Casting Intricacies

Prada was the first major runway show Freja ever walked in. Back during the FW0506 season she made her international runway debut as a semi-exclusive for the brand, and then promptly went on to Paris where she walked all the major shows. It's safe to say that Freja's never looked back. That initial casting decision by Russell March launched the amazing career that we know of today. In fact, it's exclusives and debuts like this that are responsible for the careers of many of our favorite models.

So what makes one girl different from another? Why did Russell choose Freja and what did he see in her? I guess he only knows the real answer to that, but I think we can gain some insight into his mind from this interesting interview of another influential casting director, Michelle Lee:

I guess what I look for in a model, are what differentiates one model as being good and one as being not so strong. It’s a model that has some sort of strength, whether it’s inside of them or it’s a physical characteristic. There has to be some element about them that grabs your attention. I think especially within the last year, casting has gone that way where people are less looking for that wet blanket, hanger body, no personality, no special kind of characteristic. Now people want these girls/women who embodies strength and power, it’s either somebody you want to look like or you believe them in these clothes. It’s much less about these new pile of 13, 14 year old, it’s more about these girls who have something that are slightly masculine about them, some sort of inner fortitude even if it’s a silent quiet strength, there’s something there. Or it could be something humorous or funny about their look or their personality. Something about them has to be extraordinary. There aren’t a lot of them out there but they exist!

Michelle of KCD is responsible for casting Marc Jacobs and Marc by Marc Jacobs (among a slew of other things). Yes, I realize that her casting process is probably totally different from Russell's, but I think the general idea of what she says applies across the board whether you're casting Prada or a local high school fashion show. There are just some concepts and universal truths applicable to all situations.

Isn't it amazing how the bolded parts above describe Freja to a T? It seems like Michelle had her in mind when she gave this interview because the qualities she describes are the very same qualities that attracted me to Freja. They are the same qualities that define her model persona: inner strength, power, silent fortitude, unwavering calm, slight masculinity...Freja embodies and is famous for it all.

So with Prada happening in a few hours and Freja likely to walk, you can bet I'll be watching the new exclusives and debuts to see what they bring to the table. Although I tend to think none of them will be able to hold a candle to Freja, only time will tell. Afterall, it did take a few seasons of practice for Freja to go from this green behind the ears, punky teen:

To this fierce as all hell, get in my way and I will stomp you woman:

Image Credits: style.com

London Recap

We got a real treat this week as Freja took to the London catwalks for her first ever showing at London Fashion Week. What a way to make an appearance - wait till the big 25th Anniversary celebration, walk the big name shows, and then even close the show for London's very own wunderkind designer. Hello London indeed! Back in June I thought this could happen but Freja's performance in London exceeded all my expectations.

London Fashion Week SS10 - 6 Shows Total
0 Opening Slots
1 Closing Slot

Burberry Prorsum - 2 Looks
Christopher Kane (C) - 1 Look
Jaeger London - 3 Looks
Jonathan Saunders - 2 Looks
Julien MacDonald - 2 Looks
Matthew Williamson - 2 Looks

Freja waited until the third day to show up, walking in the Matthew Williamson show. Matthew brought his show to London from New York and also brought back Freja to grace his catwalk after her absence from it last season. Later in the day Freja walked for Julien MacDonald much to my surprise.

On Monday we saw her close out the Christopher Kane show donning a blue number. Then we saw her in three looks at the Jaeger London show. Being that she was their campaign girl for the FW0809 season, it was fitting to see her walk this show.

The last day of London Fashion Week gave us two more expected Freja sightings. The first at Jonathan Saunders, a show she walked last season in New York (Jonathan is also the designer for Pollini, a brand which uses Freja in their current FW0910 campaign). The second at Burberry Prorsum, the big closeout show for the week. The London Fashion Council accomplished a great coup when it convinced Christopher Bailey to bring his show from Milan back to London. Burberry is the quintessential English brand, with it's check print known the world over. Freja has been a Burberry runway girl since the beginning of her career, only missing one show (I think). London Fashion Week just wouldn't have been complete without her there.

Milan starts today but I don't expect to see Freja appear until tomorrow at Prada. As usual, I'll do a complete update after the week is over. What shows do you want to see her walk in Milan? My wishlist/shows I think she's likeliest to walk: Versace, Jil Sander, Gucci, Marni, Missoni, Fendi, and of course Prada.

Also, all the above pictures are HQ so you can click through to see the bigger versions.

Image Credits: style.it

More New York Candids

Thanks to Megan, the blogger and owner of dariaw.onsugar.com, we have a few more candid shots of Freja in New York after the Derek Lam show. Megan had quite the New York fashion week experience. Not only was she lucky enough to meet the person she blogs about, she was also lucky enough to catch Freja coming out of the Bryant Park tents. Check out her shots (click through for HQs):

You can read about her experience here and see who else she photographed at the tents. Megan told me she didn't get to talk to Freja - she just admired her from afar. I don't know how you were able to contain yourself and maintain your distance. If I were in your shoes, I would have been all up in Freja's face. :)

Anyway Megan can attest, and it should come as no surprise, that Freja is just as perfectly gorgeous in real life as all her pictures would have you believe. And apparently she has a small paparazzi following. ;) Like I've said before, Freja fans are everywhere and from all walks of life.

Thanks for sharing your pictures Megan! And as a fellow Daria fan, I have to say that I'm so glad you got to meet her! Maybe one day I'll be lucky enough to meet the person I blog about....

