Jana Wirth (Women Direct, NY) on left with Christina Gottschalk (One Model Mgmt, NY) on right
Sara Blomqvist (DNA, NY)
Last night Karl Lagerfeld and British collective I LOVE DUST celebrated their capsule collection collaboration at the Bleecker Street Pop Up. Karl branded macaroons were passed around, champagne flowed, The Misshapes' Leigh Lezark spun tunes from the front of the house while Model Off Duty guests like Hilary Rhoda, Sara Blomqvist, Jana Wirth, and Zuzanna Krzatala mingled the scene. The Lagerfeld limited edition T-shirt Collection is available to the public starting today.
So I did a bit of research on the Alexander Wang runway:
--11 seasons total available online --906 total looks --back to the SS17 shows, September 2007
And with this data, I was able to count which models have walked the Alexander Wang runway the most frequently. With the above data, you can click on any model's name and instantly see which seasons and which slots in the Alexander Wang show she walked. It's an easy way to see how popular she is with the Alexander Wang casting team.
With the new fashion season about to hit, you know you can count on some serious Models Off Duty coverage from all 4 major fashion weeks to come. From Lincoln Center in New York, to Somerset House in London, to the Duomo in Milano and finally the Tuileries in Paris. I'll be there.
Often these girls are in a serious hurry between shows, fittings, and castings. A model can have as many as 17 appointments in one day during the middle of fashion week. Fashion season for a model is kind of like a hurricane of professional obligations to tend to: designers, casting agents, PR people, hair and make up, mother agents, drivers to find, taxi's to hail. A model is not contractually required to stop for me for a picture and by no means, required to stop and let me take detail shots, full body shots, and carefully execute a photo shoot. Let alone when she's fatigued, jet lagged, or hating the make up they just applied to her skin. To those girls that do stop for me, I am grateful for their time and patience.
Because of this, I've decided to add in the off season, some work of mine that better represents the current state of my creative photography. Sometimes that will include models from agencies like Marilyn (look out for a coming series) and Women, and other times, that will include photos from DBA girls, like Lindsey above.
With the opening of the Metropolitan Museum's exhibition The Model As Muse: Embodying Fashion starting today, the May issue of Vogue U.S.'s pages on Models Street Style, an April model-centric Harper's Bazaar, and a new fashion month Models Off Duty section at Teen Vogue.com, I felt it was appropriate to celebrate the possible re-emergence of the model as a fashion icon by sharing an entire week's worth of models street style.
What makes these photos special is that they will all be from the streets of New York, sans any fashion month flashbacks. Imagine jumping in front of a model on the street, pausing very briefly while you study the face behind the sunglasses and opening with, "Hey, you're Catherine McNeil!"
boots -- Bess dress -- Hervé Léger Bandage Dress in bag -- footwear purchased at Opening Ceremony
New Face to Watch: Erjona Ala (FORD, NY) exits Costume National
A lot of modeling agencies are stuck in the Print Era Paradigm--pre-internet thinking in which the Old School hierarchy of exclusivity dominated the management of models visibility. While this system may still warrant merit, the general lack of adaptability with regards to original content via the internet is appalling. Some agencies are kidding themselves if they think republishing editorial, campaign, or runway shots online will generate a sustainable presence. The editors of today may visit an agency site to get a models stats, but the editors of tomorrow will have grown up learning models names through tumblr, blogspot, and other social media. Modeling Agencies that fail to adapt now to the Internet Era Paradigm and it's vast plethora of opportunity will be still be riding horse and buggy while their competitors speed it out in Maybachs. The internet revolution is here and it's happening in Real Time.
I can't think of single better agency to team up with for the fashion season besides FORD models. Have a click on the previous link to see what I've been up to. They get it. In the same way Henry Ford said he'd belt the earth with his cars before the highways and roads for the cars even existed, FORD models is doing the same online. They dare to venture where other agencies fail to tread. They understand the Bookings Editor's of tomorrow are the teens of today on tumblr and iphones. Agencies which reproduce Print Era thinking online as their sole source of internet presence may as well have a horse tug a Model-T chained to it's back when they could just make their own car to begin with.
Even the fashion industry which for so long tried to protect it's exclusivity has gone on the record about the power of the internet many times. In her Interview Magazine article with Joseph Altuzarra, Anna Dello Russo remarked:
ANNA DELLO RUSSO: You’ve only done four collections and already you’re more popular than Tom Ford. How do you think that happened?
JOSEPH ALTUZARRA: [laughs] I think it’s because of the Internet. You can build a brand very fast now, especially with bloggers and how fast images can get out—the message just goes out faster and stronger than ever before.
And in similar fashion at the IFB Conference in 2011, Jack McCollough of Proenza Schouler remarked, "Blogs posting things about us, going viral, spreading throughout the interent...it has an extraordinary impact on the business"
With the speed at which images travel online now, a models off duty image is half the battle. Her sense of style and fashion can rapidly propel her press image online. Some within the modeling industry "get it" like Casting Director Jennifer Starr who was quoted by New York Magazine recently:
"Model street style has blown up significantly in the past few years, what do you make of it?
There is no doubt in my mind that if you have authentic personal style, it will help you as a model. Look at models like Erin Wasson, Abbey Lee, Freja Beha, and Daria Webowy, all of whom have great style. Personal style indicates to me that you have a great sense of self. The key is having authentic style. You must feel comfortable with the image you're projecting; otherwise, it's obvious you're trying too hard."
And in an interview I conducted with Sarah Doukas, the founder of STORM models who discovered Kate Moss in JFK airport:
"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."
