Despite the relentless snow as pictured in this photo, blogger May Kasahara stuck to her guns and still wore some true designer pieces. To get a better view of her Balenciaga bag and to learn more about her fashion tastes, visit mayk all day every day .
leather jacket with epaulettes -- Balenciaga
bag -- Balenciaga
ring on right hand -- Vivienne Westwood
3.5" heeled boots -- Fornarina
Arizona Muse (Next, NY) exiting Balenciaga in Paris
Arizona Muse was arguably the new phenomena to watch this last show season. She captured the hearts of a wide set of Casting Directors from London's Russell Marsh to New York's James Scully. She's from New Mexico in case you are wondering and her show credits include opening and closing both Prada and Miu Miu, opening Chloé and closing YSL. I'm sure the Faith Kates team at Next NY will generate some amazing off season action for this new wonder.
Bo Don (Marilyn, NY) exiting Roberto Cavalli in Milan
Dutch wonder Bo Don first debuted on the runways at the Fall/Winter 2010 PARIS shows, but this Spring/Summer 2018 season marked her first full circuit of shows. Her appearence in Balenciaga marked two consecutive seasons in the show and her walks in the most directional shows like Cavalli, Givenchy, Marc Jacobs and Chanel point to what is surely going to be a colorful career to manage for the team over at Marilyn.
Britt Maren (Women, NY) exits Isabel Marant in Paris
Can you say "Hej Britt!" That's Swedish for you guys out there who want to show love by speaking in Britt's homeland language. I'm sure she'll get lots more love from the Women Model NY team lead by agency head Louie Chaban (the genius behind Agyness Deyn). With appearances in the most directional shows cast by a wide set of influential casting directors this season from opening Alexander Wang (Anita Bitton) to Balmain, Lanvin, Marc Jacobs (Michelle Lee) and Donna Karen (John Pfeiffer), I'm sure the editors at the worlds leading magazines will be taking note of her as well....perhaps Steven Meisel soon too?
Bambi Northwood-Blyth (Elite, NY) exits Balenciaga in Paris
Do you come from the land down under? Bambi does and somehow I think her booking value will be up and over the top in the off season. She's got a famous boyfriend (Ksubi co-founder Dan Single), plays in the social scene (maximizes her exposure), caught the eye of Casting Director Ashley Brokaw when she walked Balenciaga, channeled some Lagerfeld Love at Chanel, and apparently is a favorite of LOVE Editor-In-Chief Katie Grand enough to exclusively walk shows Katie styled in London.
Jessica Clarke (DNA, NY) exits Elie Saab
New Zealand hits the radar! Jessica debuted by walking a Calvin Klein exclusive. Scoring a Calvin Klein exclusive is like winning a New York Fashion Week MVP award. Past Calvin Klein runway exclusives have included Karlie Kloss (SS08), Natalia Vodianova (SS07), and Lara Stone (SS07). Jessica walked a tiny selection of other shows this season too, cherry picked from the best London, Milan, and Paris had to offer.
Juliet Ingleby in a nutshell:
1. Balenciaga runway back-to-back FW12 and SS17
2. Balenciaga campaign FW12 and and Balenciaga capsule collection SS17
3. two editorials in the CR Book (Carine Roitfeld book)
Abbey Lee (Next, Paris)
Eniko Mihalik (Elite, Paris)
To me the style action outside of the Balenciaga show rivaled the action going on inside. Both girls were spotted outside of the Hôtel de Crillon in Paris this morning.
Katie Fogarty (Next, NY) as discovered on the corner of Prince and Elizabeth. Her jacket is Balenciaga and her shirt is Marc by Marc. She mentioned how she's been focusing on school since she only has 2 more weeks left. She's also excited about her cover on the June issue of Italian Flair.
With fashion month soon to be upon us, models will be attending casting calls in between fittings, shows, and visits to their agencies. If you haven't seen what a casting call for a runway show is like, it can be quite anxiety driven. Girls are literally lined up by the 10's and 20's outside in hallways. Some Casting Directors have pre-casting castings, in which they will see hundreds of girls in just 2 days time, so they can edit down their choices for runway shows accordingly. Just try mentioning the name Russell Marsh to a model and watch her reaction. Because of the timing, I thought it was appropriate to republish an interview I did with Sarah Doukas, the founder of Storm Model Management and the one who discovered Kate Moss at JFK airport. In it, we talked about the impact of style on a models career.
