Teen Vogue

There is a little feature on Freja's street style in the August issue of Teen Vogue:

The section is appropriately titled "Tough Chic" and also features Karmen Pedaru, another model favorite of mine. I think this is probably the closest I'll ever get to seeing them in a shoot together. I like how they're similarly dressed, but the devil is in the details. Freja wears Chanel boots and carries Balenciaga, while Karmen opts for Frye boots and carries Chanel. Freja tucks and Karmen un-tucks, yet both push up their sleeves. Karmen also adds a very cool lariat around her neck and it's small details like that that absolutely have me enthralled with model street style.

I'm sure some people find model street style boring and predictable. You always get a proliferation of black, leather, skinny jeans, heels, tees and it-bags. I don't care how repetitive it may seem--I love it. And if you look closely enough you can always find the little things that make each outfit special and unique.

The best thing about a feature like this is that they give you suggestions for where to shop if you want to re-create the look at home, because not everyone can afford Balenciaga.

Image Credit: Altamira.blogspot.com

Chanel!

The first images for the Chanel campaign have arrived. A very large thank you is owed to tFS member Northern Star for scanning and posting the images. (If you're a member of tFS please remember to give him karma and/or say thanks.)

I literally gasped from surprise when I first saw the images. They're not what I was expecting at all after seeing the runway collection, but that isn't a bad thing. In fact, I'm happy to be caught off guard by Karl. I usually find his photography and concepts somewhat predictable and staid. But I think this concept is a departure for him.

It's quite difficult to determine what an entire campaign will end up looking like based on two images, but I think we have a good feel for things to come. What I'm most surprised about is the way the images appear to be from very old albums. There is a sepia tone effect; and that combined with the outdoor setting makes the images seem like snapshots of the American Old West.

Consequently, this causes a very interesting juxtaposition. If you can recall, the collection had many aspects of modernity and technology front and center. Most notably, these bags designed with compartments for your iPod, earphones and anything else you would need as a modern woman. The bag addresses the needs of today, yet the campaign images hark back to an bygone era. I don't really know what this means if anything but it's intriguing nonetheless.

I also wonder if there will be narrative development throughout the rest of the images? What's the story behind these two women? Why are they in such an embrace? Is Heidi exhibiting signs of Puritan restraint by keeping her hands in her pockets? I also get that Puritan vibe from the high, buttoned up collars and long skirts. And since we're dealing with two women I get a Children's Hour vibe as well. The Children's Hour is a famous play set at an all-girls boarding school in the 1930s. Two of the headmistresses are accused of having a lesbian affair and a lot of drama and tragedy ensue.

Goodness, as I think about it more there seem to be so many references contributing to these images. So far, I get the American Old West, Puritanism and the Children's Hour. But that could just be me and my tendency to over analyze. I really hope we get some sounds bytes or quotes from Karl citing his inspirations for this campaign. Any other thoughts out there? Do you see some obvious references that I miss?

One last thing I noticed right off the bat....this is the first ad campaign to so strikingly address the speculation around Freja's sexuality. She's locked in an embrace of questionable nature with another woman, and this is at the forefront of the image in a major label campaign. Are the other images going to address this as well? Is this why Karl went back to Freja for this campaign? Or maybe this reading is too colored by my prior assumptions so I'm seeing something that isn't necessarily there?

So many questions. I'll be able to edit down my thoughts as more images are released, which will hopefully be soon!

Image Credits: Scanned by tFS member Northern Star, style.com

J Brand Jeans

New Ad! Hooray! Thanks to tFS member s'ngac we have this preview of Freja jumping for J Brand jeans. I didn't even know that J Brand had ads. Maybe they just run them in other countries because I don't think I've seen them in magazines here in the US.

