Model

There’s a new glossy on the scene. Canadian fashion publication The Block debuts this season and was hip to tap photographer agency Art + Commerce for some visual talent. Skye Parrott lensed a shoot with model du jour Crystal Renn for the mag, but along with the stills, there’s this video of the curvy stunner dancing around in nothing but a leotard. Does it make you want to try a bodysuit for yourself? Check out the short and let us know. Continue…

Ever since pouty-lipped Lindsey Wixson shot on the scene with her Miu Miu campaign for Spring 2010, she’s been in high demand (heady stuff for a 15-year old!). But while model-dom is a tumultuous world, we hope Miss Wixson is going to stick around. Something about that Persian cat face has us transfixed. As it goes, the beauty folks at Jill Stuart thought so too. Wixson is the face of the line’s Fall 2010 beauty campaign. Check out the behind the scenes video here and sound out on what you think of the pretty in pink campaign – hint: it’s targeted towards Asian shoppers. Continue…

If you haven’t had the occasion to appreciate Jamie Bochert’s beauty, then Hedi Slimane may convince you otherwise. Firstly, there isn’t anything ordinary about this whippet thin model from her super svelte limbs to her otherworldly yet faintly gypsy features. An Anjelica Huston meets Patti Smith (who Bochert calls a friend) crossover comes to mind. Slimane captured the musician-model for the September issue of French Vogue. Check out the sultry cig smoking, darkly glamourous spine tattoo and perfect lighting and tell us it’s not fashion magic. Continue…

With supermodels like Christy, Linda and Claudia still pulling down serious campaign dollars, we’re prone to think the modeling game has gone under a permanent seismic shift. After all, society is all about extending that youthful glow: anti-aging procedures (ahem fillers and Botox) combat pesky wrinkles, twentysomethings still peddle their parents like teenagers and marriage (if it happens at all) is more than often delayed. So it was only a matter of time to notice that a trend towards longer careers emerged on the female side of things, but that male models have had some luck sticking around too. Let’s take Spanish model Jon Kortajarena (Next) as a case study. The 25-year old is seasoned by modeling standards, but rather than shoot to fame as an underage star and then fizzle out, Kortajarena’s star is growing. He’s posed for a string of scandalous Tom Ford ads and then there was his role in Ford’s directorial debut in A Single Man. Suffice it to say the man is in high demand, and from the looks of this Fall 2010 Karl Lagerfeld lookbook, we’d guess there may be a Ford/Lagerfeld tug o’ war over Jon. K very soon. Stay tuned.
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Here are eight more reasons why Love magazine’s editor-in-chief Katie Grand has earned her fashion cred. Along with getting Conde Nast to invest in the very artsy fashion mag with plenty of nudity, Grand’s visual sense harks back to the more exciting days of fashion mags. Give us a gorgeous image or reveal the magic of transformation that beauty and fashion can make and you have us sold. For the big September issue, Grand tapped eight cover stars (well, technically seven humans and one Agyness Deyn lookalike doll) and the results are stunning. British model Rosie Huntington-Whiteley is the new siren with wavy auburn hair, a post-baby Gisele looks gorgeous, Aggy is back just in time for a grunge and piercing revival and Lauren Hutton is her usual, amazing individual self. The real shocker? How sharply stellar Sienna Miller looks. We jumped off the Sienna bandwagon after that giant Vogue US September issue with that silly Mario Testino cover of Sienna sporting the awkward bun. We’d say Miller has redeemed thyself. Check out all the covers here before they hit stands Aug. 23. Continue…

When we came across this casting video of Aussie model Emma Balfour, three things went through our heads. Firstly, Emma has a killer stare! There’s a reason why models and not just a pretty girl do what they do. Secondly, is Emma making a comeback? The blonde stunner made a big splash back in the early 2000s but then fell off the radar. Rumors said she became a poet – hey, who are we to judge aspiring Thoreaus. (Plus, we love that she wore skater clothes to a casting rather than the skimpy casting outfits that the young girls have been skipping around town in.) But thirdly, if she is back, then this casting video by Elite oddly creeps us out. Perhaps it’s the quiet male voice directing in the background and grainy unfinished footage, but it strikes a little of homemade porn, no? Ok, it might be just us, but take a look and let us know what you think. Continue…

In the not-very-diverse world of model-dom, Liu Wen (Marilyn) is a pretty big deal. After Du Juan shot to pouty-lipped prominence, fashion folk were wise to wonder if Chinese mannequins were a one-time fluke or an ongoing trend. Along comes Beijing native Liu Wen, whose delicate features are more subtle, but whose beauty grows with each encounter. Perhaps Vogue US finally thought so too, because Anna et al. used Liu for the first time in the storied magazine’s September issue. While we were a bit surprised to find that Liu was an American Vogue virgin, she’s quite the superstar landing a recent Estee Lauder contract and multiple Vogue China covers after all, we’ll take the inch up in diverse casting. Check out the Steven Meisel-shot editorial before it hits the stands. Continue…

Turns out mall rats may have more at stake than territorial cruising rights. For the month of August, Fusion Models and real estate trust General Growth Properties has launched a model search at 121 malls across the country to find the “Face of Fusion 2011.” Pretty young things can seriously boost their income with the prizes at stake: the female grand prize winner takes home a two-year contract worth $150,000, while the male grand prize winner has a two-year contract worth $60,000 at stake. (We like the skewed earning power here.) Continue…

There was an entire fashion week season when our photographer was Ranya-stalking. If you haven’t been privy to the beauty of Miss Ranya Mordanova, then be prepared to be charmed. The super petite Russian with the dark as night bowl cut (that’s since grown into a Louise Brooks bob) stalks down the runway with such otherworldly appeal that said photographer would cry out, “Baby alien!” at every spotting. This coming from one jaded photog is quite the feat. But despite what we saw from the get-go, Ranya’s beauty isn’t for the cheerleader-loving, grew up under the sun type. Instead it’s brooding with attitude and far more perfect for appreciating at a Paris cafe (Cafe Charlot, je préfère) while smoking a Gauloise. That said, let’s cut to the chase: Italian Vogue, being ever the editorial game changer, shot Ranya alongside lush Ukrainian stunner Naty Chabanenko for it’s August beauty special. Continue…