We sat down for a chat at her agency in South Kensington and what follows is a brief glimpse of the modeling world, distilled ultimately into two major categories: how a models personal style can help create more opportunities for them and how press (think my blog here) can help create more opportunities for models as well.
I must add that everyone at Storm Models from their Press Officer Paula Karaiskos to their entire New Faces Division was a pleasure to work with. Many thanks to everyone at Storm who helped me along the way and especially to Sarah for breaking from her hectic schedule for the interview.
THE IMPACT OF PERSONAL STYLE ON THE SUCCESS OF A MODELS CAREER
Craig: Can a models sense of style positively impact her career?
Sarah: I definitely think it can positively impact her career. It's got to be simple but the point about that question is, that if they have absolutely no style and they go out just not looking great, they're wearing very unflattering clothes and things like that, then it's definitely going to have a negative impact.
Craig: really?
Sarah: Oh god yes, there's no question. I'm obsessed with finding British girls. It's my big thing....and it's hard to get them to the point of going out to do shows...I know that once they hit that international circuit, and they're sitting in a Paris agency and seeing those Parisian clients, if they don't look the part...you know they're wearing some kind of scraggy old t-shirt...(sighs)..they don't have to go and spend a great deal of money, but style is really important, very simple. So I think it is important.
Craig: so the lack of style can definitely negatively impact
Sarah: Impact. There's no doubt that lack of style can negatively impact. I'm not talking about wearing Balenciaga, but very simple High Street stuff. That elongates your legs and is just flattering.
STORM AGENCY TAKES ACTIONS TO IMPROVE A MODELS STYLE
Craig: do you guys tell models how to dress here?
Sarah: yeah
Craig: for castings?
Sarah: yes
Craig: So if you don't mind me asking in what? just jeans...stuff that shows their body?....is that what they're supposed to wear?
Sarah: I think if they walked around in a great big smock it would be a bit a problem for a client and I'm not suggesting that they look provocatively, you know wearing sexy stuff but certainly stuff that shows the length of their body and that they're slim. You can get somebody with the most fantastic figure and they come in here and may be in a dress like this (motions wide with hands) the client would say, "well I wonder what's going on there....have you put on weight?"...They can look at their book but they don't really know...so it's advisable to dress in something that can really see, you know show your shape. That's what I think.
Craig: so the key for style...there's not many options if you're having to wear skinny jeans and t-shirts??
Sarah: well you can wear leggings, they are back in fashion. You can still layer up. You can wear a really nice cardi with a longer tightish dress with leggings. There are lots of options. You can wear a short skirt with leggings. With boots. Again with layers. But just not, you can't walk around in sort of voluminous clothes as the clients are going to say "Hey whats going on under there? Maybe she's pregnant?"
Craig: So you do intervene then? On occasion, when it comes to a girl's style?
Sarah: Well I sit at the booking table. I do all the time. I like everybody to be autonomous in their job here and do their thing. I don't want to look over peoples shoulder. I hate that kind of thing because I work at the booking table with everybody and I don't have an office. You know, I'm just one of them, I'm not the boss or any such thing.
But yeah I do because I know its going to have a negative impact if they go out looking like that. And they appreciate it. You can say it in a really nice way. You don't have to say, "listen you have terrible style. We need to completely change you." You just have to say, "now listen, when you go out I want you to look great."
GREAT PERSONAL STYLE CREATES MORE SALES VALUE FOR BOOKING AGENTS
Sarah: You know they go into a French agency or a New York agency, the bookers are looking at them for the first time and at the end of the day we have to be realistic about this job: they are selling a product, those booking agents. So they have to believe in it when they see it. So they have to see somebody looking -- great. The book can look fantastic. But you know what? You need to believe to sell something, of course you do. You can't make any bones about it. It's a human business. And I really like these girls or I wouldn't do it. But we are selling something. So you must look good.
