Diverge - Converge

What comes to mind when you think of "Valentino"?
Femininity, luxury, elegance, red, etc....am I right?

What comes to mind when you think of "Freja"?
Androgyny, tomboy, leather, cool attitude, etc....yes?

So how can we reconcile the two? How we can explain Freja's role of prominence for the established high fashion house that represents nearly everything that Freja is not? Two consecutive ad campaigns, lots of runway looks, opening the just held SS11 Haute Couture show......what gives?

Even though the two (fashion house and model) may seem so divergent at a surface glance, I actually think Freja is a wonderfully suitable choice to take the brand into the new decade. She is the perfect bridge between traditional elegance and modern edge. She is accessible and beautiful, but also avantgarde and quirky. Her classic beauty references the past, but the personal sensibilities she imbues into her work scream the present, the here, the now. If a venerable house wants to embrace the ever evolving spectacle of modern life and show that it isn't stifled by it's own history, then Freja is the perfect model for the job. (I suspect this is also why Karl is so taken with Freja for Chanel.)

If you don't change, you die. But change too quickly and you lose sense of your very core being. We're all going through this same balancing act in life; whether we're an old school fashion house, a successful model, or just a mere fan. We're all just trying to find ways to navigate through the confusion of surviving while the world swirls and changes around us. And sometimes, in this madness, disparate elements will converge together to make absolute sense.

Image Credits: style.it

Freja's Place Within the Cult of the Model

Freja seems to be getting more and more press these days. Not only does she have an editorial in the February issue of Vogue UK, but she's also discussed quite a bit for an article in the same issue regarding "The Cult of the Model." She seems to be one of the poster girls for our current obsession with models......how wide spread and pervasive this "obsession" is amongst the general public is questionable and open for debate. But among model followers and fashion insiders, Freja has certainly made a name for herself this past year. As someone familiar with her career back when she chopped her hair off and wasn't getting covers and editorials in all the major Vogues, it has been quite the journey of ups and down, elations and disappointments, anticipation and apathy.

Now I can't help but to wonder, has Freja made enough of an impact to withstand the fickleness of the industry, it's constantly changing tides, and the pitfalls of stereotyping and overexposure? Has she made it over the ridge and to the plateau where we can all rest easy knowing that we'll always be seeing work from her, a la Daria, Kate and Giselle? Or has this second coming in career doomed her to a fate similar to the countless other hyped faces who are everywhere one minute and then forgotten the next?

I suspect the answer to this lies in Freja, and Freja alone. It lies in her own goals, aspirations and wants out of life. And it lies in her modeling skills, which are on full and glorious display in this editorial.

Look Forward
Vogue UK February 2011
Ph: Patrick Demarchelier
Styling: Kate Phelan

She has the goods.....whether she wants to use them and for how long is the uncertainty here. It's a total shame that so many casual observers seem to write her off as a one-look pony. If they took the time or effort to truly look, they would discover what we fans have discovered long ago. And they would see that 6 years worth of work creates a book dominated by androgyny, yes, but also full of delightful subtleties, underrated femininity, and untapped potential. Oh yes, Freja is far from a one-trick pony, but I suppose the words of Vogue UK have more gravitas than the words of a simple fan.

"Look at Freja: demure for a Harry Winston ad, accessorized with an innocent smile and a slice of wedding cake and wearing a strapless dress straight out of a fairy tale; for MaxMara, she's a chic young mother in a camel coat about to go shopping down the via Montenapoleone in Milan; she's a girl hanging out at a music festival in skinny leather jeans for Vogue."

After writing about this kind of stuff for so long, I'm just happy these notions are being recognized by sources with a rider reach. Because maybe now I can take a long break.....or maybe Freja will come out with even more work to get me hooked again. :)

Image Credits: scans by tFS member gossiping

Pirelli

All images from the Pirelli Calendar have been leaked. I feel a bit strange posting all of Freja's shots outright on this blog, so you can see the pictures here. (I think I have an irrational fear that the Pirelli police will shut me down, or someone will inevitably contact Google and "flag" this blog for "objectionable" content, ie nudity. Although in my opinion nudity is far less objectionable than violence, but that's neither here nor there.)