Every home has a computer, but not every home has a copy of American Vogue or Paris Vogue. A new generation is growing up with the internet literally at their fingertips. And I can't think of an agency that I'd be more proud to work with at this moment in time than FORD models. If you haven't checked out the site, go now.
Did you ever hear of the phrase "growing pains" with regards to a business? More updates should be coming soon as I've been recovering from an onslaught of paid gigs. It's amazing the amount of organized work I've done this spring/summer as a result of the blog. 4 years ago, I never would have imagined shooting organized gigs with Conde Nast Russia to an organized shoot with Conde Nast Japan this week, to first exclusive photo "dibs" on a special Victoria's Secret Angels event, to signing on with the Official Freelancer database for the New York Times. It's exhilirating to compare where I was at then to where I am at now, yet challenging to go "back to my roots"--to comb the streets of NYC for a day in search of the elusive Model Off Duty ready to be photographed. That time is near. That time is now.
Recently Cara Delevingne (pronounced Dela-veen) won the British Fashion Awards Model of the Year for 2012. According to the Daily Mail quote, "Cara’s unique sense of styleand flair in front of the camera has made her one of the most prominent names in fashion" Given what I know of Cara's Off Duty charisma (as even seen in these pictures) I have a hard time believing they were minimizing "unique sense of style and flair" to just her On Duty personae. Go Cara!
Dree Hemingway, December 14, 2008...before she became a media celebrity.
Joan Smalls, back on June 3, 2009 before she became a Vogue It Girl.
Frida Gustavsson, at London Fashion Week back on September 23, 2009, in her first runway season, before she became a street style phenomena.
Tati Cotliarbefore she even finished her first runway season back at New York Fashion Week on September 25, 2009
Mirte Maas just after finishing her first ever runway season on November 19, 2009. Before she went on to multiple shoots with Steven Meisel, the Balenciaga campaign, and a Vogue China Cover.
Ruby Aldridge, on March 3, 2010. Before she went on to be shot by Juergen Teller for the Marc by Marc Jacobs campaign as well as by nearly every other street style blogger around.
Lindsey Wixson on February 10, 2010, just after debuting with a Miu Miu exclusive.
Ming Xi, during her first ever Paris Ready To Wear show on March 6, 2010, in a Paris Metro Stop. This is before her Givenchy campaign went mainstream.
Samantha Gradoville, on July 14, 2010. She hasn't even finished a complete runway season yet. Last season she Opened and Closed PRADA, one of the most influential shows any model can walk in, let alone a new model who Opens and Closes the show. Here she is at the recent Paris Couture shows.
The Independent, a British based newspaper recently mentioned this about altamira, "Dubbed 'Models off duty,' this blog captures the streetstyle of all kinds of fashion professionals including the industry's best-known models, often predicting soon-to-be-famous new faces."
Not only has this site been recognized as the single most powerful concentrated resource for models street style on the internet, but over time, that reach and influence will just grow more and more.
So stay tuned for updates during the coming fashion season.
To get the latest news on what the models are wearing off duty, be sure to click the banner above to take you to new photos of Hyoni Kang, who was in the November 2008 Teen Vogue Fashion At Work special (page 116, 117) and is a past FORD Super Model of the World winner.
I had a project I created this past fashion month which was supported by a few model enthusiasts, some of which have internet sites.
The project is still in it's BETA stages and needs to be tweaked before release to the public, lest someone steal the idea.
So in the meantime, a special word of thanks goes out to:
1. Claudia Vitarelli--Parsons student, for managing the execution of the project. It was an enormous time consuming task.
2. Campbell Gray--Columbia student, thanks for massive insights into the twittersphere.
3. Bonae's Blog--more models off duty, you can start by clicking through to his blog to an energetic shot of Freja
4. From A to 12th--check out his blog by starting here with a shot of one of his favorite models: Valerija Kelava
5. Naqia Esufaly--she hung out with all the street photographers during fashion month. We tried to convince her to start a blog, but she'd rather go straight into the modeling industry
6. Devore Irvin--almost lost it when he saw Lara Stone leave Calvin Klein. It's ok, I love her too.
7. [en]mASSE--a new art/fashion publication that's currently stocked at Spring/Lafayette and 40th/6th Avenue. Site here
Kate is an emerging british model who recently appeared alongside Chloe Sevigny and Jen Brill for Opening Ceremony's PreSS11 presentation. From her heavily ringed and tattooed fingers to her white pop socks worn almost everyday, her personal style reflects an eclectic and cool downtown New York vibe.
dress -- vintage nightie (was her mothers) bag -- Chanel heels -- Jeffrey Campbell skull ring -- Delfina Delettrez Fendi big ring -- Theodora Warre
In her interview with AmericanVogue.com, Bonnie Chen stated, "Leigh, my booker from Next, decided to take me on when nobody else wanted me in New York two years ago. Many people didn’t support my decision to model after college, and I was often told I looked too commercial. Leigh took out all the bad pictures from my book and told me: “Edgy models may catch the eye for one or two seasons, but beauty lasts forever. I like your energy and we should aim high."
So Bonnie has 3 Off Duty Booking Value Indicators in her favor: Persistence, Great Personal Style, and a following of 1.04 million on Weibo. You go Bonnie!
![Lanvin Spring/Summer 2012/13 [Women’s Collection]](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fYwzvd7wm7g/To3kzE5XN2I/AAAAAAAAPT0/wIcroFtkhuE/s1600-rw/lanvinss2012wcqc01.jpg)
