Take Anja Rubik, Hanne Gaby Odiele, Edita Vilkeviciute, and Liu Wen, dress them in Alexander Wang, color them black and white, and you have one helluva ad campaign. Wang kept shots simple for Spring '10, like with Fall '09, allowing the ambitious styling do the talking. Each girl has one full shot and one closeup — how the clothes would look from afar and up close. And no smiling either, Wang's latest pieces are no laughing matter. Do you dig?
>> 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]
Alexander Wang teamed up with Natasha Poly and Victoria Traina to celebrate the launch of friend Ryan Korban's new interior design website last night at the Soho Grand. Ryan, who memorably gave a tour of his own place to the Selby last year, is upping his presence online and expanding his design profile with projects like decorating Natasha's apartment. Naturally, the bash had a heavy models to mortals ratio — Erin Wasson arrived in a leopard-print fedora and made a bee-line for the man of the evening, while Hanne Gaby Odile mingled with Jessica Stam, Maryna Linchuk and Daiane Conterato. Victoria was joined by sister Vanessa, while Zoe Kravitz toasted Ryan from Alexander's side with a few mini-champagnes.
Source: WWD
>> So far this season, the most eye-catching show package came courtesy of One Management, who had their stable of models mimic an iconic '60s Harper's Bazaar cover by Richard Avedon, but a couple of Paris agencies are running a close second, and curiously, they are both feeling the comic book look. Women Paris altered portfolio pictures of the likes of Iris Strubegger and Iselin Steiro into with a little high contrast look and a splat of yellow, and WM emulated Sin City for their gaggle of fresh faces.
>> Alexander Wang may have changed up his collection's look for Spring 2010, but he's not about to lose his street cred. He partnered with Katie Grand and LOVE, rented out a Mobil gas station last night, and brought a crowd — which included Trish Goff, Daphne Guinness, L'Wren Scott, Erin Wasson, Vanessa Traina, plus fellow designers Esteban Cortazar and Gareth Pugh.
Despite the fact that the station's gas tanks were drained yesterday afternoon and the venue drenched with nonflammable suds, cigarettes were verboten; nicotine-dependent guests were constantly reminded with "Please stop smoking!" announcements. To take their minds off those forbidden cigarette, there were performances by both Courtney Love, who told the audience she received (ironically) a carton of cigarettes and a pair of shoes to play, and Santigold; plus guests had a free run of anything in the station's convenience store: Bee Shaffer took advantage of the candy aisle.
Alexander, for his part, seemed to be enjoying himself — he chatted up Lily Donaldson and Frankie Rayder, got down with Hanne Gaby Odiele (below), and jumped onstage and into Courtney Love's arms during her performance.
>> The first issue of POP under Dasha Zhukova's guiding hand hits newsstands tomorrow at $8, with two international newsstand covers, each with a 50/50 split run, of Style Rookie's Tavi, plus a 500-copy limited-edition hardback cover by Ed Ruscha (below, left), and a limited subscriber's cover of Cicciolina for the Baltic States (below, right).
“The new Pop launches at an exciting turning point in fashion, where the possibilities and potential for creativity are almost overwhelming,” Zhukova told WWD. “The new era is more fluid than ever before; one where teenage girls in Chicago, fashion editors in Paris, street photographers from Berlin and bloggers everywhere . . . redefine the fashion landscape.”
>> Dree Hemingway Said to Be Already Booked for Calvin Klein Spring 2010, Is Featured in Purple's "Naked" Series —After walking solely in Givenchy last season, Dree Hemingway reportedly already has a spot on the Spring 2010 Calvin Klein runway — no world on whether it's an exclusive, but regardless, Calvin Klein is the New York show which generally sets the bar, model casting-wise, for the rest of Fashion Month. Dree is also the newest participant (in the past, it's been Chloe Sevigny, Angela Lindvall, Shalom Harlow) in the "Purple Naked" series, captured by Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin for Purple Fashion #12 — The Imagist has a peek. And if you're dying to see the result of that Purple shoot by Paola Kudacki with Suvi Koponen and Hanne-Gaby Odiele, Models.com has the final cut (NSFW). [Fashionista, The Imagist (NSFW)]
>> 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."
>> Suvi Kopenen Hangs, Flips for Purple Fashion —You hear about models having to hold awkward positions for hours during a photoshoot, but here's some video evidence, straight from the set of the upcoming Purple Fashion (#12, Fall/Winter 2009). Suvi Kuponen hangs over Hanne-Gaby Odiele from the ceiling by her feet, a swing across her chest, and for every shot Paola Kudacki takes, she has to hang her head and then flip it upwards. [Purple Diary]
For Fall '09, Missoni enlisted the help of Ryan McGinley — the same photog who shot Stella's playful ad — to create an amazing, windblown masterpiece. The campaign features Hanne Gaby Odiele and her luxurious locks, in Missoni's signature knits. Peep the eye-catching, colorful juxtaposition between the soft knits and black truck. Don't her striped blue cardi and oatmeal leggings look cozy enough to sleep in? I don't know if I'd dare do such a thing, but I'm just sayin'. Thoughts?