Freja looks wonderful and so vibrant here. The movement is dynamic and not awkward at all. You know how jumping pictures can sometimes distort the jumper's face? That doesn't happen here because Freja looks as gorgeous as ever. I have several pairs of J Brands so I can most definitely attest that they make a fabulous pair of jeans. They have various cuts and lengths but their 10" skinnies are my favorite. They fit like a dream and really do elongate and slim down your silhouette. I love seeing Freja as the campaign girl for a brand that I trust and know very well.

But enough of my gushing. This ad campaign adds to an already stellar campaign season for Freja. Things are quite different from even just one year ago. If you had told me back then that Freja would have an official website with blog, be the Chanel and Gucci girl again, and be in Gap and J Brand ads (both very commercial brands) I would have thought you were crazy. Amazing how things can turn around in such a short time.

Makes me wonder what role IMG and the recession has in all of this. When Forbes released their list of top earning models for this year, everyone could see that there was a significant drop in the amount of money brought in by all top earners compared to last year. (Giselle alone made $10 million less.) The recession is real and the financial crisis is being felt in all industries by all people. Fashion and it's models are no exception.

With this in mind, we know Freja is one of the top girls at IMG. She's had perfume contracts and many blue chip campaigns. She isn't on the level of Giselle, but a model like Freja is for sure a cash cow for IMG. Sorry to be so blunt, but that's the way it is. I wonder if they had anything to do with her growing out her hair again and starting a website? Perhaps they are nudging her away from the androgynous, rebel image she's had for a while now, and pushing her towards an image of commercial viability once again? Gap isn't high fashion, but it sure does bring in a lot of money and that's what IMG needs right now. And regardless of what we'd all like to think, IMG is a business first and foremost and they have a bottom line. I've touched on these thoughts before. But maybe I'm being paranoid and over-analyzing things. Any thoughts?

Image Credits: Picture taken by tFS member s'ngac!

Round 2

There was a decent response to round 1 so here is the next round. Vote for your favorite (either in name or in concept) by leaving a comment, anonymous or otherwise.

And just so you know, Freidi got the most votes last round but for each new round the slate is wiped clean.

Frily


McBeha


Frina


Freidi


Fragdalena

I'm still partial to Fragdalena so it gets my vote. I had to throw out Lareja and Crombeha because they didn't receive any votes. And instead of drawing this out, after this round there will only be one more round.

Thanks to all who voted and will vote. It's nice to be silly sometimes!

Also, RIP MJ. :(

Image Credits: coolhunt, fashion_shows, Firstview

London Fashion Week News

Interesting news tidbit: Jonathan Saunders is going to show his collection in London this upcoming season. He joins the likes Burberry, Pringle of Scotland and Matthew Williamson in moving his show to back to LDN in order to celebrate the 25th anniversary of London Fashion Week.

Apparently, he may not be the last designer to announce such a return. We should expect some more announcements soon, as there are supposedly "talks going on with other big names who we're confident will come back," said Harold Tillman, president of the British Fashion Council.

I wonder who he could be referring to? Maybe Alexander McQueen? Or Stella McCartney? And what does this have to do with Freja? Well, she's never walked in London before, yet most of the shows moving there so far are ones that she traditionally walks in (with Burberry being the most consistent runway job).

Does this mean that we might see Freja make her first appearance on the British catwalks? Or does this mean less runway shows for her in the other three cities? She was just in London recently so it's not like she's never been there for work. But I wonder, will she break tradition and part with what I'm sure is her much needed rest week between New York and Milan to walk all the shows now showing in London? Or will the upcoming SS season be just another disappointment for Freja fans like her past two unexpectedly truncated SS seasons? I guess these are just some more questions that we won't get answers to until September. Sigh. At least as Freja fans we're used to being patient between sightings. Still sucks though.

Burberry Prorsum FW0910


Pringle of Scotland SS09


Jonathan Saunders FW0910

Image Credits: Style.com

Playing Dress Up

Earlier this week paper dress up dolls of Kate and Agyness were released. Yes, I know, not the most groundbreaking fashion news ever, but I think it's still cute and whimsical nonetheless. Anyway, lots of blogs covered the news because I guess this counts as coverage worthy fashion "news" during the off summer months. But Modelinia took it one step further and created a wish list of other models who they want to see in paper doll form.

