As some of you already know, Freja was spotted in China recently by some fans. Thanks to a kind e-mail I received from Freja fan Pauline (thank you so much!), I can tell you that the reason she's in China is because she's shooting the ad campaign for a Paris brand called Mo & Co (The site says the label was founded in Paris, but parts of the website are in Chinese and they're shooting the campaign in China. Go figure.)
According to firsthand accounts, Freja was kind and thoughtful, even going so far as to have a cup of water ready for the sleeping fan when he woke up on the flight. The picture below already appeared on tFS, but other pictures must remain unposted at the owner's request. If you read Chinese, I think you can find them somewhere at this address: t.sina.com/xuanzheng. Looks like the site requires registration though.
After a bit of a quiet spell, we're finally getting some new Freja news. Although, she's always been such a private person that I wouldn't take the quietness to mean that she hasn't been doing anything. If there's one thing she knows how to do, it's how to operate completely under the radar considering her level of status and fame within the industry and among fans.
Anyway, thanks again for the e-mail Pauline! And thanks to the fans in China for being so vigilant. Hopefully this is just the beginning of an eventful summer season!
This is another one of those times I'm cursing myself for not checking off the box next to "French" on the list of courses to take in school. If anyone has any significant insight into what the narrator, designers or other people in the video say about Freja, please feel free to share. In the meantime, just some thoughts on "Les Filles en Vogue" and huge thanks to tFS members Valentine27 and FrenchCactus for graciously taking the time and effort to upload the film and share it with all of us.
PART 1:
PART 2:
PART 3:
Models are poked and prodded backstage so much more than I ever thought they were. It must drive them crazy to basically have no personal space for the duration of the shows. And it's interesting to note that three is Freja's lucky number. Hence the three lines tattooed on her finger and the three circles on her wrist. Any other threes you can think of?
PART 4:
Freja is so relaxed and so nonchalant about everything. I can see why she's so appealing to the people she works with and for. There is a calming, soothing nature about her that comes across so well here. I can only imagine how attractive it is to be around in real life especially during a hectic show season. But I think it's important to note that this nonchalance should not be confused with apathy. Even though Freja may not show it in conventional ways, I do believe that she is invested in and enjoys her job as a model. In the past five years I think we've seen her accept her own role in the industry on her own terms. It was a process that took time and the onset of maturity--two things not often granted to models.
PART 5:
She's deeply entrenched in the midst of all the action, but her demeanor is such that she appears to be floating above it all, slightly detached. She personifies the meaning of her tattoo "float" to such a perfect degree. And now I understand why it's on such a prominent location of her body.
PART 6:
After watching this all, the following quote is what particularly stuck out to me:
"I don't think you should let anyone dictate what you should do with your own body. You do sell your body as a product but it's still yours. I mean.....my body....I get to do with it what I want."
What an interesting thing for a model to say, and perhaps the reason why Freja has been labeled as the "rebel" throughout her career. You can sense the conflict that she must feel towards her role as a model. One the one hand, it's a job that has given her success and access to the comforts life can offer. On the other, it has required her to give up part of her autonomy and individuality. Relatively speaking, it's a tough position to be in and there's an implicit struggle in Freja's words and a yearning to reconcile the two conflicting factors.
The sentiment Freja shares about her body is a perfect microcosm of the feeling that I (and I think many of you) have towards the fashion industry as whole. There's an internal conflict that perhaps all of us feel towards fashion at one point or another. Assuming that you're open-minded and liberal (as most people in fashion tend to be) the industry's tendencies towards sexism, racism, ageism, and sizeism are all political and social issues we fight against in our daily lives and denounce in our beliefs. Of course women should be treated equally and schools should be integrated. The color of skin shouldn't affect a person's place in life, nor should the size of their waist or the wrinkles on their face. Yet you look at the fashion industry and all those things are reflected back in the worst possible ways. (i.e. Terry Richardson, white-washed runways, the fact that a size 4 is considered to be "curvy," etc...) But because this is fashion and we love it and get so much enjoyment from it, we accept it's negative aspects in ways that we'd never allow in other avenues of our lives.
I don't know....maybe I'm only speaking for myself here. Although I do feel that this is the same type of conflict that Freja expresses in regards towards a model's relationship to her own body. We might appear to be complicit with the industry's discriminations, but hopefully we'll actually end up being subversive in the end. Just like Freja tattoos her body to regain the autonomy she loses every time she's required to become the "blank slate," I hope that some of us will leave positive marks that eventually change the industry's way of doing business.
On a less serious note, I have to say that I'm in love with Sasha now. I nearly died from laughter when they show her at the very end trying to close her beat up suitcase plastered with random stickers. She comes across as such a lovable, genuine, fragile, yet strong woman. She's an individual through and through and I find her personality incredibly endearing and addictive. As a matter of fact, all the models come across very well. Vogue Paris has a wonderful feature on their hands, and I sincerely hope they decide to do this at least every year, if not every show cycle. It's a win-win for everyone. More press for the magazine, more press for the models, and more fodder for the increasingly model-obsessed fans like us out here.
And Freja, I know it's your body and all, but geez girl.....at least try to pace yourself with the smoking. Your fans want you around for a long time to come!