Image Credits: dariaw.onsugar.com

Beautiful Pictures, Part II

I did this post a while ago about the beautiful pictures I found on Corbis taken by French photographer Delphine Achard. Well, it turns I made a small mistake. Delphine isn't a photographer for Corbis at all. In fact, she photographs for WWD and Vogue Paris! No wonder her pictures are so wonderful. If you work for illustrious publications like those, you have to be pretty good.

Anyway, Delphine was kind enough to send me a link to her new website where you can find more of her beautiful pictures: www.delphineachard.com Let me make this clear, she did not ask me to post the link here. I wanted to share it because I think you'll really enjoy her pictures. She has ones of all your favorite models: Anja, Anna J, Cat, Edita, Isabeli, Natasha, Snejana and more. There's only picture of Freja and it's one I've posted before, but here it is without the watermark.

There's a certain atmospheric quality about Delphine's backstage pictures that make them stand out for me. She really makes all the models look even more beautiful than they usually do. After you look at enough backstage pictures and candids, you can really begin to tell when a photographer understands and appreciates natural beauty because she lets it shine through in her work. If we're lucky, maybe Delphine will be shooting backstage again this fashion season. And if so, hopefully we'll get another batch of beautiful Freja pictures. Thanks Delphine!

Image Credits: delphineachard.com

I Met Freja - Cameo Lwin's Fan Encounter Story

I don't know about you, but I'm such a sucker for model encounter stories. I love hearing every single detail from who they were with to what they were wearing. So, thanks to the kindness and generosity of a Freja fan, I can share the story of a Freja encounter from a few days ago in New York.

All the credit for this goes to the wonderful Freja fan, Cameo Lwin. If you're going to repost her pictures anywhere, I ask that you please give her credit where credit is due. She was kind enough to want to share her experience and pictures, so please be respectful of that! Thank you.

While visiting New York, Cameo was lucky enough to run into Freja on a few occasions at the tents. In addition to getting some great candid shots, she also had the chance to speak to Freja. Here are her pictures and her story, in her own words.

I’ve known of this model Freja Beha Erichsen, featured in CK in2U and Gucci by Gucci ads since a couple years back. But I just didn’t really "notice" her until my friend showed me the pictures of her after she cut her hair short. I liked her unique style and how she always looked effortlessly cool in any outfit. I’m not a fashion fanatic. I love photography; be it landscape or high fashion editorials, and I simply fell in love with Freja’s pictures. The more I googled her, the more I got hooked.

By chance, I am in New York for Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Spring 2010, and so I decided to go to the tents to check out all the buzz, and to take pictures of models and celebrities.

I wasn’t feeling well and missed Alexander Wang and Erin Wasson shows on first few days :( I was finally well enough to go Bryant Park for Derek Lam’s show Sunday morning. I sat at the table opposite the backstage entrance of the tent, not so optimistic about my luck to bump into anyone big. I saw familiar faces of some models and I was casually snapping away candid shots of them passing by. Then I saw Freja walk out of the tent. She had her hair and makeup done, but she was still in her usual gear, i.e, t-shirt and jeans. She’s really thin (maybe since she doesn’t wear heels when she’s not working/walking, I think she kinda looked a little smaller compare to some other models with heels), but she look really fit. She sat at the table across mine and was talking to other models and crew. I went over to ask if I could take some pictures and if she would sign my t shirts, which she did willingly. She noted my hands were shaky and asked me if I was cold. I told her I was just very nervous to be in front of her. She laughed and told me there was no need to be. I believe all her fans already know that she has this low sexy voice. She was really warm and friendly. We chatted a little. She seemed genuinely pleased when I said I like her collection of tattoos. She even let me take a video of her saying hi to my friend in Asia, who is a HUGE fan of her’s. She told me to enjoy NY and the rest of the Fashion Week. I went back to sit down, still not believing that I’ve just talked to her. She continued to sit there for a good while, smoking and chatting with other models (Maryna, Heidi and a couple more), and only went back inside just before the show. It seems like everybody loves her and wants to be around her. After the show, she left with Lily D. Anyway, I am a Frily fan, so ... ;)

The next few days when I saw her at the Marc Jacobs, Narciso Rodriguez and Michael Kors shows, she remembered me and greeted me. I was on cloud 9! Every time I saw her, I noticed she was never late for shows. I never saw her running from photographers, or rushing and jumping over the chairs to get to the shows. She walked with a steady pace, always stopping and posing for pictures. Almost every reporter/photographer and fan I got to know during Fashion Week knows who Freja is and likes her. I don’t understand why some call her the bad girl or a rebel. I sincerely believe Freja is the nicest model I’ve ever met (followed closely by Lily Donaldson of course ^_^ ). I also got to meet and take photos of other models like Sasha, Anja, Natasha, Miranda Kerr etc and some celebrities like Eva Mendes and Emily Blunt, but Freja tops everyone…hands down!

Here are some of her pics I took. I know they are not the best quality photos but I'm glad I got them.

It still feels surreal to me that I met and talked to the edgy, stunning girl from the awesome pictures in glossy magazine pages. I adore Freja even more now, and wish her all the best in whatever she does :)

At Derek Lam with Heidi Mount


At Derek Lam with Lily Donaldson


At Derek Lam with Maryna Linchuk


FNO T-Shirt Autographed by Freja


After Marc Jacobs


At Narciso Rodriguez


At Michael Kors

Thanks so much for sharing your experience and photos with us Cameo! I know that all the Freja fans who haven't had the chance to meet her love and appreciate hearing stories from the fans who have. I know I absolutely do. I'm also so happy that everything worked out for you in New York. This couldn't have happened to someone nicer. :) Thanks again!

Image Credits: All Pictures taken by Cameo Lwin