The Classic Beauty, Revisited

There's an interesting article in the advertising section of the WSJ today, talking about the return of classic, girl-next-door looks within the fashion industry in the face of the economic downturn. It seems like common sense to me; when things are difficult, people take less risks in favor of playing it safe.

This season we've seen a comeback of sorts for Freja. She's never really left the picture, but we haven't seen this much work from her in a long time. So, I wonder if her resurgence can be partly attributed to this return of the "classic beauty?"

I've always considered Freja to be beautiful in the most generally appealing way. No overly harsh cheekbones, no quirky features, and an absolutely radiant smile. Her beauty is accessible and easily digestible to all people regardless of their interest in fashion. My non-fashion minded friends will never understand the appeal of Hanne or Abbey, but they all think Freja is gorgeous.

"Since the supermodel era of the late 1980s and early 1990s, the fashion landscape has become so segmented that few models can carry both high-end fashion brands and mainstream campaigns. But lately models with classic looks are again doing it all."

Freja falls into this "few models" category because she is a classic beauty who happens to have a subtle edge if you know how to look for it. For instance, her forehead is a little larger than average, her nose is definitely unique and her cupid's bow is very pronounced. I think these are the things that have made her so adaptable as a model, and they explain why her resume impressively jumps from high-end to mainstream and back again.

If anyone has interesting thoughts on the subject, please share. We're experiencing the calm before the fashion week storm right now. And so I leave you with one last quote from the article.

"IMG's Mr. Cunningham doesn't agree that the current aesthetic will continue to reign. 'This look is fickle, and it's cyclical, and this too shall pass,'"

Sound familiar?