Aminata Niaria

Vogue

Models and Their Men Get In Front of the Camera for Vogue's February 2011 Issue

>> In anticipation of Valentine's Day, Vogue had Patrick Demarchelier capture six models and their men for the February 2011 issue.

>> In anticipation of Valentine's Day, Vogue had Patrick Demarchelier capture six models and their men for the February 2011 issue.

Among those featured: the newly affianced models Anja Rubik and Sasha Knezevic, who went to Central Park on their first official date. According to Rubik: "We actually came wearing identical Rag & Bone shirts and Helmut Lang jeans." There's Coco Rocha and her husband, James Conran, who are celebrating their first Valentine's Day married by going to see Prince — his favorite musician — in concert; and Angela Lindvall and Mark Wystrach, an actor and co-founder of People's Shoe (a line of eco-friendly footwear). They had their first date two years ago, Lindvall says — "We took his Volkswagen, went surfing, ate shrimp burritos" — and now reside together on seven acres in Los Angeles's Topanga Canyon, where they've planted an organic garden and 60 fruit trees.

Alessandra Ambrosio and her fiance, Jamie Mazur, who owns a denim company, met at a mutual friend's wedding in Rio de Janeiro. But they didn't start dating until two years later, when they ran into each other at Coachella. Ambrosio says of Mazur: "I always have new jeans, and because he has to follow trends, I get the best gifts — like Louboutins and vintage sunglasses. One Valentine's Day, he learned all my favorite Pearl Jam songs and serenaded me."

And rounding out the bunch, there's Aminata Niaria, who met Laurence Dennis (he works at British Embassy in Paris) at a Halloween party he hosted five years ago. He was a mummy, she was Catwoman. And models Bonnie Chen and Rock Ji, who met backstage two years ago at Beijing fashion show. Soon after, he surprised her by showing up at the University of Pennsylvania campus, where she was majoring in psychology.

 

 

 

 

Caroline Winberg

2009 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show Unveiled: Anja Rubik, Chanel Iman, and Anna Jagodzinska Work It

>> Abbey Lee Kershaw wasn't feeling well backstage, neither was Eniko Mihalik, but they pulled it together to walk in the 2009 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, which taped today in New York City — on a big, sparkly V-shaped runway — and will air on CBS Dec.

>> Abbey Lee Kershaw wasn't feeling well backstage, neither was Eniko Mihalik, but they pulled it together to walk in the 2009 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, which taped today in New York City — on a big, sparkly V-shaped runway — and will air on CBS Dec. 1. Many of the girls chatted about what they had for breakfast — coffee and fruit for many — but Anja Rubik, who was convinced to walk the show for the first time by good friends (and fellow walkers) Mayna Linchuk and Caroline Trentini, admitted: "I've decided this will be my starving day today."

This year's big surprise?  Heidi Klum decided to walk for the twelfth show in a row, after all, six weeks after giving birth to her fourth child. Adriana Lima, on the other hand, who gave birth Sunday, sat this one out; Emanuela de Paula and Flavia Oliveira, rumored to walk, were also nowhere to be seen.

The show features five sections of twelve outfits each — this year's themes are Star Trooper, All Aboard, Pink Planet, Enchanted Forest, and Romantic Journey. As show stylist Charlotte Stockdale explains it: “We came up with the idea of this girl who lands from outer space in Paris. She gets on a train that comes to a halt in Pinkland, where pink girls get on and off. Then they go into this fairy-tale forest and little lady bugs and butterflies land on them and vines grow up on their clothes. Then, there’s Tick-Tock Time; the wings in this section are based on clocks — there’s one modeled after a pocket watch with metallic feathers. And she ends up in this regal realm of princess-ness, where the wings have Swarovski jewels and peacock feathers.”

Zac Posen, Alexander Wang, Carine Roitfeld (in Tom Ford for Yves Saint Laurent Fall 2002), and Patrick Demarchelier were all in attendance, and Chanel Iman tossed her handbag into the audience as she walked.

Paris Fashion Week

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.

>> 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.