Surprisingly, they included Freja on their list:

Freja Beha Erichsen, because she has that effortlessly cool look about her, and with all the outfits you could mix and match on her you get to decide which of her tattoos stay visible. So enviable.

I wasn't expecting them to pick her because for the longest time it seemed that Modelinia didn't even know Freja existed. They only very recently created her model page and it's still severely lacking in any substantial content when compared to the other models on the site. (I should know as I've been checking and hoping in vein that they'll put up some cute videos of Freja shopping or showing off her closet a la Noot and Hanne.) Also, we all know that Freja has a rather minimalistic, casual street style, but maybe that's why she was included this feature? How else are we ever going to get the chance to see dresses and colors on Freja if we we can't just do it ourselves. :)

Image Credit: Modelinia.com

Blink and you'll miss it

I was browsing Stella McCartney's site in my search for some new workout clothes. I think I just wanted to torture myself by looking at her collection for Adidas, knowing full well that I'd never spend that much on clothes I sweat in no matter how cute they are. Anyway, I started poking around the rest of her site and came across this backstage video from FW0910.

If you skip to around 1:30 you'll see a quick exchange of looks between Freja and Magdalena. I just think this is cute because it gives us a small glimpse of the camaraderie between models backstage. I think many people are still under the assumption that models are bitchy, snobby, cut-throat people. Linda Evangelista didn't do much to dispel that stereotype with her infamous quote about not getting out of bed for less than $10,000 a day. But these days, with "model" holding a lower cache than it did back in the 90s, most girls genuinely seem down to earth and like they get along in their little model cabals.

They form bonds due to their shared experiences and it shows in the few backstage videos and photos that we get to see. In fact, I think we'd probably be surprised at all the different models friendships going on, simply because what we get to see backstage is only a tiny fraction of it all. If you're like me and you religiously read Tatiana the Anonymous Model's column at Jezebel, you'd know that some of her posts reflect and reaffirm that sense of camaraderie.

Anyway, sorry that there isn't any sound and that the video quality is so crappy. Normally, I wouldn't post something like this because it's kind of insignificant....literally blink and you will miss it. But it's a slow news day and regardless of what it does or doesn't mean in the grand scheme of intra-model interactions and friendships, I just think it's a sweet, funny moment. Maybe the Fragdalena pairing isn't such a far-fetched idea after all. Too bad it didn't get any votes. :(

And speaking of, the next round of voting will go up sometime later this week. Thanks to all who indulged my attempt at having some fun. :)

Freja Fans are Everywhere

In the current June/July 2009 issue of Interview magazine with Bjork on the cover, there is an interview of artist Chantal Joffe by designer Stella McCartney. While reading this feature, I was pleasantly surprised to see Freja pop up in conversation and in painting.

Picture of the artist in her studio

Here is the intro to the piece to give you an idea of who Joffe is (bolded for the tl,dr crowd), followed by some interesting excerpts:

