An Issue of Size

Shrink to Fit
Vogue Italia April 2010
Ph: Steven Meisel
Styling: Karl Templer
Other Models: Abbey Lee Kershaw, Amber Valletta, Angela Lindvall, Geidre Dukauskaite, Gwen Loos, Monika "Jac" Jagaciak, Joan Smalls, Lara Stone

Here is an editorial where the concept and casting completely win me over. In what could have been a predictable and boring studio edit, Vogue Italia and Meisel give us something quite enchanting, whimsical and beautiful. The idea of doing a shoot where the clothes are too small, even for the models, is hilariously ironic. Perhaps a slight nod to the model size debate that seems to wage on endlessly without accomplishing any sort of institutional or ideological change?

If you've been following along, all the different camps like to point their fingers of blame at each other with no one group willing to take on even the slightest bit of responsibility. Designers say that agencies send them girls who are too thin. Agencies say that designers make sample clothes so tiny that they need thinner and thinner girls to fit into them. Both say that the general public does not want to see bigger girls in magazines and advertisements; for fashion is about fantasy and aspiration, and not reality and the truth. Who's to blame? Everyone? No one? Me? You?

I feel like Meisel is kind of thumbing his nose at the whole issue here, poking fun of things in a subtle but subversive way. Ok, so maybe "thumbing his nose" isn't the right phrase. Whatever he's doing, I feel like he's trying to say something about the debate, but I'm just not sure what. Or perhaps he was merely inspired by the debate and took it as a jumping off point for this story. Regardless, when I see this editorial in its entirety, I start thinking about the eternal conundrum, "what came first, the chicken or the egg?" Or in this case, "what came first, thin models or small sample sizes?" Try wrapping your head around that one.

At first glance, this editorial looks very similar to the one Meisel did for the March issue of Vogue US (also featuring Freja). Same studio setup and plain, drab background. But upon further inspection you begin to notice that the two stories couldn't be more dissimilar. The execution and underlying motivation of each really shows you how different Vogue US and Vogue Italia really are as publications in terms of creative freedom and expressive risk-taking. One's purpose is to showcase clothes for general mass consumption. The other's is to contribute to a larger, relevant fashion discourse and make you see and think about clothes in a new way. Amazing how all the same elements can result in such two different outcomes, for the context and the words "US" and "Italia" really do have that much of an impact on what an editorial by Meisel will look like.

Anyway, I really do enjoy the casting here. It's a little bit unpredictable, but at the same time it feels comfortable. I like seeing new girls get their chance, and if any older model needs a comeback it's definitely Amber. The styling is rather ingenious with no detail overlooked, even down to the models' too small shoes. (In Freja's last shot you can see her heel jutting out over the edge of her loafer. So brilliant.) I know that the hair styles have gotten a lot of flack and most people find them to be too distracting. But for me, the hair contributes another degree of charm to the whole story. I can just picture all the models getting pushed into the wash, and here they have all just emerged with their hair wet and disheveled, and their clothes shrunk.

Kind of makes you wonder, what size are those clothes if they look too small even for models? Quadruple zero? Size negative (does that even exist) ? Just another testament to the great styling and an overall great editorial concept. These images might not strike most people as being beautiful, but that doesn't mean that they aren't. For me they posses a beauty that goes beyond surface appearances down to ideas and the intellectual statement. And the way they challenge conventional fashion norms is also a beauty in and of itself.

Agree? Disagree? Did you get another reading? Let me hear it! :)

Image Credits: Scanned by tFS member Diciassette (17) @ tFS

FTV

Are you still feeling withdrawls from the F/W runway shows ending? Lucky for you, FTV has started uploading their videos onto their youtube account. We're talking dozens of them from this past season and from older seasons too. They have videos of runway shows, front rows, backstage, parties, recaps and of course their infamous Model Talks.

If you have patience and a good chunk of free time, browse through and I'm sure you'll find some Freja clips or something else that interests you. If you love seeing what the backstage of a show looks like, then FTV's youtube channel is your new best friend. Just a small taste:

Roberto Cavalli F/W 10.11 Backstage @ 1:04, 1:22, 2:45

Max Mara F/W 10.11 Backstage @ 0:22, 0:32, 1:36

Not only do you get a good sense of what it feels like backstage; you also get to see a lot of different models as they get prepped, making these videos a haven if you're into model street style as well. Furthermore, you get the chance to hear different, lesser known models talk, which is always an enjoyable and surprising thing.

It seems like FTV is going through their Milan footage now, so hopefully this means Paris footage isn't too far behind. And after that, perhaps another batch of Model Talks vids? Fingers crossed.

On Repeat: Freja, Meisel, Vogue Italia

For the second month in a row, Freja is featured in the main story for Vogue Italia photographed by Steven Meisel. If you're keeping track, Freja and Meisel have now collaborated five times in as many months; four times for VI and one time for Vogue US. To go from zero to one hundred like this is simply mind-boggling if you've been following Freja since the early years. All the evidence points to the fact that she's now become a Meisel favorite, but I still can't help but to think "this will be the last time," every time I see them working together.

Maybe I just don't like to count my eggs before they hatch. Maybe I'm just too weary and overly cautious in my age. Or maybe I'm just a pessimist. I should probably just shut up and enjoy the ride, but knowing that Meisel can be very fickle in terms of models (Daria and Elise immediately come to mind) is holding me back from completely embracing the fact that Freja is now a Meisel girl. Is anyone else having the same problem? Or is it just me?

Anyway, there are other girls in the story, but each seems to have been shot individually. It's a great mix of old and new: Amber Valletta, Angela Lindvall and Joan Smalls, Gwen Loos. I'm also thrilled to see Geidre Dukauskaite, a previous Meisel fav, return to prominence!

