Campaigns

These are two shots from Jil Sander’s Spring 2012 campaign photographed by Willy Vanderperre, styled by Olivier Rizzo and  featuring Natasha Poly and Daria Strokous. These powerful images really struck me.  There’s a classic  Hitchcock feel to them, with a simplicity and stillness that suggest either the aftermath of violence or something dramatic still to come.

Source: NovaStyle

Campaigns

In complete contrast to my recent post on the How to Spend It editorial, these pared-down shots are from the latest Giorgio Armani’s S/S campaign adverts, photographed by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott with models Milou Van Groesen and Simon Nessman.  The styling is simplicity itself, with the flat sea as background and the shadows on the sand and the clothes providing definition.  I love the androgeny of the story, the purity of the tailoring, the lovely silk fabrics; as all good advertising is supposed to, it makes you want to slip into the clothes and into the lifestyle.

Some Rafa to Help Kick Start Your Week

This is the film from the new A/W campaign for Armani Jeans and Emporio Armani underwear featuring Rafa Nadal.  The video was shot in Mallorca in an empty car park with Rafa undressing from a suit into a more casual denim look. He looks amazing and as you’ll know if you read this blog I love him, just a shame he’s not doing too well in the Masters out in Asia.

More Rafa

New photos of my future husband Rafa Nadal for Emporio Armani underwear and Armani Jeans A/W campaign have arrived in my inbox.  These new shots were taken in Mallorca by photographer Steven Klein and show a half-naked Rafa giving us his best ‘blue steel’.

Burberry A/W 11 Campaign

Burberry have released their new Autumn Winter 2011 campaign, shot by Mario Testino. The first thing to say is that the  blond male model they feature is Thomas Penfound and having worked with him on an editorial for Volt I can say he’s a really nice guy and surprisingly shy for a much sought after model. Otherwise the cast is the usual mix of models and actors, some familiar and some new, which keeps the campaign fresh and interesting. The colours are all richly autumnal and these clothes promise town and country luxury in every seam.  I particularly love the range of khakis and I’m finding it’s definitely becoming a new favourite colour for me, whether in silk with a summer tan or as here in warm wool with a jaunty fur cap.

© Copyright Burberry/Testino

Play that Dune

I worked as the assistant on this spring campaign and now it’s officially in Dune windows and online.  I loved the Bridget Bardot feel, all the great block colours and the stagey cutouts used for the set.  The photos below are from the Dune website with the exception of the last two, which I took on my Blackberry outside their shop in Covent Garden.

Monday Blues? Let me help…

…with some very lovely pictures of Rafa Nadal. These are the new photos from his Armani campaign shot by Mert & Marcus and wow, this fan is more admiring than ever. I loved Beckham’s underwear version for this campaign and really disliked the ones of Ronaldo; I find him totally unsexy with that disproportionately small head of his. Anyway, even though we think of Rafa as being quite shy and not at all an exhibitionist, these shots show he has a broody side and I love them. I hope there are lots more to come.

Campaign Gucci Style

A typical Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott production for Gucci’s Spring 2011 campaign, featuring models Karmen Pedaru, Joan Smalls and Hailey Clauson. It’s  sharp, sexy and colourful and showcases Gucci’s block colours and great tailoring. I think the positioning of the models in the ensemble shots gives a real sense of movement and energy. One issue for me however is that it has been made to look as though they all have the same skin tone, which is never true and therefore slightly bizarre, unless they were going for a deliberate uniformity but it does make them look as if they are bathed in an unearthly glow.

Source: FashionGoneRogue.com

My take on this year’s Top Influences

We are in the season for giving thanks and obviously I’m very grateful for my family and friends, good health etc, but I also want to give thanks for the biggest influences of 2010 (some deserve more thanks than others……).

MAD MEN, now in its third season, is still going strong and the clothes, brilliantly imagined and designed by Janie Bryant, continue to inspire and reverberate. Louis Vuitton  S/S10 was such a throwback to longer length gathered skirts, tight corsets and set hair. However big a fan of tortured bad boy Don you may be, for me the highlights are all about the women,  Joan, Betty, Peggy and briefly this season, Fay Miller.

I’m not sure how many fashion insiders would have predicted this next trend taking off….SOCKS WITH SHOES. I’ve certainly been surprised and I’m not sure they work outside in the real world, but the fashionistas at Fashion Week sure seemed to rock the look. The Japanese have been doing it for years but this season has seen a new  edge within Europe. I have worn socks with my miu miu thunderbolt heels and some red turn up Isabel Marant inspired trousers.

ALEXANDER McQUEEN, the inspiring, the incredible. I’m not sure I can say much more about what a tragic loss to the fashion world his death was. A truly forward thinking, innovative, theatrical and controversial designer. His work will live on with Sarah Burton but it will be a huge act to follow.

This is probably my least favourite trend of this year: SHEERLING JACKETS have been the coat to wear this season, done best at Burberry but there have been some bad versions out there at both ends of the market. I don’t find bulky sheep fur very chic or versatile and it can be a funny colour though I can see it might be a good alternative to a biker jacket. I just don’t feel the need.

CRYSTAL RENN makes it on the list probably because she’s the most talked about model this year, not including Kate Moss and I’m definitely not talking about her. She’s walked for Chanel and starred in a campaign for them causing further controversy because it only showed her from shoulders up and therefore defeated the point of using a plus sized model. She was anorexic in her early modelling career and then became plus sized, using this to promote a more healthy body shape within the industry, but then lost more weight herself, which people find odd.

TOM FORD is back! A late contender this year but he caused huge ripples of anticipation in the fashion pond with the announcement of his first solo collection for women. So incredibly exciting and shown exclusively to a select number of elite women at New York Fashion Week this September and some looks now appear in all their glory in December’s  Tom Ford edited French Vogue. There’s more to come when we see the whole collection unveiled in January.

Next is OLIVIA PALERMO who has really hit her stride as a fashion leader this year, becoming less associated with The City and admired more for her independent style credentials. I like the fact that she mixes high street with high end, she’s a huge fan of Topshop and seems to have a great jewellry box.  She is put together and chic and rarely disappoints.

NAIL Fever has been sweeping the nation. All patterns, all colours.  It really started when Chanel’s Jade green colour became a waiting list must-have which really hadn’t been seen before with a nail colour and it’s gone on from there. I’ve always loved nail varnish and have done patterns and great colours since I left school and was free to have painted nails. You will know that I think OPI is still miles ahead of the pack regarding colours and quality and brush size.

Last but absoutely not least and of course it had to appear….MAWI. This jewellery label just keeps getting better and better and this year has had great exposure having been worn by Rihanna, Olivia Palermo and Samantha Cameron.  I totally love it, it’s chunky, luxurious, regal with an industrial twist – I just wish I could afford more of it.

Source: Style.com, Outfitidentifier.com, Mawi

Campaign Meisel Style

Lanvin’s new Fall 2010 campaign features models Mariacarla Boscono, Anja Rubik and Magdalena Frackowiak, photographed by legend Steven Meisel. I love the dark intensity of these shots; the super strong make-up and the  Rorschach effect of the reflections give them an amazing linear energy.

Source: FashionGoneRogue