Women, children and fashion--on paper, Chantal Joffe's interests seem pretty quotidian. But on canvas, where the 39-year-old artist paints shots ripped from fashion magazines, or photographs of friends holding their babies, the feminine world suddenly becomes a dark, loaded, highly sexualized place. Joffe in not a realist. She distorts the women in her frames for ultimate psychological effect. But the subjects rarely seem like victims, even if the brushstrokes are hard and unforgiving. It turns out, Joffe is actually a massive fan of fashion and sees what she does as high celebration. She paints models like Freja Beha, Kate Moss and Lara Stone because they seem to her like storybook characters come to life. Recently, Joffe even collaborated with fashion photographer Miles Aldridge, painting his wife, model Kristen McMenamy, in Joffe's studio, while Aldridge shot film. This paint was included in the artist's most recent solo show, in New York this spring at Cheim & Read gallery. The love of the fashion industry has proven reciprocal. Stella McCartney is one designer who collects Joffe's work. In fact, Joffe has painted all three of McCartney's children (the paintings hand in the Stella McCartney store in London) and even shot models backstage at McCartney's Fall 2009 show in Paris. The two friends caught up to discuss, among other things, why the weird models are always the sexiest.
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MCCARTNEY: Because it doesn't look like one. It looks tome like a celebration of the female form--and that in itself is a connection with fashion.
JOFFE: I don't know where else I would find all of those images of women. And I actually love specific models as well. It's funny, I've been painting Freja a lot.
MCCARTNEY: So you saw her at my show then?
JOFFE: Yeah, it was like meeting somebody out of a book. I mean, I didn't talk to her, and I didn't really want to. She's such an odd character.
MCCARTNEY: Why didn't you want to talk to her?
JOFFE: I thought she might think I was creepy more than anything else. [both laugh] But I like the weird ones. I like the girls who are a little odd.
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JOFFE: When you're looking through a magazine, what makes you stop and think is when you see an image and imagine the narrative that is going on inside of it. Those are the ones I make into paintings.
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JOFFE: Do you pick the models for your show?
MCCARTNEY: I choose them. I have a guy who does casting for me, but we work together. It's funny because whenever someone else is excited about a girl who I am not keen on and I eventually give in, I always regret it when I see her on the runway....
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MCCARTNEY: And yet you paint these lovely, young women who just come across as perfection. You paint perfection sometimes, don't you? When you think of fashion photography, it's a dream. It's like we all want to be those women. We want to wear those dresses.
JOFFE: I don't think I do want to be them. I'm fascinated to imagine what their lives are like, but I certainly wouldn't want to be them.
MCCARTNEY: I don't think their lives are anywhere near a glamorous as you think.
JOFFE: It just fascinates me to be only 18 and to have that life.
MCCARTNEY: Eighteen! They're old if they're 18 in this day and age.
JOFFE: Right. But still I'm interested in the sheer fascination of beauty--beauty is fascinating.

For sake of comparison, the original photographs:

I love art so I was absolutely thrilled to see this. At first glance Joffe's paintings could be considered slightly grotesque but I think that's part of their beauty. I could go on and on about the artistic implications of her work, but I'll spare you...

It's nice to see that there are Freja fans everywhere from all walks of life. Now I feel like my fanaticism is legitimized in a way because I'm in good company and it's being addressed in Interview magazine. And I thought the part where Stella talks about the casting for her show was very illuminating. Freja has walked for her many times so I suppose we can call Stella a fan as well. :) Anyway, if you're interested I've scanned the full article below. Now we should keep our eyes out for more of Joffe's work!

Image Credits: fashionista.com, my scans

Tweeting Part II

Some more interesting info coming out of Heidi Mount's twitter.

surrounded by books. i love karls studio!!!

Freja didnt know about twitter. shame.

Perhaps she and Freja are working on something for the Chanel Haute Couture show coming up in July? Maybe they're shooting the look book, or getting fitted for their dresses. Although, I think it's still too early for the later, so the former seems like a better possibility. Exciting!

And to tell you the truth, I'm kind of glad Freja doesn't know about twitter. Well she probably does now, but that's besides the point. Can you imagine what would happen if she started twittering? That would just increase the fanaticism over her and I don't necessarily think that's a good thing. Ok yes, I'm a pretty big fan considering I have this blog. But the official site is enough for me. For some reason I like the people I admire to maintain some distance from me. I guess it keeps the allure going. Am I the only one that feels this way?

Anyway, I think I'm still ambivalent about Twitter. It's useful if the tweets that you follow come from people who hold interesting jobs. i.e. Come fashion week twitter will be great for getting the latest updates about everything going on at the shows from people actually sitting at the shows. Otherwise, I feel like it's probably just another internet fad that will eventually come to be obsolete (Hello Friendster and Myspace). I have a twitter account but that's only so I can follow all my favorite fashion related people and websites. And ok, I'll admit it, I tweeted twice. But that was only because I was super excited about Obama and Biden eating lunch across the street from my office that day. :) Otherwise, I hold no illusions about my life that would warrant me giving minute by minute updates.