THE IMPACT OF PRESS ON A MODELS BOOKING VALUE
Craig: regarding press as opposed to runway shows, advertising campaigns and editorials, press like a girl gets her photo taken and she's in the New York Times...or interviews...like this is a form of press (I pointed to 1 of 4 of my Teen Vogue solo pages)
Sarah: does it have their names?
Craig: it does
Sarah: Exactly, that's very important. Years ago nobody knew who models were. Apart from those famous models, they were never given credit in a magazine or anything so there were was no credits given. So that was one thing that people were quite anonymous. And i think press is huge and I think it's really important.
We started with PR in 89 or 90. Because I just thought it was hugely important and Richard Branson was my partner for many years and he was like, "Sarah" we know he likes the press...he was like "it's really important"
I think it's important. Kate Moss is the first one that we did it with. And I build press books and I've done it on all my models. Whether it be Sophie Dahl, Lily Cole, Devon Aoki, Jourdan Dunn, Behati Prinsloo, Liberty Ross....
Craig: one thing that really gets me about press is, yeah it's cool because the model gets her name circulated in the public, but how does that impact the booking value of a model?
Sarah: Huge, because you know you've got a model "Ann Smith" who doesn't get any press, who is a great looking girl, and works alot. And you've got somebody else, say "Paula Reed" who gets press, is out in the public domain, if you went and asked somebody in the street do you know who this is? They'd say yes. Well that's what market research is. So then you get a big company going, "I want a name." So you put this beautiful girl up who hasn't got press and you put this one up who has got press. Who are they going to choose? Does the general public know this person? So they sell masses and her value is much higher than this one's is. Way higher.
ALL THINGS EQUAL, THE MODEL WITH MORE PRESS GETS MORE OPPORTUNITIES
Craig: so everything else being equal, they both walked the same amount of runway shows, they both did the same advertising campaigns and editorials, but one just got the press, that one is going to be the more valuable one then?
Sarah: yes, much more. Look at our magazines. Look at the campaigns. They're all celebrities. Actresses. Somebody well known, they take up what, 80-90% of fabulous campaigns. You know that's because that's the power of somebody whose got a name....
But if you're in the business. If you see your chance that somebody can go that route and if they want to, you've got to take it because it's going to be a huge benefit financially to them and it's going to be a benefit to the agency...it feeds on itself. As soon as you do some press, it's unbelievable. You get so many opportunities open. People are calling. It opens doors.
Craig: so being that press is so important, do you train models in self-publicizing?
Sarah: There are definite pitfalls. Of course you say to them "look, don't open up too much about your private life, or things you don't want to say." You have to learn how to talk to press, but you need to keep it professional but you still need to keep it real. They need to be interested in you as a person. At the end of the day you've got to understand that you can just chat away and end up saying something that you wish you hadn't said. So you do have to be guarded. Open but guarded...Paula would sit in if it was somebody young. Like when Jourdan had done press. She would sit in....
PRESS MUST INCLUDE A MODELS NAME TO BE IMPACTFUL
Craig: Regarding press, it's valuable as long as it includes the models name?
Sarah: Oh it has to. It has to be all about her.
Craig: So just a photo without the name isn't necessarily valuable?
Sarah: nobody would know who you were....if they don't have the name, then the general public just don't know. It's interesting now when people ring and they say they, "Ah, I want somebody well known." Well it's not easy. Not that many models are well known anymore. They're just not -- for the general public. For our world, we know who they are, but the man walking down the street doesn't. They have to constantly see the image of a person and interviews on her, with her name, with her name, constantly for it to get into their head and they suddenly say, "Oh I know who this person is"
WORDS OF WISDOM TO THE COMMERCIAL MODEL
Craig:....commercial versus high fashion...who makes more money in the short-term?
Sarah: the commercial girls make a fortune
Craig: they make tons
Sarah: they make tons!
Craig: why is it then that every girl aspires to the high fashion?
Sarah: because we all want to be driving a Ferrari don't we?
Craig: but you don't necessarily make as much money do you if you go the high fashion route?