Anyway, the good news is Freja is on the Calendar cover! The bad news (at least to me) is Freja is on the Calendar cover wearing a codpiece. A codpiece similar to the one Baptiste is wearing here. In the immortal words of Homer Simpson, "Doh!" I don't really feel like there's any point in elaborating any further on my thoughts about these images. If you've been reading the blog, you'll know what I think. If you haven't been reading this blog, then you're probably just here for the pictures anyway so it doesn't really matter what I think. And anyway, I'm more interested in hearing what you all out there think.

On the bright side, this is yet another fashion accomplishment that Freja can notch on her belt: Calendar pin up girl......sort of? (Not sure how to address it since she's a female playing a male. So Calendar pin up person?) And it is great that she can play both feminine and masculine roles because that ability opens up another 50% of job possibilities to her. More job possibilities means more work. But I just hope to god Freja doesn't dig herself so deep into one role, one stereotype, one image, that she can never get herself out. I have my fingers crossed that the upcoming Chanel and Louis Vuitton campaigns can begin to swing the pendulum back towards the other side so that we can see some kind of balance and a settling at the center. Because after this Calendar, the Vman editorial, Star Girls in Vogue UK, and Think Punk, I'm looking forward to seeing some other facets of Freja. And I'm looking forward to seeing her model some clothes for once. ;) The Freja Exposure Rate is literally off the charts now after this.

Image Credits: pirelli.com originally via tFS member testinofan, before images were deleted from tFS.

The Many Faces Of

My recent post got me thinking about the upside of Freja's deluge of work, and pictures can say it better than words can:

With so much work to be seen, we get a true sense of how versatile Freja really is. In many cases her reputation precedes her and people write her off as only belonging to the tough and edgy category. But all of this work, side by side, really reveals the often underrated subtlety and quality of her transformative abilities. Freja is a model who is capable of giving people what they want, when they want it. She is simultaneously all things to all people, and yet utterly true to herself for we never lose sight of her individuality amidst all the makeup, styling, concepts and characters. She is both chameleon and persona. Malleable and distinct. Once again toeing the line between extremes, existing in the space between where the paradox resides.

This paradoxical quality makes her instantly intriguing, captivating and mysterious. How does she do it? How does she go from punk to glam so effortlessly? This is one of things about Freja that has grabbed a hold of me and will never let me go. So no matter how I much I complain or whine, I could never walk away from a model this talented and hardworking. Can you imagine any one else being able to take on all these different roles so thoroughly and successfully? Any one else who could do it with both aplomb and humility? No? Neither can I.

Image Credits: All credits are in the image file name

Did I Miss Something?

Since when did Freja's sexuality become officially confirmed news? Did I miss the memo? The press release? Something? Because to the best of my knowledge Freja has never officially said anything about her sexuality one way or another. (Yes, yes we all assume but that's a different story and that's not what is at dispute here.) I've always taken her silence on the topic to mean that it's none of our business and I try to respect that. After all, this blog is mainly focused on her work. But when supposedly credible sites (with credible being a relative word) start taking liberties with labels, I get irked:

1. From AfterEllen and an article about Evan Rachel Wood in Nylon: "While looking at fashion magazines, she describes herself as a “tomboy in heels,” and comments that photos of the lesbian model Freja Beha Erichsen in the French Vogue are 'hot s--t.'"

2. This old post at Jezebel, "Is British Vogue Afraid of Lesbians?"

Given that there has never been any official confirmation from either Freja or her agencies regarding the subject of her sexuality, I think it's wrong for these sites to write what they did. They're being assumptive when they should be fact checking. Most of us are assumptive too, but most of us aren't news sources either. Sites like these reduce her down to being the lesbian model, and this ignores the entirety of her talent and the work she does. This ignores the fact that she got to where she is based on grit, determination and hard work, not on the basis of her sexuality. Moreover, this makes it seem like her sexuality is the only thing she's notable for and the only thing she's identifiable by. Like it will be her lasting legacy, even though throughout her career it's been more of a non-issue. Just something curious fans pondered about. But now it's like Freja has become the token lesbian model despite the fact that she hasn't officially made her sexuality public knowledge. Instead she has always focused on the work, preferring to live the rest of her life well outside the public view. I feel like these sites are being disrespectful of that. And I cringe from the thought that in 10-20 years time, Freja will just be a footnote that reads "lesbian model" when she is so, so much more.