I don't know, what are you're thoughts on twitter? Anyone interesting out there that I should be following? I do love me some Fake Karl.

Tweet, Tweet

Freja was spotted in New York last week, but apparently she's already moved onto Paris this week. Check out these three successive tweets from Heidi Mount posted within hours of each other:

1: just arrived in Paris and i feel like my hotel room is backwards or just not right. that makes no sense

2: i just threw two sunflower seeds in frejas mouth

3: now i missed

How cute is that!? They always seem to have a fun, laid back time together. Heidi has been updating up her twitter account for a few months now, and she alternates between tweeting about her personal life and her work. She is definitely a reliable source, so we now know that Freja is in Paris working with Heidi on something. Freja already told us she was off on a round trip to NY and Paris a few weeks ago so she's true to her word if any of you ever doubted it.

We keep on getting news of Freja traveling all over the world for work, but it's been so quiet on the editorial front lately. Hopefully all her work these last few months will translate into a plethora of material in a few months time. I can't wait!

Oh, and once again thanks goes to slow_hands over at tFS for the tip. (I swear, sometimes I think you should be writing this blog.)

Self Service

As requested, here are HQs of Freja's editorial in the Fall/Winter 2008 issue of Self Service magazine. It was shot by Inez and Vinoodh and also features Anja Rubik, Catherine McNeil, Eniko Mihalik, and Lara Stone. For the most part, all the girls were shot separately so I'm only posting the ones with Freja.

Untitled
Self Service #29 Fall/Winter 2008
Ph: Inez and Vinoodh

I also just want to say thank you to the readers and commentators out there. I really appreciate your feedback, tips, recommendations and general enthusiasm. I started this blog for myself basically as an outlet for all this energy and admiration I had for Freja and fashion in general. I never thought anyone would actually care to read my endless ramblings, so thank you so much.

In NYC with HGO

Remember Freja's blog post about two weeks ago on her official site? Remember this excerpt?

packed for 4 days in Monaco and now have to do a bigger roundtrip to Paris and then New York

Remember how I told you to keep your eyes open? Well, thanks to the ever vigilant tFS member slow_hands, we have a Freja sighting in NY via the modelinia twitter. So, true to her blog post, Freja is on the move and presumably hard at work.

Even though you can't really tell because of the blurriness of the picture, she's with Hanne-Gaby Odiele outside the Ksubi store. It seems like they're just chilling so I doubt it's work related. Perhaps just two friends hanging out and doing some shopping on a sunny spring afternoon in the city.

I didn't know that Freja and Hanne were friends, but it doesn't surprise me. Hanne is friends with Sheila Marquez and I'm pretty sure Freja and Sheila are friends. I think Sheila is also dating Christian Brylle and we know that Freja and Christian are friends. Maybe I should draw a diagram?

Anyway Hanne seems like an awesome, laid back girl and she's a fabulous model. It took me a while to warm to her, but now I'm a total fan of her unique look and amazing sense of personal style. Check out this video of her navigating her amazing closet and see the effortless way she pairs pieces together. This is part of the reason she won me over. When her modeling career ends she should definitely look into becoming a stylist.

By the way, I didn't mean for this post to come off as a walking advertisement for modelinia. It just happened that way. I swear they're not paying me......much. :)

Image Credits: twitter.com/modelinia

Name Amalgamations

Since there is no news to report of, I'm gonna have a little fun. I totally get a kick from the contemporary trend of combining two names into one. It's fun to do and pretty addictive. So here are Freja and some of her model compatriots.

