around long enough to mature and transform. So as much as I love discovering new models, I'd rather see less turnover in the industry if it means I get to see more work like this.

So here's to another 5 years, Freja!

Image Credits: Fashion Gone Rogue

Interview Editorial

Tomas Maier
Interview Magazine December/January 2010
Ph: Craig McDean


Just when I think Karl has a stranglehold on Freja's career, she goes and works with Meisel and Craig McDean. Always expect the unexpected when it comes to Freja. Lesson learned. Anyway, it's just one shot but at least it's something different. To my knowledge, Freja has only worked with McDean once before back in 2006 for an editorial in Vogue Paris, which resulted in this one shot:

A La Ligne
Vogue Paris September 2006
Ph: Craig McDean


And for reference, here are the rest of the shots from the Interview ed:

It's a beautifully simple and straight forward editorial, photographed with an emphasis on the clothes. As it should be since the accompanying article is all about Tomas Maier, designer of Bottega Veneta. Nevertheless, I'm a bit disappointed that all of the shots are solo ones because I was really looking forward to seeing how Freja, Hanne and Kasia would photograph together. Perhaps another time, as I think Hanne and Kasia are two of the most dynamic, newer presences both on and off the page.

Lastly, another thing I found of interest is that Michelle Lee at KCD did the casting. As past interviews show, she favors strong girls and she is responsible for casting many shows during fashion month--most notably Marc Jacobs and Marc by Marc Jacobs. Hopefully this means we'll be seeing Freja on those runways again come February. It's safe to assume Michelle is a fan, and unless Freja decides to retire in between now and then, I don't think we'll be disappointed.

Image Credits: artandcommerce, my scans from Interview Magazine Dec/Jan 2010

Freja Fans are Everywhere

In the current June/July 2009 issue of Interview magazine with Bjork on the cover, there is an interview of artist Chantal Joffe by designer Stella McCartney. While reading this feature, I was pleasantly surprised to see Freja pop up in conversation and in painting.

Picture of the artist in her studio

Here is the intro to the piece to give you an idea of who Joffe is (bolded for the tl,dr crowd), followed by some interesting excerpts:

Women, children and fashion--on paper, Chantal Joffe's interests seem pretty quotidian. But on canvas, where the 39-year-old artist paints shots ripped from fashion magazines, or photographs of friends holding their babies, the feminine world suddenly becomes a dark, loaded, highly sexualized place. Joffe in not a realist. She distorts the women in her frames for ultimate psychological effect. But the subjects rarely seem like victims, even if the brushstrokes are hard and unforgiving. It turns out, Joffe is actually a massive fan of fashion and sees what she does as high celebration. She paints models like Freja Beha, Kate Moss and Lara Stone because they seem to her like storybook characters come to life. Recently, Joffe even collaborated with fashion photographer Miles Aldridge, painting his wife, model Kristen McMenamy, in Joffe's studio, while Aldridge shot film. This paint was included in the artist's most recent solo show, in New York this spring at Cheim & Read gallery. The love of the fashion industry has proven reciprocal. Stella McCartney is one designer who collects Joffe's work. In fact, Joffe has painted all three of McCartney's children (the paintings hand in the Stella McCartney store in London) and even shot models backstage at McCartney's Fall 2009 show in Paris. The two friends caught up to discuss, among other things, why the weird models are always the sexiest.
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MCCARTNEY: Because it doesn't look like one. It looks tome like a celebration of the female form--and that in itself is a connection with fashion.
JOFFE: I don't know where else I would find all of those images of women. And I actually love specific models as well. It's funny, I've been painting Freja a lot.
MCCARTNEY: So you saw her at my show then?
JOFFE: Yeah, it was like meeting somebody out of a book. I mean, I didn't talk to her, and I didn't really want to. She's such an odd character.
MCCARTNEY: Why didn't you want to talk to her?
JOFFE: I thought she might think I was creepy more than anything else. [both laugh] But I like the weird ones. I like the girls who are a little odd.
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JOFFE: When you're looking through a magazine, what makes you stop and think is when you see an image and imagine the narrative that is going on inside of it. Those are the ones I make into paintings.
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JOFFE: Do you pick the models for your show?
MCCARTNEY: I choose them. I have a guy who does casting for me, but we work together. It's funny because whenever someone else is excited about a girl who I am not keen on and I eventually give in, I always regret it when I see her on the runway....
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MCCARTNEY: And yet you paint these lovely, young women who just come across as perfection. You paint perfection sometimes, don't you? When you think of fashion photography, it's a dream. It's like we all want to be those women. We want to wear those dresses.
JOFFE: I don't think I do want to be them. I'm fascinated to imagine what their lives are like, but I certainly wouldn't want to be them.
MCCARTNEY: I don't think their lives are anywhere near a glamorous as you think.
JOFFE: It just fascinates me to be only 18 and to have that life.
MCCARTNEY: Eighteen! They're old if they're 18 in this day and age.
JOFFE: Right. But still I'm interested in the sheer fascination of beauty--beauty is fascinating.

For sake of comparison, the original photographs:

I love art so I was absolutely thrilled to see this. At first glance Joffe's paintings could be considered slightly grotesque but I think that's part of their beauty. I could go on and on about the artistic implications of her work, but I'll spare you...

It's nice to see that there are Freja fans everywhere from all walks of life. Now I feel like my fanaticism is legitimized in a way because I'm in good company and it's being addressed in Interview magazine. And I thought the part where Stella talks about the casting for her show was very illuminating. Freja has walked for her many times so I suppose we can call Stella a fan as well. :) Anyway, if you're interested I've scanned the full article below. Now we should keep our eyes out for more of Joffe's work!

Image Credits: fashionista.com, my scans