I really hope no one takes this post the wrong way. I don't think being deemed a lesbian model is a bad thing, but when you're dealing with a model of Freja's status, I feel like it's kind of dismissive. It would be like sites writing the "big breasted model" in regards to Lara Stone, or the "model with the mole" in regards to Cindy Crawford, if that makes sense. I'm just irritated by this and it's hard for me to explain why. It's not out of disbelief. (Lord knows the world would be a better place if people were more open and proud of their sexuality...normalcy helps to temper the violence that's bred by ignorant hate.) It's not out of aversion. (The world could definitely use more lesbian and gay prefaces to names.) It's more out of a respect for Freja's privacy and a desire to see her given her due credit. I already know some of you will think I'm being ridiculous or overly sensitive (there sure seem to be a lot more of you out there nowadays); but I just think this is all uncouth and invasive, especially since we all know how private of a person Freja is.

Besides, why is there such a need to know who she is off the runway? Isn't it enough that she's a tremendously talented model who gets a ton of work? Shouldn't that satisfy us as fans? Or does all of this stem from a desire to set Freja up as a role model of sorts? (Top of her industry, well known, not exactly open about her sexuality but not dismissive or afraid of it either....these qualities don't come around all that often in the modeling industry.) If this is the case, I completely understand the impetus behind it. But I also think that if you're going to herald a person for being a specific way, that person should be able to openly embrace that aspect of themselves that you're heralding. There shouldn't be any hesitation or question about it. Confirming something and not saying anything about something are not the same thing. I'm not going to call Freja out for being a vegetarian if she's never said that she's a vegetarian. Even if I only ever see her eat veggies, it's just not my place to say unless she says so herself, because for all I know she eats meat too. Even if the possibility is small, it's still a possibility until it's been refuted. Hmmm, maybe that wasn't the best analogy since you choose vegetarianism while you're born with sexuality, but it's all I could come up with.

Call me old-fashion, but I still place value in privacy and I still think that personal matters should remain personal, not spread around without consent. Sadly in this day and age, there seem to be less and less people who feel this way as things like facebook and twitter allow us all to indulge the stalker within. I shudder to think what things will be like in 5-10 years. Anyway, your thoughts on the matter? Do you think it's ok for sites like AE and Jezebel to out Freja? Or do you think her sexuality should be left out of the discussion completely? Keep in mind that Freja is a model and not a celebrity. She didn't implicitly sign away her rights to privacy when she started to model 5 years ago. Model-as-cult-celebrity is a very recent phenomenon spurred on by the proliferation of the internet's role within the fashion industry. And it's an entirely different phenomenon from the era of the Supers. So I don't believe it's fair to cop-out and say that this is just part of the job, because it isn't and it shouldn't be.

(And yes, I'm fully aware that this post is kind of hypocritical seeing as I'm talking about the very thing I'm essentially denouncing, but this is the first and last time I will address this topic. Sometimes you have to participate in the very thing you're speaking out against in order to make your point. It's the classic complicit vs. subversive dilemma. All you humanities majors should be very familiar with this.)

Freja by Hedi

It's no secret that a lot of Freja's recent work seems lackluster to me. This editorial is really no different. I don't love, I don't hate it, I just.....see it. One thing I am thrilled about is that Freja finally got the chance to work with Hedi Slimane. But maybe finding out that he shot this before I actually saw the final product was setting me up for disappointment. I was hoping the editorial would turn out to be something more like Hedi's Girls, but instead we got Freja half naked in a weird looking, blond wig.

Temps libre
Vogue Paris November 2010
Ph: Hedi Slimane
Styling: Carine Roitfeld

If you haven't noticed by now, I have a tendency to let very small, aesthetic features on the surface determine my like or dislike for an editorial. For all the analysis and serious thought I profess to do on this blog, I can be quite shallow. One of the main reasons I hate "Think Punk"? The hair. One of the main reasons I don't really like this editorial? The hair. (Though I will say that Freja's posing here is pretty exquisite and beautiful.) This shallowness is not something I'm proud of, but at least I recognize it and I'm not afraid to admit it. After all (and maybe we don't like to admit it) shallowness is a characteristic pervasive throughout all of fashion....and perhaps it's also a characteristic that largely defines it.