Round 1:

Frily


McBeha


Frina


Lareja


Freidi


Crombeha


Fragdalena

Pairing with the lowest votes gets thrown out. If this actually works, I'll do successive rounds until we have a winner. If this doesn't work, then at least we all get to enjoy some old school pictures. :) Personally, if I base this solely in the name, Fragdalena wins for me. But overall, with all factors included, I'm not sure who I'd vote for.

Image Credits: Celebritycity, fashionmag.com, fashion_shows

A Question for You

I just got issue #29 of Self Service magazine. If you'll remember, it has Eniko on the cover in weird face paint and a long, multi-girl editorial inside shot by Inez and Vinoodh. Freja is one of the girls in the ed, along with Anja, Cat, Eniko and Lara.

My question is, do any of you want HQ scans of Freja's shots? The reason I ask is because the "magazine" is quite unweildy and heavy. It's less of a magazine and more of a hardbound, encyclopedia sized volume. I was quite taken aback when it arrived because I was really just expecting a magazine in the vein of Vogue and Harper's Bazaar. Shows what I know.

It's beautiful though, and I'm really impressed. So much so that I think I might have to add Self Service to my rotation of must-buys. (For those interested, you can get it online at American Apparel in their "newsstand" section.)

Anyway, to refresh your memory, here are photos of some of Freja's shots in the ed. And here are the few HQs from the ed that we have so far. If there is demand for a complete HQ set I'll definitely scan it. Otherwise, I'm going to save myself the time and the arm workout. Just leave a comment, anonymous or otherwise, below. Thanks!

Horsing Around Backstage

Thanks to an anonymous poster on this blog (whoever you are, you're wonderful and I really am grateful!), I bring you this clip from the FW0910 Isaac Mizrahi show. Skip to around 1:20.



I literally laughed out loud because what I saw was so unexpected and just so funny. I absolutely adore fashion shows for the spontaneous backstage moments like this. Freja has such a sense of humor and playfulness to her manner! And I love the relationship she seems to have with Heidi. The two of them just seem like they have such fun together backstage. Maybe that rebel persona is just a front? I'm onto you Freja Beha Erichsen. Those tattoos aren't going to fool me any longer.

If you're a model-fanatic (like I am), it's pretty difficult to satisfy your curiosities about models off duty. Even though they're beautiful and glamorous, in the larger media food chain models aren't important enough to warrant tons of interviews and hours of video footage. (Instead, we get rundowns of the daily minutiae of "celebrities" like Miley Cyrus and Lauren Conrad. Is there no justice in this world?) Most models merely remain the pretty faces that we see walking the catwalks and posing backstage for pictures. We rarely get to see anything that gives them the opportunity to express their personalities or their age. Don't you always forget that most of these girls aren't even old enough to drink in the US? I know I do.

Luckily things are beginning to change. Sites have emerged like Modelinia, which focus on models off the catwalk. Most of the major agencies run blogs that highlight the adventures of their top girls. And every season we see more and more backstage video clips from fashion blogs and sites that capture off the cuff moments like the one above. Maybe the contingent of model-maniacs is growing? Or maybe we're just starting to realize that there are enough of us out there to warrant more behind the scenes stuff. Either way, you can bet I'm totally looking forward to what next season's backstage might bring!

Russh

I picked up the old issue of Australian magazine Russh the other day. As I was flipping through it this page caught my eye:

I just think it's funny that they have Freja on there twice. Personally, I think they could have chosen better pictures. But I can't complain about their cover:

It's the reason I bought the magazine in the first place. :) For those unfamiliar with the model, she is Estonia's own Karmen Pedaru.

I know it's not groundbreaking news (Freja and androgyny...what a concept), but since it's been slow I thought I would post it. Anyway, hopefully we'll be getting some new eds soon since it's the beginning of the month and magazines' July issues should start coming out soon. Maybe something in Harper's Bazaar? They usually love Freja. Oh! And we also have Chanel, Gucci and Gap ads to look forward to. Wonder when they'll leak? Givenchy has been the only major brand so far to release images so it's only a matter of time!

Image Credits: Scanned by me.