Alberta Ferretti's latest ad campaign takes me back to my childhood, when I would frolic in my fairy outfit and colorful braided headband. Only now it's Hanne Gaby Odiele, Kasia Struss, Constance Jablonski, and Dorothea Barth Jörgensen having the fun, and the clothes are way chicer. I love everything about these Steven Meisel shots — the fluid movements, the romantically beautiful dresses, the serene colors. If only I could transport myself to Alberta's fairyland! What do you think?
>> 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.
>> The likes of Chanel Iman and Dorothea Barth Jorgensen are already getting primped and prepped for the two tapings of the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show this afternoon — final cut airs Dec. 1 on CBS — but it seems like mood is light. When Caroline Trentini was asked for a photo backstage, she joked, "Sure! Want me to jump?"
Chanel Iman, meanwhile, prepared for her first Victoria's Secret catwalk by chatting with mentor Tyra Banks and doing a little research. “This might sound corny, but I went on YouTube and I did my homework by going and seeing the different years that Victoria’s Secret has had, the different shows and who did Victoria’s Secret, and studied their walks so that I can turn mine different from everyone else’s!”
>> Given that the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show is taping tomorrow, lots of tidbits have been rolling in between all the fittings and the models' appearance in Times Square this morning. We've gotten previews of Liu Wen's (two!) outfits, as well as those of VS regulars Miranda Kerr, Alessandra Ambrosio, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and Selita Ebanks, and after this morning's appearance, more clues as to who will be walking — including a few surprises.
Spring 2010 runway newcomer Anastasia Kuznetsova and Dorothea Barth Jorgensen both popped up in the Times Square photos, as did Elyse Taylor, Sessilee Lopez, and Russian model Tatiana Kovylina, who walked for Victoria's Secret in 2005. Anja Rubik and Abbey Lee Kershaw have also been confirmed as show castmembers, but have yet to make an appearance, and although unconfirmed, Anna Maria Jagodzinska's photo was on the show casting board, so she may show up as well.
UPDATE: Photos of Anna J. and Edita Vilkeviciute have been spotted on the casting board in a newly posted video; word is Emanuela de Paula will not be walking after all because of a conflicting photoshoot. [YouTube, TFS, TFS]
>> 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]