Sarah: no, You know you always get these girls that make a load of money. You know they're fantastic looking girls and they're doing brilliantly. And they're like, "you know what, I'm going to cut all my hair off. I'm going to go seriously edgy. I want you to get me into...." And I'm like "You're taking a massive risk. You're going to ruin your market in the short-term" And it happens. It does happen. I can mention lots of girls who it has happened....I always think, "You should be glad for what you've got. I understand wanting to aspire to better and greater things. But, you could in the short term lose your whole market "
Craig: so a girl can start off as a commercial model and then go the high fashion route?
Sarah: it happens
Craig: does it really?
Sarah: yeah
THE MONETARY VALUE OF OPENING AND CLOSING A SHOW
Craig: when a model opens and closes a show, do they get paid extra?
Sarah: well I don't know that they get paid extra per se, but if a model is good enough to open and close, she may well be on a much higher rate than somebody else. I mean it's negotiated. It's all negotiated.
NEW MAGAZINES NEED GREAT PHOTOGRAPHERS WITH A GREAT TEAM TO BOOK TOP MODELS
Craig: I've got another question for you. A new magazine, a start up magazine in London calls you up and they say "we want your top girl" What are the credentials that someone has to bring for a new magazine?
Sarah: They'd have to bring an amazing photographer, stylist, hair and make up...all the jazz.
Craig: What if they don't have a famous photographer?
Sarah: You would have to be very careful with the top talent. Because you don't really know what it's going to look like. You'd ask for a dummy copy. And this that and the other but you wouldn't give top talent.
Dorothea Barth Jorgensen (Elite Paris) leaves the DIOR show
Sara Blomqvist (Viva Paris) leaves the BALENCIAGA show
her expression indicative of surprise at how many photographers wanted her picture (among other reasons)
Frida Gustavsson (IMG Paris) leaves the DIOR show
Discovered outside of the Apple store on 9th and 14th, I took about 20 pictures of Heesung (L) and Anne (R) and I'm pleased that some of them turned out well enough to post, considering how cold it was at the moment. It's great that despite my shivering cold fingers and hands and their shivering cold bodies, we still were able to work together in a short moments notice to create a somewhat decent night shot. Remember to click the photo to enlarge the details.
Heesung (L)
scarf -- Rag and Bone
2 toned coat -- Balenciaga
skirt -- Opening Ceremony, check out the button down details
boots -- Lanvin
Anne (R)
cardigan -- Comme des Garçons
jeans -- 7's
boots -- Fendi
This is Kinga's first appearance on my blog, photographed here exiting the SS17 Balenciaga show at Paris Fashion Week. In this case, I'd say this outfit is all about the volume: the scarf, the oversized blazer, and the skirt.
1. Constance Jablonski (ELITE Milan) 72 shows total, opened 8, closed 3
2. Liu Wen (MARILYN Paris) 70 shows total, opened 2
3. Kasia Struss (WOMEN Paris) 61 shows total, opened 3, closed 1
new Balenciaga campaign
4. Frida Gustavsson (IMG Paris) 60 shows total, opened 4, closed 2
New Face Sensation of the Season
5. Eniko Mihalik (WHY NOT Milan) 58 shows total, opened 4, closed 2
6. Tao Okamoto (SUPREME New York) 58 shows total, opened 2, closed 4
7. Imogen Morris-Clarke (NEXT Milan) 58 shows total, opened 5, closed 2
8. Jacquelyn Jablonski (ELITE Paris) 58 shows total, closed 1
9. Charlotte di Calypso (ELITE Milan) 57 shows, opened 2
10. Karlie Kloss (NEXT Paris) 56 shows total, opened 8, closed 4
Okay, it's no secret that at The Fashion Spot, members compile lists of their favorite girls as a season progresses to see how many shows they opened, closed, and walked in total. Models.com took it upon themselves to organize the top 10 most active girls from information assembled at the fashion spot forums. The list is compiled from participation in shows from New York, London, Milan, and Paris Fashion Weeks.
Here are the top 10 most active girls with there being a 4 way tie for 5th place. Information attributable to models.com and The Fashion Spot forums.