It's probably not very fair of me to compare this to Hedi's Girls, because that editorial signifies so much for me. It was one of the earlier ones that really affected me and made me see the beauty of the human body and made me take fashion photography seriously. It basically sealed the deal in regards to my love for fashion and models like Daria and Raquel. I was following fashion before it, but after it I was really following fashion.

Anyway, I was talking with a friend about my recent apathy and she made some really good points that I'm going to sum up here. Let me make this clear: I don't like that I feel so apathetic and I don't want to feel this way. Freja is my favorite model and I've been running this blog for two years now. Apathy is not a good thing to feel if you're in my position. After expressing these worries, this is what my friend had to say, in a nutshell. Back when Freja wasn't working so much, each editorial that she had felt so special and amazing because they were so few and far between. I loved and appreciated them so much because I was just happy to see new work from her. But this year Freja has been working a ton, and it's hard to keep up that level of excitement and wonder when she's putting out new work practically every week. To be honest, it gets downright exhausting, and everything starts to blend into each other because there's just so much of it.

I feel like such a little punk complaining about all the work Freja gets....lol. It's like the so-called plight of the rich; complaining about problems only rich people have, while the majority of the population is just getting by. I'm sure Snejana fans would love it if she had even 1/8 of the amount of work Freja is getting right now....hehehe. Any model would be lucky to have the career that Freja has, and any fan would be over the moon if their favorite model was as successful as Freja is. But perhaps it's just human nature to never be satisfied, even if things are going your way 100%. Or maybe it's just my nature? I don't know. If anyone else has similar feelings please do speak up.

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Also, in case you didn't know Freja has another editorial in this issue of Vogue Paris. But in lieu of posting the ed and promoting the photographer, I'm going to leave you with this instead. (Be sure to click and enlarge the image so you can read the text.)

If this controversy is enough of a cultural zeitgeist that people who draw comics recognize and incorporate it, that's definitely saying something. The fashion industry should be utterly ashamed. People completely unrelated to and outside the industry feel the need to address this issue, while everyone within continues to ignore it. Yeah, that's bullshit. This is just one of the many things I hate about fashion, in addition to it's failure to deal with questions of racism on the runway, eating disorders in it's models, and the legal age limits of its newfaces. I also hate that despite all of this, I still follow fashion and can't seem to stop. Makes me feel so guilty and complicit to horrible things I would not put up with in other arenas of life. :( If you want to see the editorial, you can find it on tFS.

Image Credits: scans by tFS member Valentine27, ontd via racked.com

Changing Tides

I know I seem to be stuck on this subject (considering I just wrote something in the same vein two posts ago), but I think it's a pretty huge deal. Especially to all the longtime Freja fans out there. So what's the big deal? Freja is officially a modeling icon, or about as close as one can get to becoming a modeling icon these days under modern circumstances. She's no longer obscure, fringe or merely a cult hit. The tide has changed and she's mainstream, well known and recognizable now. I know, I know, we'll never return to the era of the supermodels. But at the same time, we shouldn't use that as the barometer against which we measure all subsequent modeling successes by. For the past is past, and we are firmly in the present. That past can never be replicated so long as the world evolves and things change. And if there is one certainty in life it's that things do change. The fact that a heavily tattooed, spotlight avoiding, tomboyish model sits at the top of a modeling industry predicated on long held feminine ideals of beauty should tell you as much. It's hard to imagine such a thing happening 10 years ago or even 5 years ago. But it's happening now.

We do get modeling waves: the Brazilians, the Russians, and (currently) the Dutchies. But the remarkable thing about Freja is that she doesn't belong to any of those waves. She didn't ride on the coat tails of an industry wide modeling trend. She started out when doll-like, blond models were all the rage. And so she got to where she is based on her uniqueness, personality, likability, authenticity and genuine appeal. That's what makes her an icon in today's fashion climate. That, and the fact that her career is stronger than ever five (almost six) years in.

Most of us had the fortune of witnessing the turnaround Freja's career has gone through this past year. She was a big name within the industry before, but now she's an even bigger name who has begun to transcend the boundaries that usually limit models like her to the high fashion sphere. So along with her high fashion cred, Freja has slowly earned commercial viability and mainstream appeal. She isn't a household name, but everyone seems to know her. And the work she's getting is beginning to reflect that.

