fashionologie

fashionologie — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 14:56:26 PDT

>> BLOWING THE COVER —Vogue's online reality show Model.Live is debuting in just under a week, but one of the stars is already making waves: Cato Van Ee, who has recently shown up in editorials for Dazed & Confused and Vogue China, popped up today on the September 2008 cover of Dazed & Confused alongside Anna Gushina, Kori Richardson, and Pernille Moeller. [Of the Minute]

Vogue Joins Reality with Model.Live

fashionologie — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 10:23:39 PDT

>> Two years ago, Anna Wintour told WWD she turned down involvement in Project Runway because "Vogue is not in the business of making entertainment out of the struggles of new designers." Last month when asked about the possibility of a Vogue reality series, she still seemed unconvinced, but was less straight with an opinion.

Now we know why — just as Elle is gearing up to debut its reality show Stylista on The CW this Fall, Vogue announced today that it is producing a reality series of its own with IMG. Instead of showing on the small screen like Stylista, Model.Live will be web-based, debuting August 19 on Vogue.TV with syndication on Hulu. The 12 eight-minute episodes of Model.Live follow three models from IMG's Development board: 16-year-old Austria Alcantara from the Dominican Republic, 20-year-old American Madeline Kragh, and 19-year-old Dutch model Cato van Ee, who had Prada and Miu Miu runway exclusives for Fall 2008.

The show, which Vogue Publishing Director Tom Florio promises to be "not reality at all, just amateurs live," follows the three models through casting calls, runways, and airports for all four fashion weeks. Underage behavior like smoking or drinking will likely be censored if it comes up while taping, but depression or unhealthy eating habits will be "met head-on."

Let's hope this is good — it cost $3 million to make, or about $31,000 a minute.

*image: source

Model.Live Episode Eleven: "Wouldn't Want To Be in That Position"

fashionologie — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 12:05:36 PDT

>> In this Madeline Kragh-centric episode of Model.Live, it's post-Fashion Week, and she's caught up in the mad cycle many models fall into: that of not being able to afford living in New York unless she's booking well-paying jobs, but not being able to book those good jobs unless she's based in New York.

For the time, she's back in New York with her boyfriend Jimmy, sleeping on couch cushions instead of a mattress and going into debt every week to her agency, IMG, who takes out money against her for housing, living costs, plane tickets, and even clothes for her to wear to go-sees. But hey, at least she's making money: she's earned more in two days during campaign season than she did in all six weeks of runway shows - and she's apparently booked a campaign with a French designer that she "loooooves." Madeline may be already dreading next Fashion Week, but she seems happy in the meantime - will Austria Alcantara be in the same high spirits post-Fashion Week? Next week we'll see.

Model.Live Episode Ten: The End of an Era

fashionologie — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 11:50:29 PDT

>> As we left off Model.Live mid-Paris Fashion Week, Cato van Ee was booking everything . . . and Madeline Kragh wasn't so happy with her progress. Turns out that she did end up booking one show - Manish Arora. Manish liked Madeline so much, he asked her to close the show, her only instruction: "I want you to do whatever you want." Madeline left on a high note, ready to grow out her hair, hoping that it would allow her to book more in the future.

Austria also ended up booking one show in Paris, but her agency still isn't convinced she's ready to be a model. Although she was asked to think about sitting out a year - she's only 16 - Austria is determined, not wanting to go back to her old life that she already gave up. As for Cato, she's just worried about keeping herself at the level she's attained: "Sometimes it's harder to stay on top than get on top." So how will they do booking advertising and editorial post-Fashion Month? Next episode will hopefully tell.

Model.Live Episode Nine: "Everybody wants Cato"

fashionologie — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 11:03:47 PDT

>> It's Paris Fashion Week, and those frustrations that were building on Model.Live in Milan finally come to a head - at least for Madeline Kragh. Austria Alcantara seems to have given up - she gets a pep talk about confidence and then sent off to 12 castings; she aims to make 8 of them but ends up doing less: "The agency's going to kill me." Cato van Ee says that she wouldn't model at Austria's age - she didn't want to give up her childhood - but then Cato is having plenty of success with her shows and has a visit from boyfriend Simon, while Austria seems all alone - no mother or agent in sight.

