>> Interior Designer to Alexander Wang, Now to the Models? —Last night, Natasha Poly, Victoria Traina, and Alexander Wang teamed up to celebrate the launch of interior designer (an co-owner of Edon Manor boutique) Ryan Korban's signature website at the Soho Grand Hotel. Korban and Wang have been close friends since they went to college together — they collaborate often, on Wang's offices, for one — and Natasha Poly's up next — Korban will be doing an apartment she has yet to buy. No doubt, he'll have more models than just Poly to add to his client list soon — we counted over 25 showing up to the fete, including Maryna Linchuk, who palled around with Poly, Jessica Stam, Hanne-Gaby Odiele, Mirte Maas, Olga Sherer, Iris Strubegger, and Rose Cordero. One more tidbit that Poly let fly: she may not be doing the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show for the second year in a row — she has to choose between that or a shoot in Morocco. [Style.com, Modelinia]
Rose Cordero
Rick Owens Sticks to Black, White, Gray, and Nude, But Brings Back Models of Color for Spring 2010
>> This evening at the Ecole Des Beaux Arts, Rick Owens had a bit of a seating situation, leaving a number of guests standing and unhappy. One editor reportedly decided "standing is the new front row," and WWD later noted: "If you’ve outgrown your venue, move on. Otherwise, there’s no excuse for double-booking seat upon seat."
To a soundtrack of crashing waves and with Gareth Pugh front row (Owens attended Pugh's show yesterday), a stream of sculptural shoulderpieces, long loincloth-like skirts, slicked back hair (glue sticks were used to keep it in place) and crinkled metallic bubble dresses exited backstage. Suvi Koponen made her first appearance since her smattering of shows at New York Fashion Week, but most striking was Owens's sudden casting of models of color — Georgie Baddiel, Kinee Diouf, Aminata Niaria, and Rose Cordero all made appearances; his shows have been entirely whitewashed since the Spring 2005 season, when he also cast four black models.
Paul Rowland Snaps 19 Models for Witchy 96-Page V Supplement
>> The 96-page September issue insert The Imagist teased back in June turned out to be for V: Paul Rowland, founder of Women and Supreme agencies, photographed 19 of his models in studio back in April with help from stylist Nicholas Grasa. His inspirations were "Joel-Peter Witkin, paganism, mysticism, vampires, witches — all the things I love," and V has a video of the shoot in action, which required Hannelore Knuts to have raw meat draped over her chest and the rope holding it together lit on fire on both ends. The supplement will be available with V61 in select cities.
Maybe this whole project is the start of a move into a new arena for Rowland? As V puts it: "Rowland, whose lavish and intricate agency show packages are the talk of the industry each season, has a creative verve that extends beyond model agency moving and shaking, and into photography and fine art. After this outing, however, he might need his own magazine as well."
>> IN THE LOOKING GLASS —The upcoming June 2009 issue of W features a 30-page editorial: a portfolio of the season's best new faces, as chosen by Craig McDean, with Karlie Kloss and Sigrid Agren heavy on rotation; appropriately, Sigrid is said to have her first major cover out this week. Four girls are rumored not to have made the final cut, but Ranya Mordanova, Rose Cordero, Madisyn Ritland, Bara Holotova, Jourdan Dunn, Viktoriya Sasonkina, Karlie Kloss, Amanda Laine, Imogen Morris-Clarke, Dorothea Barth Jorgensen, and Nimue Smit all did — Models.com has a trio of previews. [Models.com, Models.com, Models.com, NY Model Management]
Speculating on Fall 2009 Campaign Season
>> For Spring 2009 more than ever, brands stuck with campaign models who guarantee a sell — supermodels like Gisele Bundchen and Kate Moss for Versace or Claudia Schiffer for Yves Saint Laurent, Daria Werbowy for Roberto Cavalli — or the classic blonde hair-blue eye combination that Toni Garrn and Anna Maria Jagodzinska's campaign sweeps represented. Also of note for the season, Prada and Balenciaga's decisions to go with big groups of models — eight and ten, respectively.
