>> Franca Sozzani is putting her money where her mouth is with Vogue Italia's June 2011 cover. After devoting a special section to "curvy" women on the magazine's website (of those highlighted she recently said: "Why should these women slim down? Many of the women who have a few extra kilos are especially beautiful and also more feminine"), Sozzani has cast a trio of plus-size models for the magazine's latest cover. No Crystal Renn, the current "plus-size" model du jour, in sight — instead, Steven Meisel shot Tara Lynn, Candice Huffine, and Robyn Lawley in black and white, marking the first time plus-size models have graced the magazine's cover since the days of Sophie Dahl, circa 2000. [Models.com]
Louis Vuitton Chooses 16-Year-Olds Over Supermodels for Fall 2011 Ad Campaign
>> Louis Vuitton populated its Fall 2011 runway with supermodels like Kate Moss, Amber Valletta, Carolyn Murphy, and Naomi Campbell, but you wouldn't guess it based on the collection's campaign. Instead of its usual top model or actress seasonal face, the brand went with a cast of young upstarts — very young, in some cases: 16-year-old Zuzanna Bijoch, 15-year-old Daphne Groeneveld, 20-year-old Gertrud Hegelund, 16-year-old Nyasha Matonhodze, 20-year-old Anais Pouliot, and Fei Fei Sun, who was born in 1989.
Matonhodze, for her part, said of the moment she found out she was chosen: "My eyes filled up with tears and I thought 'Lord, you are lucky!'" The campaign was shot by Steven Meisel in a vintage car at a disused Brooklyn aerodrome; Matonhodze added of her experience: "It didn't actually hit me until I was sat in a Rolls Royce sitting eye-to-eye with Mr. Meisel. He is a wonder to work with, he and Marc [Jacobs] made me feel beautiful." Jacobs added of the set: “Who wouldn’t want to be this gorgeous young woman in the back seat of this beautiful car?”
Angelina Jolie Reportedly to Appear in Upcoming Louis Vuitton Campaign
>> Angelina Jolie is reportedly set to be a face of Louis Vuitton; the print-only campaign is expected to be shot by Annie Leibovitz in the next couple of weeks and is said to be launched globally — in print only — this Summer.
According to a source familiar with the deal, E! reports, Jolie will be paid "close to $10 million" for the endorsement, believed to be the most lucrative of her career. A Louis Vuitton rep had no comment on the matter, but this campaign sounds like the newest edition of Vuitton's Core Values series, which Leibovitz has always photographed (Whereas for the past number of seasons, Steven Meisel has shot the collection campaign. Rumors have already swirled that he captured six models for the upcoming Fall 2011 Vuitton campaign.).
Behind-the-Scenes at the Alberta Ferretti, Ralph Lauren Fall 2011 Campaign Shoots; Plus, Lanvin and Roberto Cavalli Cast Details
>> The Fall 2011 campaign parade continues: Arizona Muse was on set for Alberta Ferretti yesterday, as were Valentina Zeliaeva and Magdalena Frackowiak for Ralph Lauren (left).
Raquel Zimmermann recently confirmed: "I'll be in the Lanvin campaign which was shot by photographer Steven Meisel, but I can not describe how it was, total secrecy until the campaign out!" And Roberto Cavalli is reportedly employing Natasha Poly, Mariacarla Boscono, and Karen Elson to be shot by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott and styled by Panos Yiapanis.
After Gwyneth Paltrow was spotted leaving Coach headquarters recently with Reed Krakoff, meanwhile, rumors have been fanned that the actress might be a new face for either Coach or Krakoff's Coach-funded eponymous label.
Photos from the Ferretti and Ralph Lauren shoots in the gallery.
Will Kate Moss Be in Louis Vuitton's Fall 2011 Ad Campaign? Plus, More Casting Rumors
>> The latest Fall 2011 campaign scuttlebutt: Isabeli Fontana is taking the early lead, with campaigns for Escada and Donna Karan booked, and a rumored appearance for Bottega Veneta as well. Karan's campaign, which was captured by Patrick Demarchelier the past three seasons, was snapped by Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin for Fall 2011.
Meanwhile, Steven Meisel shot (and Karl Templer styled) the Fall 2011 Louis Vuitton campaign in New York yesterday — but there will reportedly be no Kate Moss appearance as there was on the runway. In fact, no supermodels will be featured at all: Instead, the six models chosen are said to be from the current generation — "Top 50-ish, a bit new. Nothing from the Icon list." Daphne Groeneveld and Fei Fei Sun are rumored to be among them.
