Modern Supermodel.

I was discussing with an acquaintance the supermodels era and the arbitrary impossibility of using this phrase nowadays ; doesn't make sense to me, as we've been witnessing the evolution of a few outstanding models who've left a deep stamp onto the industry, and who do live up to last decade's supermodels. If anything they aren't as into the mainstream as them - nothing but a bonus point in my opinion - but does it really make them less skilled than Linda Evangelista? Really? I shouldn't be taken aback as it's the fashion industry we're talking about, where publicy makes someone a supermodel. All in all, it all depends on the significance you assign to this concept.

Speaking of supermodels, the first name that crosses my mind is Freja Beha Erichsen (sorry Eva). I know a lot of people would disagree because she's a tomboy, she doesn't put any effort into her outfits, yadda yadda yadda... Regardless, the great Dane's managed to build up her reputation within the fashion world thanks to her work and without any self-denial... unlike a certain Kate Moss, who owes her worldwide popularity to her frasques and sense of style. Anyway - there's no denying Freja has reached a whole new level in her career this year, fronting consequent print-work and working with the most influential / hyped photographers of the moment : Steven Meisel, Terry Richardson, or lastly Hedi Slimane.

I've read plenty of critical comments fretting over his imagery being too repetitive, and one cannot deny his trademark doesn't let room for innovation ; yet, and oddly enough, that's what never fails to appeal to me. No originality involved for the sake of making his photographs remarkable, just a calm rawness and the model's capability of emoting.

I like the idea of Freja's face being hidden under a luster wig, and I'm even more puzzled at the chill, penetrating aura exuded by this set considering the model couldn't even rely on her expressivity to create it. It's all about her demure poise. Not to mention that the overall atmosphere is so intense that the melancholy depicted could unconsciously steal over you and wrap you up in an equal state of nostalgic stillness.

All overstatement apart, I think Freja is among the rare models who could make this straightforwardness work. In spite of the gigantic amount of work she's got over the last months, I inwardly believe we are yet to find out about some unseen facets of hers... Up to her hirers to let her unveil them.

source : scanned by Valentine27 @ tFS

Veuve noire.

It's not commonly admitted, yet Jamie Bochert's features are pictorial. It didn't occur to me at first, but she somehow comes off as a portrait of Modigliani's - the Marguerite resemblance is rather striking, to say the least. This being said, she remains one of a kind ; an all-around talent, who's currently trying her hand at singing ; a model whose work reeks of intelligence ; an arresting presence, a gaze that evokes but never unveils.

It seems like her collaboration (hopefully the first in a long serie) with the master of black and white photography, as known as Hedi Slimane, is a celebration of all that. He drew out an incredible simplicity in her - neither forced expressions nor contrived poses to be seen through the entire set - and captured her essence : the poised serenity she gives off, the hint of determination flashing in her eyes as well as the subtle maturity that keeps her apart from the unexperienced and slightly generic - albeit pretty - faces the industry has kind of been after (naming no names.).

Though it may not jump out at first glance - the pictures display a slight but nonetheless worthy of note contrast between the many-sidedness of the model immortalized and the straightforwardness of the photography... which just goes to show that Hedi Slimane has understood that a plain surrounding along with an epic personality is enough. No need to fill out with loads of patterns and in-your-face colors. Charisma makes it all.

To cap this article off, I'd just like to share an excerpt from the few lines accompanying the editorial : Bochert taught herself the piano and guitar, encouraged by her fiancé, the actor Michael Pitt, also a musician in a band called Pagoda. "It took me five years to learn and I'm still learning, but ballet taught me discipline." Yes, patience and determination pay off ; Jamie is living proof.

Source : scanned by me.