animalistic through photographic presence & kate lanphear’s styling, herieth paul appears through the lens of KT auleta for elle magazine’s september issue. represented by women model management, herieth is of the new school of female models that channels greater bodily edge. in that, i mean she fits the bill for more experimental editorial. entereing the model realm in june of 2010, herieth originally made her debut with long hair & was re-introduced that december with a bold, bald new do. after her folicule reworking, herieth gained visibility rapidly. you might recognize her pretty little mug from her editorial bookings for black book, i-D, dazed & confused, as well as her vogue italia spread which was shot by steven meisel. teaming with meisel yet again, herieth was one of the many edgy faces to appear for the cK one fragrance campaign & followed that up with a campaign booking for diesel that same season. landing her first solo cover july of this year; there appears to be no end in sight for this tanzanian’s high fashion take over. im anticipating an increase in her model visibility for show season; as her looks fit the bill for more of the innovative labels. in her elle spread, i love the idea of fur in the desert- it’s unexpected.

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the september cover for vogue germany’s september issue, iris strubegger of women model management, kills her featured editorial as she appears draped in couture. along the lines of new school androgyny that i mentioned in my previous post, iris is also of that aesthetic archetype. the dark elements of the images contrast well with the high society backdrop & stunningly chic couture designs- this is the kind of shit that you just don’t even need to discuss- you look at it & it’s stunning. visually heartpounding & striking executed- iris exemplifies what it takes to exude high fashion & serves her role to the highest degree as their september cover girl. ranking as fashion’s no. 10 female model- iris fuckn murdered this.

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through the lens of mikael janssen, model newcomer, saskia de brauw steps into the spotlight for the pages of vogue japan for their september issue. opulent glamour was the name of the game for george cortina, who styled the spread as stunning use of natural light, luxurious location & undeniable model presence is seen. represented by DNA & hailing from the netherlands- saskia has rapidly risen in the fashion ranks since she hit the scene in 2010. this fall, thus far, she’s already appeared for three major ad campaigns for moncler, DSQUARED & versace. appearing here, editorially, the female also graces the cover of numero for their september issue & will likely continue this upward high fashion climb through show season which is just weeks away from kick off. beautifully shot, excellently styled & powerfully poised- this is one of my spreads from september. in terms of career longevity, saskia fits the mold of the modern crop of supermodels who display versatility through greater forms of asthetic androgyny- the short hair, the defined bone structure- all of that is in high demand with high fashion houses & saskia is a shoe in.

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i live & breathe for supermodels. growing up in the 90′s- i guess you can say that seeing certain females is a nostalgic experience. there is something about the glamour that was represented in the 90′s that never really stops being beautiful. i still feel like a kid flipping through magazines at the grocery store before my little sister ran up to me to tell me that mom was leaving. shot by horst diekgerdes, styled by aleksandra woroniecka- stephanie seymour returns for the pages of elle magazine & yes, it’s stunning. stylistically focused on dotted designs, the spread captures a bit of minimalistic charm as stephanie proves that she embodies effortless beauty. a combined photographic effort of both in-door studio images & outdoor shots that use natural light are seen for the spread; which is included amongst the publications illustrious fashion issue. last time i remember seeing stephanie doing something on the model tip was in 2009, when she appeared flawlessly for the spring valentino campaign. im always incredibly intrigued by women who further erase the boundaries of age through beauty.

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shot by alex lubomirski, iris strubegger of women model management sets the cover of german vogue on fire for the month of september. stunningly opulent with a commanding presence- the cover is beautifully shot & glamorously styled. as one of my favorites, iris represents for austrians in high fashion & is a standout amongst the many females on & off the runway. seen last season for the spring givenchy campaign, iris is a cover girl regular & is one of my favorite chicks for her versatility & blank canvas of features. from ultra feminine to hard edged masculine- iris slays from every angle & bends genders like a pro. strubegger represents the new crop of female models that banks on more of an interesting look rather than a commercial, polished look. more than thrilled to see her grace the vogue german september cover & am even more juiced to see how hard she goes for her feature editorial. love the cover, love iris, the make-up, the dress- everything. superb cover.

