Mikael Jansson

>> Mila Kunis has been named the new face of Christian Dior. The actress — who also appeared on some of the top-selling magazine covers of 2011 — will front Dior's 2012 worldwide media plan, including the Spring ad campaign. Photographed by Mikael Jansson, the campaign will debut in China on January 15, and will hit the US January 29 when it appears in The New York Times. "Mila Kunis is a very talented young actress; she embodies the true modern woman." Delphine Arnault, deputy general manager at Dior told WWD. "We are looking forward to a long relationship with her."

Kunis agrees. "I find that Dior is an incredibly grounded house. I always thought what Dior does is so sophisticated, feminine and beautiful," the actress said. "They made me feel incredibly comfortable. I can’t say it was the hardest thing to do."

Kunis joins a long list of acclaimed actresses — Natalie Portman, Charlize Theron, Marrion Cotillard — who have served as the brand's models and ambassadors. "Christian Dior designed several costumes for the movies and maintained personal relationships with such actresses as Marlene Dietrich, Rita Hayworth, Ava Gardner, Sophia Loren, Marilyn Monroe, Liz Taylor and Grace Kelly," Arnault explained. "It is thus only natural for the house of Dior to continue to develop a very specific and personal relationship with actresses."

>> In the latest round of Spring 2011 ad campaigns to pop up, Crystal Renn nabbed a starring role in Jimmy Choo's colorful, colorblocked set shot by Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin; Baptiste Giabiconi sprays Freja Beha Erichsen and Stella Tennant in their Chanel suits with a water hose; and Ellen von Unwerth, who first found fame photographing Claudia Schiffer for Guess, is back for another round with the brand.

There's no doubt that Rihanna is a style chameleon; she takes risks left and right and switches up her look with each new album. Her latest editorial for the December 2010 issue of Interview — shot by Mikael Jansson — pays tribute to the singer's sartorial fearlessness. She is the queen of her Parisian castle, surrounded by beautiful flowers and draped in Chanel, Jil Sander, and Louis Vuitton. The spread also features some serious statement accessories — I am loving the giant agate earrings, gold cuff bracelets, and bedecked leather harness — and Rihanna wears each piece like a total diva. Step inside to view all of the stunning shots.

>> Anxiously awaited every year, the Vogue Paris 2011 calendar — which comes as an insert in the magazine's December/January holiday issue, out Nov. 30 — is here. Mikael Jansson is this year's photographer, and he captured portraits of Daria Werbowy, wearing not much other than fine jewelry or some lingerie here and there for every month.

>> A new Interview editorial from the magazine's May 2010 issue, "Let's Get Lost," photographed by Mikael Jansson and styled by Karl Templer, is described with the following tagline: "Let's get lost. The hour is late, the air is thick, and the evening is charged with a steamy sensuality. What works? Tone-on-tone swimsuits, slithers of silk, and plenty of skin, as flesh meets flesh, body meets soul, and Daria gets lost in the heat of the night."

But since being posted online, the editorial, which highlights Daria Werbowy among an all-black cast (save for Brazilian model Lisalla Montenegro), is eliciting adverse reactions around the web. Commenters on The Fashion Spot write: "I expect more from Interview than some stereotypical, white person enters into strange and exotic world of brown people editorial." And: "I can't believe that the editorial team got away with a story that overtly exposes and even promotes such racist stereotypes. The one time they chose to cast an amazing variety of black models they had to play with a tired concept; the only reason why they are honestly here in this story is to play up the stereotype of black people as anonymous, sexual, savage beings who here play back up dancer to Daria (the white person)."

Refinery29 agrees: "From the differences in their dress (Daria's in ethereal, angel-like gowns, the others are in knits and leathers) to their body language (A limp yet super-sexual Daria is the main focus, the others feel almost like props), the whole spread has a rather racist vibe that we can't get down with." As do commenters at the Livejournal community Fashin, one noting that the models surrounding Daria look like "blackcessories" and another adding that the models look like "they're just props."

>> Although Gap is having a little trouble these days —the brand just cut their entire European design team and were overtaken by Zara as the world's biggest retailer — all bets are still on executive VP of design Patrick Robinson, whose first full Gap collection debuts this Fall. It is he who chose the likes of Julia Restoin-Roitfeld, Georgina Chapman, Cecilia Dean, and Scott Schuman to front Gap's Fall 2008 campaign, proving he really is trying to bring fashion back to the company. 

Can Mikael Jansson's shots of those four, Ryan McGinley, Karlie Kloss, Sean Avery, Jourdan Dunn, and more, plus Patrick's new designs, make the difference for Gap?  Only time will tell, but until then, enjoy the rest of the Fall campaign.