Erin appeared alongside model icon Lauren Hutton in the 2008 Lord and Taylor campaign, walked the 2008 Victoria's Secret fashion show, and is the June 2009 Paris Vogue Calendar girl.
leather jacket -- Balenciaga
bag -- Chloe
scarf -- Alexander McQueen
Marilyn Agency's Anyza Kasakova.
From Rodarte and Calvin Klein in New York to Christopher Kane in London and Roberto Cavalli and Dolce and Gabbana in Milan, Anya who curently ranks #38 in the Models.com top 50 is having an amazing season. And by walking Balenciaga in Paris, she's really ready to take this fashion season by storm.
Intense blue was seen all over directional shows from the SS17 runways. In Paris Nicolas Ghesquière combined blue and black into one piece for Balenciaga while in New York Diane von Furstenberg and Oscar de la Renta partnered blue with black together as well.
Here, Shu Pei -- who is one model who frequently can be counted on to be wearing some version of color -- channels the same color combination with her black shoes, black bag, and black trimmed blazer.
On season in snowfall after the Rodarte show
At the time of this writing, Mirte has walked 13 key New York Fashion Week shows:
Preen -- Opened
Alexander Wang, Altuzarra, Derek Lam, Donna Karan, Marc Jacobs, Rag and Bone, Rodarte, Thakoon, Narciso Rodriguez, The Row, Michael Kors, and Anna Sui
Off season at the High Line Park
In the off season, Mirte graced the cover of the Feb. issue of Vogue China, was shot by Steven Meisel for the Balenciaga campaign, and was shot by Craig McDean for the CK Calvin Klein campaign.
This is Sheila Marquez of Women Management. She's walked for Chloé, Balenciaga, Louis Vuitton, Derek Lam and Marc Jacobs. She's appeared in editorials for Russian Vogue, ID, and recently had a 10 page editorial in VOGUE Spain.
Dress--Proenza Schouler
Jacket--Camilla Staerk
Belt--Gucci
Bag--Marc by Marc Jacobs
Polish born Magdalena's name in Hebrew origins actually means 'from the tower'. I'd actually say she IS the tower given her January editorial in Italian Vogue with Steven Meisel, her catwalks down Balmain, Balenciaga, Givenchy, Lanvin, and her great outfit as seen here.
Left: Egle Tvirbutaite--walked Zac Posen, Proenza Schouler, Luella, House of Holland, Marios Schwab, and Roberto Cavalli so far this season....to name a few
Right: Stephanie Carta--was a dominant force at the Paris Spring/Summer '09 shows with appearances in Dries Van Noten, Givenchy, and Balenciaga.
Anna Kuchkina--known for the way she blasted her way into the modeling world back in Winter of 2006 with two exclusive debuts: Prada and Miu Miu
The Costume National show looked and felt more like a rock concert than your typical fashion show. It was held in the middle of Milan's tourist hot spot, the Duomo. Bystanders were able to get a glimpse of what goes on inside a fashion show in much the same way a crowd enjoys a rock concert from a distance.
Daiane Conterato
Daiane has been opening and closing Paris shows since October 2006. She's currently in the DKNY Fall 2009 campaign.
Amanda Laine (L) and Taryn Davidson (R)
Amanda won the December 2007 V Magazine/Supreme Model Management model search contest. She's been opening shows in Paris since 2008 and in the last year was a face for Balenciaga.
Taryn has been walking the Paris shows October 2007 and recently was photographed by Terry Richardson for Paris Vogue's calendar.
Rachel Alexander is in the Diesel Spring/Summer 2018 campaign alongside Alexandra Richards. Yes, it's actually this cold in New York right now.
leather jacket -- boyfriend's
boots -- from Barney's
bag -- Balenciaga
Constance didn't walk any shows in London this season, but that didn't keep her from repeating key shows from her Spring/Summer 2018 runway appearances. She's now walked 2 consecutive seasons for the following directional shows from Milan and Paris:
Dolce and Gabbana
Bottega Veneta
Moschino
Balenciaga
Balmain
Chloe
Christian Dior
Hermès
Karl Lagerfeld
Victor and Rolf