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karl lagerfeld doesn’t give a fuck when it comes to his faves; he’ll shoot them for every campaign, every cover & make space for them on the runways of chanel until they do something to fuck up their chances. this form of casting redundancy has become extremely boring to me & falls even more flat as karl continues to shoot in black & white. shot for the latest cover of numéro; abbey lee kershaw, anja rubik, karmen pedaru, saskia de brauw & icon, stella tenant all appear for this female five pack for september. while the image is not terrible, it does provide slight indication of the direction in which karl will likely go for the feature editorial; which is, for the most part, an extension of the cover. the fact that the bland contrast of usual suspects appears, the greyscaled images against a studio backdrop promise little to no real creative push- which is beyond disappointing. all this & we haven’t seen the issue. as much as i respect karl for what he’s done in the fashion game for what seems like forever, im hoping that he will somehow awake from this lull he’s been in. from his photography, to his collections for chanel- everything seems as dull as his black & whites. images & concepts are uninspired- im just expecting more. i suppose when you’re at that high a level, you can reach a creative peak.

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while american vogue swaps actresses for supermodels for their september cover; french vogue flips the script & ditches their expected supermodel selection for royalty. fourth in line for the throne in monaco, charlotte casiraghi graces the cover of french vogue’s coveted september issue. while supermodels reign supreme in my world, i think royalty is a fair trade off. considering the royal wedding & the recent press focused upon monaco’s newest princess, charlotte’s cover booking is rather fitting of the current moment. as the grand daughter of grace kelly, charlotte is listed as an equestrian & has developed a noted presence in journalism. all that offical shit aside, the cover was shot by mario testino & really makes me think of american vogue. the commercialized trade off from carine roitfeld’s departure is most clearly felt in this cover- creatively & casting considered. the absence of models has shaken some fashion kids to the core as some responded with, “what the fuck? she’s not even a model”. that said, the cover is interesting & definitely makes for a conversation piece when considering royal legacies & high fashion editorial. while the remainder of the issue has been seen, as we wait for high resolution images to surface in the coming week, along with the other september covers; i will say that this issue is packed with the glamour, regality & opulence we’ve come to expect from french vogue. let’s hope the models return for the publication’s october cover. interestingly, im always looking to identify ethnicity & charlotte is of french, italian, monégasque, mexican, american, english, german, irish & swedish ancestry.

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shot by hedi slimane, russian supermodel natasha poly graces the cover her native of russia for their version of vogue. with what appears to be an overextension of cosmetic application, the cover is a sneak peak at the feature editorial, which stars poly & focuses on dramatized make-up with all sorts of theatricality. represented by women model management, natasha is of the supermodel new school & is a beast when it comes to runway bookings, campaigns and, as evidenced here, covers. i love to see publications representing with like models for the september covers. you know, british models for british vogue, russian models for russian vogue. it works, the girls represent & it’s always excited to see which girls are selected. though i am a bit dissapointed in the culmination of creative elements of this cover; from what i’ve seen the editorial content from this issue makes up for it. the heavy liner & black fur against the platinum blonde could’ve worked but somehow, it’s not. russian vogue began print in 1998 with editor-in-chief, aliona doletskaya in place & since 2010, victoria davydova has taken the helm. considered the most authoritive fashion publication in russia, the magazine has notoriously listed naomi campbell as a contributing editor & continues to push the creative envelope. between natasha & slimane, this could’ve been better.