And then there's Madeline, who thought everything was going so well . . . Issey Miyake and Vivienne Westwood seemed within her reach . . . and then didn't come through: "Everybody's so sorry and they love me and they're happy I'm back in Paris, but everybody wants Cato." Will everything even out? Next week's Paris Fashion Week episode will tell.

Model.Live Episode Eight: Two Out, One Grand Slam

fashionologie — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 11:18:20 PDT

>> The third Fashion Week in for the Model.Live girls, and things start to get difficult - for Madeline Kragh and Austria Alcantara, at least. Austria went to over 30 castings for Milan Fashion Week and got nothing, except a call from a casting director to her agency IMG saying that she wasn't looking her best. Ouch. Madeline had the same troubles - she wasn't cast for any shows, and at one point got frustrated enough to tell the cameramen to stop filming. Both girls, defeated, move on to Paris early. Cato van Ee, on the other hand, scores Prada for the second season in a row - and does a little impromptu song and dance when she finds out. Will Paris be a whole new ball game, as the girls are promised? Next week, we'll find out.

Model.Live Episode Six: The New York Whirlwind

fashionologie — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 13:15:45 PDT

>> By now, you've seen the Model.Live girls around at New York Fashion Week, but what are there final show counts? Madeline Kragh scored seven, including Shipley & Halmos and Chris Benz, Austria Alcantara also racked up seven, among them Marchesa and DKNY, and Cato van Ee, coming off a Prada exclusive last season, was optioned for nine shows, including Marc by Marc Jacobs and Jonathan Saunders. All in all, a successful outing - no one was a Karlie Kloss, who did 31 shows in her first season of New York Fashion Week, but let's let bygones be bygones. Up next, London - but will Cato even make it there?

Model.Live Episode Five: Walking the Walk, Losing the Book

fashionologie — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 23:52:49 PDT

>> It's just a few days short of New York Fashion Week in this episode of Model.Live, and the girls are having a few minor troubles - Cato van Ee is nervous, Austria Alcantara doesn't understand how the others do without their mothers - and one major one: Madeline Kragh loses her portfolio book somewhere in between castings. The funny thing is, she seems pretty nonchalant about the whole idea of casting, but I've already seen her in at least one show . . .

The Model.Live Girls Have Arrived at Fashion Week

fashionologie — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 23:25:17 PDT

>> We've been watching the stars of Model.Live - Cato van Ee, Madeline Kragh, Austria Alcantara - in their weeks leading up to New York Fashion Week, and now they've arrived. This evening, Vogue.TV and IMG hosted the girls' coming out party at the Bowery Hotel; Jacquetta Wheeler even came back over from London to be there. But in reality, the party is just beginning for these three - and we'll see how well they cope with it all in the upcoming episodes.
*image: source

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Model.Live Episodes Three and Four: Madeline "Cool/Nerd" Kragh and Austria "Indian/black/white" Alcantara to New York

fashionologie — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 11:47:52 PDT

>> Last week on Model.Live, we saw Cato van Ee take off for New York, and this week, it's all about her co-stars Madeline Kragh and Austria Alcantara making their own voyages to Manhattan. Madeline leaves Sydney, Australia and her boyfriend Jimmy behind — but not before hitting one last casting and uttering the classic line, "I think I'm pretty cool, but I'm pretty much a nerd." Austria, meanwhile, leaves her mother, who wants her to be a model because she always wanted to be a model, and her agent, Socrates McKinney, who says things like "Austria is a girl that you think that she's Indian, but she's also black, and she's also white," both behind in the Domican Republic. Next week? The three girls ready for fashion week.

Episode four with Austria! »