Even Vogue Italia's editor in chief Franca Sozzani recognizes and write about it in her editor's blog on vogue.it:

"On July, 2010, three fashion magazines used the same Miu Miu dress, Vogue Uk, Elle Uk and W in America. Vogue UK had a model on the cover, Elle UK a singer - Lily Allen - and W Eva Mendes. In England sales were higher. Freja is the new icon for models. Eva Mendes didn't have an impact on W."

Freja can sell magazines! In a time where all American publications (cough, US Vogue, cough) tell us that celebrities are the only people who matter or who can move units off the newsstands, Freja is proving otherwise. Imagine that....a fresh, appealing face who isn't so completely overexposed that you're actually intrigued enough to see what she might have to say. Wow....I'm shocked (insert sarcastic smiley here). Anna Wintour take note; the general public might actually want to see someone besides a typical Hollywood starlet a la Blake Lively on the cover of Vogue. And to hit home on the idea of Freja's broader appeal, she'll be selling jewelry now as well.

Harry Winston Jewelry
Ph: Patrick Demarchelier

It's a bold move for Harry Winston, but a great coup for Freja. If I were her, I'd be going around to everyone I know saying "whatnowbitches...booyah!" But that's just me. I think that to a certain extent we've all underestimated Freja. Whether we think she can't pull off femininity or that she can't ever reach a high level of popularity, this campaign proves us all wrong. This is the type of campaign I've been waiting for. It gives her a completely new image, but one I always knew she was capable of. The irony of the images will not be lost on ardent fans, and the absence of tattoos might disappoint others; but the significance of this campaign is what's important here. And if all goes well, I think we could see Freja transcending even more boundaries in the future. So congrats to her. As she turns 23 and enters into a new stage of life, it's only fitting that her career should grow and mature as she has so beautifully done before our eyes.

Image Credits: bbs.sfileydy.com, twitter.com/amandaweiner, passionluxe.com via tFS member candlebougie

Sense of Self

There are so many reasons why Freja is one of my favorite models. But perhaps the biggest reason I admire her is that she's attained extreme success all while seemingly staying true to herself. In an industry that pressures you to do and be a lot of things, maintaining a solid sense of self is a really difficult thing to do. I always get the sense that with Freja, it's no compromises. What you see is what you get. Any change that has taken place is the result of natural growth, progress and maturation. Nothing seems forced, and Freja doesn't seem like some modeling robot born and breed to walk catwalks. She's an individual and her uniqueness comes across so well, which is why I think her fanbase is so large and so devoted. For some reason, we all find something in her to connect and relate to. And that is what fosters loyalty and love.

Anyway, I was looking at some backstage pictures from Alberta Ferretti and those are what got me thinking along these lines. Take a look at what I mean. Here are pictures of all the other models coming off the catwalk:

And now here's Freja:

When I saw these pictures the contrast literally made me laugh out loud. But this is why I love her. She's so endearingly herself. Just because she's a model, arguably one of the most "feminine" careers one can undertake, doesn't mean that she'll act the way we all think models should act. She could care less if there's a camera around, and she doesn't need to wear a new outfit everyday in an attempt to fit our conventional notions of model style. Just a pair of black jeans, a soft tee and a black leather jacket and Freja's good to go. Whether she's on duty, off duty or caught off guard, you honestly get the sense that she is the way she appears to be, without pretense. It's this genuine quality that drew me in and served as my gateway into fashion in general. If you can believe it or not, before Freja I barely knew anything about fashion. Now it's a whole different story.

Even if I get frustrated with her work sometimes, and even if it seems like I'm a bad fan because I'm overly critical, Freja will always be special to me. She ignited my love of fashion and models, and she also anchors it closer to reality with her individuality and accessibility. I love discovering new models, but I think a part of that has to do with the hope that I'll find another Freja among all the newbies.....that I'll find another model who will get me excited and make me feel inspired for more than just a season. Impossible, I know. But I still hope for it nonetheless. I'm willing to bet that most of you out there have similar feelings and stories as well. :)

Image Credits: sonnyphotos.typepad.com