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the level of importance & status symbol that an american vogue cover represents is something very interesting, a paradox of sorts. in the context of fashion & fashion publication, it’s the most anticipated cover of the year. any chick that graces the cover of american vogue is of importance in fashion; as so christened by anna wintour herself. the power of wintour has been greatly documented & at this point is of known existence to those inside & outside of the fashion world. often shot by mario testino, which is the case for the september cover this year; british supermodel kate moss appears for the american fashion bible, outfitted in an alexander mcqueen gown & is poised as the magazine’s headlining feature for her wedding- which happened in july. one aspect i despise of american vogue is the fact that models rarely grace the cover. while i understand completely that the american publication market is heavily saturated with the presence of actresses, i wonder if the ‘hollywood it girl’ phase will ever die down. last year, giesle bundchen graced the cover & with kate appearing this year- it’s obvious that american vogue is making a fashion statement with a predictable edge & even less interesting end result. no shade to gisele or kate, by any means; but shouldn’t american based publications represent american girls & more specifically american female models? while fashion kids around the world have hoped for more models on american vogue covers; it seems as though this fulfills that expectation but poorly. represented by IMG, kate remains one of the most powerful model forces in fashion & to see her grace the cover is no surprise to any of us. with 788 pages, im looking forward to the editorial content of this issue. at the end of the day, vogue leads & others follow; i hope that a model resurgence is on the verge for american vogue because half of the american covers i see, i don’t post here for the simple fact that they infringe on the fashion tip im looking to represent. it’s nice to see these hollywood hoes fall back for once. fashion belongs to the models.

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She told me why life is worth the living.

Or how to make this wondertasticlysm.

What a lovely ironing board cover I have!

I took E-Lolly to Michael’s after dinner to pick out the victims prey flowers.  She was a doll, of course, and charmed EVERYONE.  As well as the employees of Ulta, where we she purchased hair clips onto which to affix the deconstructed, reconstructed works of art.

Fairy Princess carries cards around.  She calls them credit cards.  Some day she will learn that they are merely pieces of what once was a Shrek Memory game.  Until then I will let her hand her card to the cashiers to pay for our plunder.

After putting the magical woodland creature to bed, I proceeded to dig out my hot glue gun and pull apart a great deal of fake flowering foliage, saving every last part of the darn buffalo.  The original centerposts lent themselves well to the new combinations as all that was required was slipping off old petals and sliding on the new ones.  A bit of heat and a dab of glue sealed the end as well as attached the alligator clip and the bit of cloth more securely fastening said clip.

I saved the leaves and stems, but that, my friends, is another story.

represented by DNA models, edita vilkevicute is one of my favorite female models for her natural beauty. showcased in the form of pure beauty, edita lands the august cover of numéro china through the lens of kai z. feng. at first glance, the cover seemed uninspired, boring & expected; given the past of numéro, they are notorious for black & white cover shots which for me can be come very one note. i understand the need to represent visual signatures but value versatility just as much. in presenting the cover along with edita’s feature editorial, the single shot hold more value in representing natural beauty & high end jewelry. from her bone structure to her dark lip, the feature editorial & edita are photographed beautifully by feng. i like the combination of greyscaled images & colored shots, the images that show edita with full make-up & the other plain shots; as one note as the cover may seem, the feature delivers that versatility that this issue’s cover lacks. overall, a stunning showing by edita. a well deserved cover & valued photographic performance. while i love fashion, i love the beauty focus here.

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through the lens of daniel jackson, vogue china’s august cover girl, ming xi appears with caroline brash neilsen for her feature editorial. styled by tiina laakkonen, the spread focuses on high contrast color blocking. lush use of velvet & an arsenal of coats are seen from the fall collections while ming & caroline have no paired shots. while i love the pieces selected, it would have been way more interesting if the girls were photographed interacting. isn’t the point of casting two models for one spread to see how well the two work in enhancing the direction of a fashion spread? referencing my previous post as a prime example, a winning combination can do wonders for a issue, given the right elements of styling & make-up. here, the spread is beautifully groomed & stylistically on-point, but the presence seems a bit out of touch. there is a lacking spark or sense of excitement; theres no sense of wonder or otherworldly glamour. this spread brinks boring & against the other outstanding editorial content of vogue china’s august issue, this spread pales in comparison. yet & still, technically speaking, i love the use of light. represented by elite, caroline can be seen for the fall valentino campaign while ming xi, represented by ford models, continues to build a stronger editorial presence. while both have had noted success individually, their chemistry was not seen here.

