What were the models in Louis Vuitton's Fall 2013 show doing before the runway spectacle got started? Some of them were being filmed by James Lima for a short film that casts them as sultry women of the evening.
Find out more about the film — and see it — when you click here.
All the news fit to print here, in our daily roundup.
Rather than casting a male model for his first Saint Laurent menswear campaign, Hedi Slimane hired Saskia de Brauw, the 31-year-old Chanel favorite, who appeared in last year's Pirelli Calendar.
Slimane styled and photographed de Brauw for the campaign last month in Los Angeles. When the brand revealed the first images from the campaign online late last week, it noted that there wasn't a makeup artist or hairstylist on set, allowing de Brauw's natural androgyny to shine through in the pictures. That makes sense for this campaign: When Slimane designed Dior Homme, his skinny suits for men were so popular that women snapped them up as well, and now all the pieces in this campaign will be available for both genders in January 2013.
The ads are also the public's first look at Slimane's menswear for Saint Laurent. In May, the house announced that only buyers would see Slimane's first women's resort and men's Spring collection so that he could make his formal debut at his Spring 2013 women's show in Paris.
Photos courtesy of Saint Laurent
>> You've seen the Spring 2012 Chanel campaign images, now here's the video. Saskia de Brauw and Joan Smalls engage in some serious seaside acrobatics — as Karl Lagerfeld directs — in this making-of video, shot on the sun-drenched coast of Antibes and set to the tune of Andrea Perry's "If You Come Over."
>> After five consecutive Chanel campaigns — ending with the Fall 2011 set styled by Carine Roitfeld — it sounds like Freja Beha Erichsen's reign has come to an end. Roitfeld and Karl Lagerfeld reteamed over the weekend at the Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc in Antibes, France, where Lagerfeld shot Saskia de Brauw and Joan Smalls for the Spring 2012 Chanel ads, which are “all about athletics and the sea. . . . It’s very modern sportif and in black and white,” according to the designer. He is now headed to Rome to shoot Fendi's Spring 2012 campaign with Arizona Muse, who will pose on the city's streets at dawn and dusk. She replaces Anja Rubik, who has been the face of Fendi for the past four seasons. [WWD]
>> Versace is in a state of change, Donatella Versace confirms. For the first time ever, she recently opened the house archives for a music video — Lady Gaga's new "Edge of Glory" video, to be exact — in which Gaga wears a strappy vintage Versace corset top and shorts, both in gold studded black leather. Style.com noted the change in direction earlier this week at Versace's Resort 2012 preview, of which many were reportedly commenting, "I'm not a Versace girl, but I'd wear that."
The house's Fall 2011 campaign is also perpetuating a new Versace era; instead of Mario Testino, who has done Versace campaign honors since 2004, Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott were the photographers of choice, a Versace first. And rather than featuring a celebrity or a blonde — as is typical for Versace — the campaign focuses on the brunette Saskia de Brauw. “For me, it is expected to have the blonde girl, the sexy girl, and this is what Versace meant recently,” explained Donatella. “But I thought about how in the past, when Gianni used girls like Kristen McMenamy and Stella Tennant, everyone was always saying, ‘Wow, this is not a Versace girl, she is not blonde.’ Sometimes you need to renew yourself to work better and to make a little bit of a push.”
Of the resulting images, Versace added: “It’s a glamorous woman and it’s a little pop, which I love. Mert and Marcus are very talented and full of ideas. This season is just the beginning. I want to push something different and new.”
>> The latest Fall 2011 campaign scuttlebutt: Isabeli Fontana is taking the early lead, with campaigns for Escada and Donna Karan booked, and a rumored appearance for Bottega Veneta as well. Karan's campaign, which was captured by Patrick Demarchelier the past three seasons, was snapped by Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin for Fall 2011.
Meanwhile, Steven Meisel shot (and Karl Templer styled) the Fall 2011 Louis Vuitton campaign in New York yesterday — but there will reportedly be no Kate Moss appearance as there was on the runway. In fact, no supermodels will be featured at all: Instead, the six models chosen are said to be from the current generation — "Top 50-ish, a bit new. Nothing from the Icon list." Daphne Groeneveld and Fei Fei Sun are rumored to be among them.
Kate Moss has reportedly been cast for another Fall 2011 campaign for Mango; however, it will be shot by Terry Richardson and is today, making lots of appearances on his blog.
Versace, like Donna Karan, is also switching up photographers — after going with Mario Testino for the past eight seasons, Donatella Versace has chosen Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott to do the Fall 2011 honors (with styling by Joe McKenna). Originally, the Versace campaign, like Vuitton, was reportedly supposed to feature six models, including Candice Swanepoel and Groeneveld, but the photographers are rumored to have settled instead on one girl with "short dark hair" who is a "cover star." Some are thinking that might indicate Saskia de Brauw as Versace's new girl.
To round out the Fall 2011 campaign placements so far, Juergen Teller shot Irina Kulikova yesterday for Moschino at Turin's Ristorante del Cambio, Ralph Lauren has reportedly cast its runway opener Sui He, and Liu Wen is rumored to be in the upcoming Dolce & Gabbana campaign.
A few images from the various shoots in the gallery.
>> Lately one of Riccardo Tisci's go-to models, 29-year-old Dutch model Saskia de Brauw is catching on quickly elsewhere, too. She is simultaneously featured on the big March 2011 Spring covers of two different Vogues: Vogue Paris, shot by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott (left) — which also happens to be Carine Roitfeld's last cover for the magazine — and Vogue Italia by Steven Meisel (right). [Models.com]
>> For the second Fall season in a row, the Rag & Bone boys have created a lot of want in the ten some-odd minutes it takes for their run of show. The futuristic bent that was introduced in their Spring 2011 collection stayed, but this time worked its way into a number of the Rag & Bone staples — cropped fitted jackets, kilts, knee socks, and cape coats. This was mashed together with a newfound fascination with texture: cow hides, nubby knits, neoprenes, shearlings, wools, and fringes were all represented.
As Marcus Wainwright noted backstage, "It started with Inuit people — the indigenous people of the Arctic circle — and on the other side of it, there was a French skiier called Jean-Claude Killy — so '70s ski — and it just went from there." As for the brilliant blue that was used so liberally in the second half of the show — where did that come from? "In looking at all of these pictures of the Arctic and the snow and the sky bounced against it," Wainwright explained, "that unbelievable blue — Klein Blue — that kind of blue of the sky, was just amazing against the ivory and the grey of the beginning [of the show]. It's a fun color."
The cool Rag & Bone girl was well-accounted-for as usual, both front row (Erin Wasson, Jessica Stam, and Alexa Chung), and on the catwalk (Bette Franke, making a runway return after taking a season off, Arizona Muse, Joan Smalls, Fei Fei Sun, Saskia de Brauw, and Britt Maren). Boots tended to be thigh-high and low-heeled. As for the clutches, which were strapped to the models' hands by glove-like contraptions, leaving their fingers free — would those be put into production? "It may well do if people like them," Wainwright answered. "I don't know. We just did it just for the show, we always do those things ourselves, but yeah, probably." He and Neville had both cracked open Peroni beers immediately post-show, while their children ran around backstage. So what's the plan now that the show is finished? "I have had one beer," Wainwright replied. "I'm going to have a few more. I feel pretty good about it. I was excited about the music [done by Thom Yorke], and it's good."