With Fall 2009 campaign season under way, it sounds like at least a couple of brands have decided to break from that latter part of last season's formula — Wayne Sterling of The Imagist reports:
"It is too early to say and too tenuous to reveal who's holding/confirming what these days but rest assured it is the striking and the extreme that seem to be filtering into the next phase. Among the buzz I picked up by some art directors is a disenchantment with the 'multiples' ideal, that concept of an army of models rocking as many of the looks from the show as possible while waving as many possible it-bags as can be crammed into a double page. Two VERY big brands have already gone 'Only Girl.'"
The most likely candidate from that description of packing the models in seems to be Prada — so does that mean Prada is one of those already-decided brands, and Miuccia's current favorite exclusive Ymre Stiekema is going to finally get a main season campaign under her belt?
Miu Miu Fall 2009: A Sultry Riff on the Bourgeois
>> Miuccia Prada closed out the Fall 2009 runway season with a Miu Miu show about "playing with the bourgeoisie.” Necklines plunged to reveal nude bras, fur sashes draped across the chest and covered ankle straps, bare flesh shimmered, and socks were heavily sequined. The collection seemed more grown up than Miu Miu's recent forays into harlequinism or scuba gear, with its tapestry patterns, but perhaps most striking were the half-coats, with undone buttons or cutout backs.
*image: source
Louis Vuitton Fall 2009: Bunny Ears, Bunching, and Boots
>> Marc Jacobs's signature collection started a minute early, and Louis Vuitton started just seven minutes late — which according to the way most fashion shows run, is still early, causing loads of people to miss the beginning — Suzy Menkes climbed over the runway after the first model walked out — and many to be locked out. Lucky for them, the show was staged in a clear tent in a Louvre courtyard, so late editors and passersby could watch the show.
Bunny ears topped heads — show stylist Katie Grand was inspired by "a black doe rabbit in the pet shop on the corner" — necklaces were modeled after paper garlands, ruching was everywhere, and Rose Cordero finally made a Paris runway appearance. Marc Jacobs said he was inspired by "all the great, elegant Parisian women, like Loulou de la Falaise," and the LVMH-Gareth Pugh connection continues: Pugh sat front row, two seats away from Bernard Arnault, still denying the Dior Homme rumors.
*image: source
Fall 2009 Paris Preview: Coveted Slots and Spots
- In addition to Calvin Klein in New York, Prada in Milan, and Balenciaga in Paris, Givenchy has emerged as a fourth major-model-making platform due to the "increasing power of that show and campaign in giving new girls maximum visibility" [The Imagist]
- Thursday's Nina Ricci show "is almost universally agreed to be designer Olivier Theyskens's last collection" for the brand, and with the recent clash of his $15,000 gowns versus the label's commercial branding, will he give in and make retailers happy or go with his heart? [FWD]
- Hotly anticipated, Rose Cordero has only appeared at Burberry so far, but COACD seems to know something we don't . . . [COACD]
- Rochas is relaunching with Marco Zanini in charge; An insider who attended a preview last week "showed much enthusiasm for the line" [FWD]
- Is Balmain the new Balenciaga? It's Balmania out there: Christophe Decarnin's Spring 2009 glitzy '80s moment permeated Fall 2009 collections from New York to Milan, and his $1,500 jeans are still flying off the shelves, even in this economy [FWD]
*image: source
>> THE MODELIZER —There's been a big question to where and when the much buzzed-about newcomer Rose Cordero would show up — and now we know. Her runway debut came at Burberry today — she ended a black model drought at Burberry that as far as I can tell dated back to Spring 2005, with Liya Kebede — to a positive reaction: "everyone [is] loving the extraordinary, new black girl with the perfectly clipped afro." [The Moment Twitter]
>> THE MODELIZER —With Fashion Week less than a month away, the hunt for fresh faces is on. The Imagist is touting 15-year-old Brazilian Michelle Carvalho (left), who was "courted by every agency in sight" before landing at Elite. Style.com thinks Mexican Daniela de Jesus (center) might be Fall 2009's Arlenis Sosa Pena. And COACD and The Imagist are all over Dominican Rose "La Rosa Negra" Cordero (right), who is inspiring a "flurry of emails flickering back and forth through the industry."
Graeme Black
Rm By Roland Mouret
Antica Murrina Veneziana