All in all, my expectations were met with this film. It was entertaining but also thought provoking. It changed some of my opinions, but for the better. And it instilled in me an even deeper sense of respect and awe for the models who are able to endure and persevere season after season. What about you? Your thoughts? Changed opinions? Anything?
"... Naughty, crop-scritching equestriennes in top hats, veils, and impeccable riding habits, incredible ball gowns swathed and swagged in dozens of yards of duchesse satin ..." (Paris, January 25, 2010, by Sarah Mower)
Still waiting on footage of the Les Filles en Vogue film to show up. I checked my newsstand and there were plenty of copies of VP with Kate Moss on the cover (which by the way I didn't buy as a form of protest re: Terry - time to put my money where my mouth is!), but no DVD to be seen anywhere.
In the meantime, some tidbits have leaked out from the various people who have already seen the film:
If one thread has been consistent throughout Freja's career, it's been her unwillingness to push herself into the spotlight. We rarely see her at parties or fashion galas like the Met ball or the CFDAs. But frankly, this is why I've always taken such an interest in her as a model. She's so successful, and yet she seems so nonchalant about it all.
It's this air of mystery that keeps me intrigued and it's nice to know that despite her recent return to high fashion glory and reinvented personal style, she's still the same woman underneath all that sleek Rick Owens leather and she hasn't let success get to her head.
It's a battle of the SS10 Eyewear campaigns. Both feature Freja and Baptiste. Both photographed by Karl. But one is dark, the other is light. One is sleek, the other is tousled. Which do you choose?
Karl Lagerfeld SS10:
Chanel SS10:
I think both sets make for striking images, especially when you see them in magazines. Haven't seen the KL ads yet, but the Chanel ones definitely stick out to me because of their insistent brightness. Interesting that Karl would choose to go completely dark for his namesake brand. I think it's rather fitting as I've always thought KL had a darker, more severe (in the German tradition) type of aesthetic message. And since the same two models are featured, the use of light and dark serves to develop a much needed distinction between the two brands. Although, if forced to choose, I'd probably go with the KL ads. I love how Freja and Baptiste's faces stand out against the black. And those ads really show how well they can work together.
When it gets quiet in terms of news, I like to take the time to reflect and look back on the things that have led us to our present state. Fashion happens at such a break neck pace that it's easy to gloss over everything without fully comprehending anything. With the constant assault of images and ideas, I'm always so afraid I'll miss out on the beauty of a moment or the significance of an inspiration. This is why I think reflection is such an important tool. Some people might think it's just living in the past. But I think it's all about remembering how you got to the present.
Kaizerlich & Respect Dansk #14 Summer 2007 Ph: Andreas Sjodin
What amazes me the most is the little paragraph on the image above. Reading it you'd think it could be describing the current state of Freja's career. But it was actually written three years ago. This kind of sustained popularity and relevance is so rare. Freja has changed a lot throughout her career from being feminine to being very androgynous to being a good mixture of both now. This is probably the reason she's been able to stay around for as long as she has because she's been quietly reinventing herself over and over, making herself seem new every few seasons. I don't know if that's just luck, excellent management, intrinsic talent or a combination of all three. What I do know is that it's pretty damn amazing. It's how you build a loyal (almost fanatical) following and keep the work coming at the highest level.
Freja has always seemed to be quieter and less attention garnering on the social front when you compare her to her model peers. But I'm glad that she's finally been getting the attention and recognition she deserves. People who may have written her off before are now finding new reasons to admire her and her work. And the best thing about it all is that it always seems to be on her own terms.
Sorry for the lack of updates recently. Chalk it up to a holiday weekend here in the states, lack of new Freja news, and the fact that I think I've been a bit paralyzed by the attention my post on Terry Richardson has received. Since I know most people visiting this blog are here for the Freja news, I really thought my thoughts on the whole scandal would slip by relatively unnoticed. Not to mention this blog only occupies a very, very tiny corner of the internet and the fashion consciousness. Though it didn't matter to me because I just wanted to get it all off my chest and I'm glad I did. I was furious then and I still am now, but I'm so happy that I'm not alone in my feelings. Far from it actually. Reading the comments on that post is both extremely illuminating and encouraging. So thank you to everyone for your insights and willingness to speak out and be heard. (If you feel strongly about this issue at all, I definitely recommend that you read those comments. You won't be disappointed.)
All of this has shown me that people are still really uncomfortable with the fact that Terry continues to work for major fashion publications without suffering any consequences for his actions. So hopefully we can take our discomfort and disgust and turn it into positive actions and results. With such well known, far-reaching bloggers like Jenna at Jezebel and Tavi continuing in their unrelenting and inspiring ways, and places like models.com and Racked NY willing to highlight the blogging debate, I'm hopeful that we can enact some change.
If you ever feel strongly about an issue, take a chance, be honest and express yourself. You never know who's reading your words. The internet is so powerful (and scary) that way. Anyway, regular Freja posts will return soon. We have new ad campaigns to look forward to (Chanel, Max Mara and Balencaiga) and Paris Haute Couture shows happening July 5th through the 8th. It's been pretty quiet recently, but I'm hoping that it's just because it's the start of the slow summer season.