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through the lens of gregory harris for the pages of vogue germany, iris strubegger appears alongside katrin thorman in this stunningly styled editorial. styled by christiane arp, the two make a powerful combination & i must say, it’s nice to see iris. both represented by women model management, iris is seemingly the posterchild for supermodel androgyny. here, in the spread thorman & strubegger exude sexual energy together in a combination of masculine & feminine designs. beautiful use of studio backdrop & vivid use of lighting, i find the images tremendously inspiring. artistically, a number of elements including grooming, make-up & yes, styling are perfectly combined for the pages of german fashion publication.

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a staple in terms of model casting for vogue china, there hasn’t been an issue without liu wen of marilyn model managment for a significant amount of time. here, wen appears editorially through the lens of lachlan bailey. with an urban edge, liu is photographed in motion wearing some of fall’s greatest fall pieces. from the sleek pony tail to the metallic make-up- the urban theme is executed well while pieces from a wide range of collections are presented. while i like liu & admire the direction taken for this editorial; i wish the spread was taken to the next level. the use of natural lighting, likely enhanced with reflectors & such, plays well against stoned stairs & is greatly complimented by architecture. these aspects could’ve been much more focused on & mirrored through the clothes. the sportmax pieces that were pulled, seen in black, have the most stylistic relativity when considering the set location but much of what is seen treads the line of boring. liu has the model potential, we’ve seen it before- as have we with the photographic work of lachlan bailey. though i like the spread, there is a difference between that & love.

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styled by nicolette santoro, raquel zimmermann of DNA models appears stunningly through the lens of willy vanderperre for the august issue of vogue china. in discussing the level of consistency shown with vogue china, this spread is a prime example of that. when reviewing editorial i look for quality of grooming, cohesion of theme & model casting. photographic talent is a given, because that ultimately makes or breaks a photographic spread. i love the work of willy vanderperre & always admire his showcase of darker elements of glamour through polished direction. a strong fusion of classical & progressive design aspects, python is a large trend for the fall & here it is beautifully photographed. as rebellious & modern as the styling pieces are- i love how strict raquel appears. the balance of classic & modern is done perfectly- it’s all very inspiring.

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appearing through the lens of daniel jackson, ming xi of elite models lands her second cover & first solo cover for vogue china, for the month of august. vogue china has had an incredibly interesting pattern & wining streak with covers & editorials for the past year in my book. while no publication is perfect through & through, the cover of this issue is slightly off but the editorial content delivers, where the cover lacks. commercially clean, the cover is a clear indication of what sells in china- polished females & fun fashion. styled by tiina laakkonen, the cover proves to be a powerful addition to ming growing portfolio of ad campaigns, covers & editorial spreads. chinese herself, ming is a favored female among chinese publications.

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represented by women model management, daria graces has had a consistent string of recent hits which have earned her a no. 19 ranking within the top 50 female model ranking in fashion. shot by mariano vivanco, you may recognize daria from her runway rampage- as she walked the couture shows for dior, valentino, alais, elie saab & giambattista valli. strongly visible in all aspects of high end fashion, aside from landing this august cover, daria graces W korea’s august cover & has booked the FW11 jil sander campaign; a return for strokous considering that she also booked the sander label’s spring campaing. the cover shot is polished & refined, vivianco hits his mark especially well as the russian model sits poised. as a slight indication of what may be revealed behind the cover, the cosmetic elements channel a mod, twiggy vibe. i like the dark nails & the heavy liner but have never been a fan of flat hair. originally signed to IMG in 2007, daria is seemingly hitting her stride which can see her star rising for the upcoming show season. while not a completely outstanding face amidst the dozens of girls who look similar to her- all it takes is a campaign & a mean ass runway walk to take the spot. real shit, after being shot by steven meisel & becoming the face of prada, what else is really left?  put this one on your radar & we’ll find out.