Now that Freja has been in plenty of Meisel editorials, it still remains to be seen whether she'll be in a Meisel campaign. I don't mean to get too ahead of myself and entirely contradict what I just said above, but with editorials in back to back issues of VI, maybe it is more likely that she'll land in one of the campaigns he shoots. The question is, which one? And even if she doesn't, I'll be so happy with her campaign season as it stands: Chanel and Max Mara. Besides, I never like it when you see the same model in 10 campaigns. After all, variety is the spice of life, and there are too many other girls who I want to see have some taste of success.

Video Credit: vogue.it

Campaign News - Max Mara

She's done it! Freja has landed the F/W 10.11 Max Mara ad campaign shot by Mario Sorrenti. Perhaps not the biggest surprise considering she opened and closed the runway show, but a surprise nonetheless as it's a new campaign for her and she's not really known as a Sorrenti fave. Beside, we all know that opening and closing a show doesn't guarantee a model anything. (How many times has Freja opened and closed Akris? And instead Daphne Guinness has the campaign once again.)

Thanks to mikel at tFS for breaking the news:

"The face belongs to the Danish top model Freja Beha Erichsen: large, dark eyes, an angular face, a slim figure. Immortalized by the legendary photographer Mario Sorrenti. These are the two protagonists of the fall-winter 2010-2011 campaign by Max Mara, shot in Paris, which depicts the essential elegance of the label with an all black and white look at the collection. Hair and make-up have been created by Luigi Morenu and Aaron De Mey fpor Streeters. This is an "encore" performance for Sorrenti who also shot the fall-winter 2009 campaign featuring the model Eniko Mihalik."

I think it speaks loads to Freja's modeling ability that two labels generally thought of as very classic (Chanel and tweed suits, and Max Mara and camel coats) have her as their campaign girl. Classic isn't exactly the first thing that comes to mind when people think of Freja--edgy, modern, and androgynous are more the norms. But the classicism is there in the refined lines and structure of her face. The clean beauty that Freja is capable of portraying is the perfect compliment to the simple but elegant clothing of Max Mara. It's a pity that her off-duty persona has grown so much that it overshadows the many different facets that she's capable of expressing in her modeling work.

Even though the campaign might look similar to last seasons' as Max Mara always seems to have the same look to it's campaigns, I can't wait to see it. And just for the record, Freja also opened and closed the Isabel Marant runway show this past season.....

Image Credits: style.it

High Praise

In a video interview about the February 2010 Vogue UK cover shoot featuring Natalia Vodianova, Nick Knight happens to bestow some high praise on Freja.

"Natalia is one of those models like Kate or Naomi or Freja who are just fantastic. They know how to express themselves. First of all they interpret the narrative of a piece of clothing really interestingly. And that's one of the main things the model does. Models are kind of an interesting mixture of very, very good actresses (oh really?) and very good sportspeople."

Check it out @1:20

That's quite the compliment coming from someone who's only photographed Freja for two editorials (Pop Hit for Vogue UK March 2007 and About a Boy for Vogue UK April 2008). She must have made quite the impression in order to have Nick lump her in with models like Kate, Naomi and Natalia (who are arguably the last of the supermodels). I hope this means that we'll be seeing a Knight lensed editorial sometime in Freja's near future. Or maybe they just recently worked together which is why Freja was so fresh on his mind? (Hmmmm.....keep those eyes peeled.)

Lately Freja has been expanding her oeuvre in terms of photographers who she's worked with (think Demarchelier, Meisel, Olins, Richardson, Summerton) so adding Knight to the list again would be quite lovely. If not for an editorial, then perhaps a multimedia project for SHOWstudio? It's been quite a while since the last one Freja did for Knight's online forum that has the the lofty goal of expanding fashion film parameters.

"Writing on the Wall"

Anyway, being a successful model has as much to do with the people who support you as it has to do with what qualities and talents you bring to the table. With regards to Freja, perhaps I focus too much on the later and not enough on the former. I've mentioned Freja fans in the industry before (Alexander Wang, Marcus and David of Rag & Bone, Stella McCartney and artist Chantal Joffe, Vogue UK's Jaime Perlman) but I've done so in a very flippant way. Well, not only are these people fans; they're also supporters and I'm guessing that a good measure of Freja's success is owed to them and the many others in the industry who have supported her since her early years. People like Russell Marsh who gave Freja her first runway exclusive with Prada her first season, Michelle Lee of KCD who repeatedly casts Freja for the Marc Jacobs shows, and Freja's mother agent Jeppe at Unique Copenhagen. Of course, you can have all the right people backing you, but if you don't have the goods as a model your career will fade away just as quickly as it lit up. Luckily, Freja has both components: a strong foundation of supporters and a huge reservoir of talent. This is why she's been successfully modeling for half a decade.

Nevertheless, I'm not so naive and caught up in my own fandom as to think that everyone loves Freja. I know that some people don't get her appeal and I have no trouble understanding and accepting that (but if you're reading this you're probably not one of those people). Luckily the people who count, in terms of models getting booked for work, do get it. The people that have a say in which model we see in whatever campaign, editorial, and runway show all seem to see what we Freja fans see. And knowing that doesn't make me feel so weird about having such a singularly focused blog. I get enough heartache and disappointment whenever I see my lesser known model favs fade, so it's good to be a part of the vast majority when it comes to Freja. You know...if she ever stops working or decides to pull a SS08/SS09 again and partially skip another season, a lot of people are going to be inconsolable. Fortunately things seem to be going in our favor.....for now.

Credits: Vogue UK video via rox_yr_sox @ tFS