Kate Moss has reportedly been cast for another Fall 2011 campaign for Mango; however, it will be shot by Terry Richardson and is today, making lots of appearances on his blog.
Versace, like Donna Karan, is also switching up photographers — after going with Mario Testino for the past eight seasons, Donatella Versace has chosen Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott to do the Fall 2011 honors (with styling by Joe McKenna). Originally, the Versace campaign, like Vuitton, was reportedly supposed to feature six models, including Candice Swanepoel and Groeneveld, but the photographers are rumored to have settled instead on one girl with "short dark hair" who is a "cover star." Some are thinking that might indicate Saskia de Brauw as Versace's new girl.
To round out the Fall 2011 campaign placements so far, Juergen Teller shot Irina Kulikova yesterday for Moschino at Turin's Ristorante del Cambio, Ralph Lauren has reportedly cast its runway opener Sui He, and Liu Wen is rumored to be in the upcoming Dolce & Gabbana campaign.
A few images from the various shoots in the gallery.
Franca Sozzani on Why Steven Meisel Has Shot Over 325 Consecutive Vogue Italia Covers
>> Franca Sozzani recently explained why Steven Meisel has shot every Vogue Italia cover since 1988: "I needed to have a consistent, recognizable look to every cover. My idea was that even if you took the word “Italia” off, you know what Vogue Italia is. Many magazines don’t seem to have a connection between one cover and the next, and it becomes hard to tell them apart. Especially today — images can be printed in such a high quality, but that also flattens them out, in a way. There’s a similar problem in fashion. Everyone can buy clothes — the most accessible clothes are not of the best quality, but unless you look at the label, you don’t know who it’s by. It’s this kind of oversaturation that makes me believe we are on the brink of another huge change." Sozzani also believes that putting resources into the Vogue Italia website has paid off for the magazine: "The website is doing a great job because it functions as a teaser for the magazine. September, October, and November our sales were up 27 percent, and this is because of the web. Everyone has this idea that online will kill print, but it’s not true. Like everything else, it depends on how you do things." [Models.com]
Saskia de Brauw Scores Two Influential March Vogue Covers
>> Lately one of Riccardo Tisci's go-to models, 29-year-old Dutch model Saskia de Brauw is catching on quickly elsewhere, too. She is simultaneously featured on the big March 2011 Spring covers of two different Vogues: Vogue Paris, shot by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott (left) — which also happens to be Carine Roitfeld's last cover for the magazine — and Vogue Italia by Steven Meisel (right). [Models.com]

Candice Swanepoel Scores Vogue Italia February 2011 Cover, Seems Next Victoria's Secret Model Poised for High Fashion Crossover
>> Candice Swanepoel has been Victoria's Secret's go-to girl in the last few months — she was on the brand's holiday and swim catalog covers, and figured prominently into last year's Victoria's Secret Fashion Show as well. After Mario Testino shot her for VMAN's Winter 2010 issue (declaring, “Candice is an amazing new find for me. Gorgeous, free, fun. I decided to do the whole trip on her visiting Denmark. She was awesome and did not feel inhibited. She made the shoot an amazing experience. The guys were in awe of her.”), many guessed that she was well on her way to being the next Victoria's Secret Angel to cross over into high fashion.
And it seems like that's the plan. She's on GQ UK's February 2011 cover with a smattering of fellow Victoria's Secret models, but she also just popped up on the February 2011 Vogue Italia cover — quite the coup — shot by Steven Meisel and styled by Carlyne Cerf de Dudzeele. Will we see her on a choice (non-Victoria's Secret) runway next?
Prada's Vibrant Show For Spring 2011 Comes Alive
Prada Spring 2011 was one of the most dynamic collections of the season, so we were quite excited to see how the brand would showcase the collection. The vivid stripes and prints are on full display in the print ad photographed by Steven Meisel, but they come alive in the video, which features models like Arizona Muse and Mariacarla Boscono getting their groove on to "Mirando" by Ratatat. Here are both the print campaign and the video: which one appeals to you more?
Watch Prada Spring 2011 Faces Kinga Rajzak, Arizona Muse, Mariacarla Boscono, and Tati Cotliar Dance in a Lively Campaign Video
>> In what may be the best campaign video in some time, Prada Spring 2011 faces Tati Cotliar, Kinga Rajzak, Arizona Muse, Mariacarla Boscono, and Zuzanna Bijoch don the collection's stripes and give their best dance to Ratatat’s 2008 song "Mirando." And don't forget to take a second look at those sunglasses — apparently Prada has decided to do a limited-edition 500-pair run, and they will be in stores starting next month.