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beautifully ageless, claudia schiffer lands the august cover of vogue germany. shot by miles aldridge, the feeling of unbreakable poise, delicate femininity & refined reputation are well translated in a pristine format. as one of the world’s most iconic females of the past two decades, i love seeing classic females still gracing covers & beautifully so. with styling by christiane arp, the cover could not be more perfect in my opinion. i love when publications take a greater initiative to represent their country in selecting models that mirror that nationality. granted, there are very few models that can top ms. schiffer, she remains one of the most successful models; banking a reported $55 million net worth according to forbes magazine. claudia is still a largely visible female working in fashion & can be seen for the FW11 chanel eyewear campaign.

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as i search for ways to represent this new form of content on the site, i realize that some aspects cannot be presented in a better format than already presented. that aspect of course is fashion publication & editorial analysis- the size of the images & the context in which i discuss these aspects of high end fashion will remain unchanged in this new phase of reconstruction. shot for the august cover of british vogue, the ultimate british supermodel, kate moss graces the publications cover. one thing that should be clearly understood is the method in which models are selected for covers. while american publications select actresses when they have corresponding film projects, it’s always interesting to see how models are selected for international publications. kate moss, who recently wed, made headlines for wearing a john galliano gown on her wedding day. kate is no new favorite of british vogue & has graced the cover, probably more times than any model in the industry. shot by mario testino, with styling by lucinda chambers, kate appears a bit off in my opinion. while better covers have been seen before, im not sure if it’s a combination of the retouch, the make-up or the way kate was photographed but i definitely expected more. overall, kate is an expected choice for the british mag & im hoping that other british females will land solo covers soon. if i may suggest, i would love to see a solo jourdan dunn cover in the very near future. perhaps for september.

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creatively unstoppable, ricardo tisci & the house of givenchy slayed the couture season once more, this time with the theme of birds of paradise. presenting an exclusive 10 look set, in an off runway presentation style- the FW11 collection draws relativity to givenchy’s last two couture collections in the form of intricate details & mirrored silhouettes. feathers, sheer textiles, beading & floral embroidery are all element seen in the collection, which is nothing short of amazing. with speculation of tisci heading up dior, collections like this make you wonder how the house of givenchy would even survive without him. unendingly inspiring work from ready-to-wear to couture, from campaigns & model castings- im convinced that tisci is where he needs to be, at the house of givenchy. while ackermann might be considered as a creative candidate, tisci + givenchy together are flawless.

some of the fashion kids have criticized the collection as being redundant & too similar to what we’ve seen the last couple of seasons; which i would have to disagree with. while i do find similarities in concept, couture is about details & here, in this collection, the theme of paradise taps into more romanticized details, aspects of floral embellishments- the designs are heavenly. now, in contrast to last season, which was a japanese samurai inspired collection, those elements were much more structured & focused largely on hardware as a balance with femininity & japanese fluidity. going back even further, givenchy’s Fw10 couture collection tapped into a much warmer color palette & used religion & gothic elements as the basis of their collection, which is clearly not what is seen here. considering all bases covered, givenchy continues to inspire me & i will say, without a doubt, that this is one of the best this season. beautifully executed.

presented in paris, iris van herpen presented her FW11/12 haute couture collection & remains an outsider in this commercialized world of high end fashion. simulated water splashes worn on models & the most intricate of design details; the collections presented by van herpen often blur the lines that separate science & style. while not known as widely, around the world as the bigger labels like gucci, fendi or prada- true artistry is represented season after season & dedication to a new era of design is seen consistently. there seem to be no boundaries at what can be created. whether skeletal or a simulation of an unwearable substance nothing is off limits for van herpen & this season that was clearly demonstrated. a strict color palette was seen as soft nudes, brass metals & slight flecks of metallics were seen. hoaned skills through internships with alexander mcqueen & a degree in design from ARTEZ, van herpen was born in 1984 & has had her own namesake label since 2007.

what i love about the iris van herpen collections are the approach to style- the clothes aren’t always wearable & though the concepts are curious, they are visually stunning & aesthetically heart pounding. some design signatures from this couture collection have been seen before for van herpen’s ready-to-wear collections & im confident that she has found a fitting spot in the realm of couture, which is clearly demonstrated by craftsmanship. i like that iris sort of rides under the radar & maintains this hovering reputation for sickening design amongst us fashion kids. while her heels have been seen on the feet of kim kardashian, i dare kimmy k. to strut the streets of calabasas in the simulated splash number or even in the skeletal finale look seen on liu wen. equipped with an arsenal of a creative resume, van herpen represents a new dawn of unlimited possibilities, not just for fashion, but for groundbreaking design as a whole. aesthetially stunning & a new take on fashion design, iris van herpen has raised the bar for scientific style. the test of dope design is seen in how well those designs test our limitations.

a piece of french fashion history & what seemed to be an unstoppable force of design; the house of christian dior is one of international recognition & in the past few months; changes, speculation & chaos have seemed to ensue the house following the termination of creative director, john galliano. while the headlines surrounding dior have seemed to shine brighter than what was presented on the runway; a very interesting take on haute couture was seen yesterday in paris. in the absence of galliano as creative director, dior’s atelier have been desiging & creating the collections independently. while much of the concepts seen during the FW12 show season were already in progress at the time of galliano’s dismissal, this FW11 couture collection that was seen, just yesterday, is the first collection to be presented in the absence of any real creative leadership.

visibly affected in the absence of a leader, the collection posessed an air of sloppy execution & utter confusion, appearing as a mash up of designs we’ve seen from the label in the past. like a circus, the collection hosted a mad house of a concepts with a perplexing palette & noted is the fact that john galliano is no capacity involved with what was created. while i do admit that the collections presented by galliano during his final collections at dior were getting a  bit redundant; the clothes, the designs were always beautiful. much of galliano’s design work at dior was like art; referencing dior archives & modernizing aspects of the past, allowing the house to remain atop it’s own level of consistency, through ready-to-wear & haute couture. that era is finished & the fashion kids are talking, loudly. in terms of style, i couldn’t understand where the collection was going, nor did i understand the intention of the visual that was being translated. in discussing what would result in galliano’s termination, i worried something like this would happen. admittedly, i thought to myself, “the house is too big not to have something put into place, this is dior we’re talking about”. the fashion kids gawked at this FW11 couture collection, some laughed in disbelief while others began to re-evaluate the decesion to remove galliano- never a good look for couture season. in season’s past, the house of dior lead the way for couture, raising the bar consistently every season- presenting more & more beautiful things on the runway; not even just limited to couture. with campaigns to match, the baddest girls opened & closed the show while booking the campaign- it was all vivid sophistication lead by john galliano. clearly, in his absence the label will suffer.

while LVMH, which owns dior, has publicly expressed that they would fill the position when they were ready; im feeling that better be quick. john galliano’s reign as creative director was heavily influenced by anna wintour & at dior he did amazing things from july 1995 up until february 25th of this year- when he was dismissed on counts of racist behavior. literally, every news source is now documenting how dior is loosing it’s way without galliano at the helm & one has to wonder who is really having the last laugh. while murmurs of conspiracy have been faintly heard from different corners of the world, considering that galliano was making six figures a year while at dior- im beginning to wonder how much longer this downward spiral will persist. rumors have swirled the fashion blogosphere for months, some speculating that givenchy’s riccardo tisci would head up dior, some industry heads have even gone so far as to confirm it. this one shift, if even just to fill the space at dior, would create a landslide in fashion; leaving a large gap at givenchy, which is one of the most powerful fashion houses today. from court cases to bad design concepts, it’s hard to imagine that things at dior will get better before the SS12 womenswear show season, which is only a few months away. but one this is certain, this transition the label is trying to head up themselves is not working. aspects of the recent couture collection seem to unconvincingly mimick the aesthetic put into place by john galliano, but the effect & execution just aren’t the same. one has to wonder what is happening behind the scenes, whether people are scrambling is quite clear in the clothes- the designs are being affected greatly. with campaigns, castings & shows cycling in & out, endlessly throughout the year, if this is an indication of dior’s future, the house could suffer a tarnished legacy.