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• Fashion news 2009: The Magnificence of the Tsars

  
  17 December 2008
  
  

  Uninhibited splendour: a green wool coat worn by Peter II, the boots of a coronation herlad (1796) and a fancy-dress costume of Nicholas II (1903) Photo: Victoria and Albert Museum

  If you are looking for an exhibition to lift your spirits over Christmas and New Year period, you can't do better than Magnificence of the Tsars, the Victoria & Albert Museum's display of the opulent clothes worn by men at the Russian imperial court from 1721-1917.

  These astonishingly well-preserved dress-coats, uniforms, livery and regalia are all on loan from the Moscow Kremlin Museums, where they have been lovingly mended, folded, wrapped in tissue, and kept from the light throughout the 20th century. And that strikes me as remarkable. As I walked through the crowded galleries, I kept asking myself one question: why do these clothes survive at all?

  Until the last century, clothing defined a person's position in society to an extent that is difficult for us to imagine today. The grander the costume, the more important the person wearing it, and no one was more important than the monarch. For that reason, the king's clothes were sometimes treated as surrogates for the ruler himself.

  Long before murdering Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, the mob vented their hatred on the king and queen by tearing their clothing to shreds, and for that reason hardly any garment worn by any member of the French royal family survived the Revolution. Why did the Bolsheviks and their successors not simply dispose of these outward manifestations of the Romanoffs' divine right to rule as ruthlessly they dealt with the Tsar and his family?

  Before the reign of Peter the Great (1682-1725), Russian national dress consisted of the kind of long, fur-lined robes that we all associate with Ivan the Terrible and Boris Godunov. Until Peter's dress reforms, fashion seems to have had little to do with royal attire. When the Tsar and his wife visited Berlin in 1717, for example, the Tsarina wore so many orders, relics, and portraits of saints fastened to her gown that when she walked into a room she "made a tinkling sound like a mule in harness".

  But then Russia at this time must have been a very strange place. According to Aileen Ribeiro's Dress in 18th Century Europe, heavily rouged Russian women dyed their teeth black, and then polished them until they gleamed like lacquer.

  Among the reforms intended to turn Russia into a modern European country, Peter I encouraged the nobility to embrace the French language, as well as the culture, manners, and fashions of France.

  The show starts with the wardrobe of Peter's grandson, Peter II, who reigned for only three years from 1727 until his death from smallpox at the age of 14. By this date, most of the young Tsar's formal dress-coats, waistcoats, breeches, stockings and gloves were Western in style, and most were made in France out of French silk.

  And so, when the dazzling clothes Peter intended to wear at his coronation in 1728 failed to arrive from Lyons, the ceremony was simply postponed.

  When the coronation did take place, he wore a close-fitting coat made of wonderfully reflective silver cloth richly embroidered in gold thread with patterns of stylised foliage, flowers, and fruit. Cut in a straight line across the neck, with buttons running down the front, the coat flares out at the hips, emphasising the young man's slim waist and drawing attention to the splendid embroidery on the ornamental pockets. It is hard to conceive of a more elegant article of apparel – or one more calculated to give the impression of unlimited wealth.

  But what is almost more extraordinary is that the Tsar's clothes are just as beautiful when they are made of less costly fabrics and are without decorative embellishment. The shape, structure and cut of the black coat Peter wore during periods of mourning at court are so severe that, as shown in the round at the V&A, it reminded me of a minimalist sculpture. Even the buttons are covered in black wool, so that not even the smallest detail detracts from the exquisite line of the graceful silhouette.

  Later we see an eastern-style banyan or beshmet, a fitted robe of Turkish inspiration woven out of Persian silk that the Tsar would have worn at home.

  If this looks curiously familiar, it is because Hogarth shows Tom Rakewell wearing just such a garment during his morning levee in the series The Rake's Progress. Here, too, is a full-length dressing gown of sky-blue French silk, patterned with a design of silver leaves and foliage that draws in at the waist and flares slightly as it falls to the floor.

  Clothes like this – made of shimmering silks shot through with metallic thread or brocaded in gold – are so luxurious they beggar the imagination.

  But, after such splendours, later Tsars such as Alexander III attempted to discourage conspicuous display by dressing relatively simply, often choosing to attend their coronations in military uniform. But, even then, members of the imperial household, such as chamberlains, footmen, coachmen and postilions, wore woollen or velvet livery of black, dark blue, green or scarlet, richly trimmed with gold heraldic braid. The glamour! Seeing them in this show, the scenes set in ballrooms in War and Peace, come to life before your eyes.

  The Romanoff love of extravagant visual display seems to have been hard-wired into their DNA. By the time you get to the coronation mantle of Nicholas II (its train of gold brocade embroidered with double-headed imperial eagles is seven metres long and was carried by seven chancellors during the ceremony), you feel you've passed from the real world into the realms of theatrical spectacle. And you aren't far wrong, because, for the fancy-dress ball held at the Hermitage in 1903, most of the costumes evoking Russian national dress of the 17th century were made in the workshops of St Petersburg's Imperial Theatre.

  Nicholas II's costume in the form of a kaftan of heavy gold brocade was so encrusted with jewels borrowed from the Kremlin treasury that after the ball it was given to the armoury for safekeeping. Look closely at the cuffs, and you'll see that they are made of silver brocade embroidered with large pearls, gold studs and cut diamonds, rubies and emeralds.

  It is only towards the end of the show that you begin to understand how important the Romanoff taste for visual excess must have been for the flowering of Russian culture that took place in the first decade of the 20th century. Suddenly, the costumes that Léon Bakst designed for Diaghilev's ballets must owe something to the uninhibited, semi-barbaric splendour and brilliant colour of such garments.

   

  (telegraph)

• Fashion news: Three of the best party dresses

  
  16 December 2008
  

  Our resident closet thinker, Justine Picardie, explains how to search for the perfect party dress this Christmas…

  

  Perfect party wear: (from left to right) Satin prom dress, £50, by Topshop (0845 121 4519). Silk off-the-shoulder dress, £560, by Marc Jacobs, from net-a-porter.com and satin sleeveless dress, £175, by Whistles (whistles.co.uk) Photo: FULL STOP

  It might seem inappropriate to be discussing party dresses in an era of economic gloom; but even so, having just enjoyed a night out at a friend’s birthday party, I was reminded of the pleasure to be had in getting dressed up after several months of downcast anxiety.

  The party wasn’t a wild Vile Bodies affair; there were no Bright Young Things laughing as they toppled over the abyss. But party frocks were in abundance – including an elegant second-hand little black dress from the Hampstead branch of Oxfam (always a good place for designer pieces), and several others that were at least a decade old. Not that you’d know this to look at them, because the perfect party dress can go on years and years, particularly if it’s the right colour and shape for its wearer.

  My own favourite is my mother’s wedding dress – a fitted black cocktail dress that she wore for her register-office marriage in 1960, which looked like it could have taken her straight to breakfast at Tiffany’s. I appropriated it when I was a teenager, and when it finally became too fragile to wear, several years ago, I had it copied (by the designer Tracey Boyd, who understands how to make a great party dress, as is evident in all her collections). Since then, I’ve worn this remade version to literally dozens of parties – including my friend’s birthday celebration, with red satin high heels from M&S – and it always feels magically renewed.

  Of course, the perfect party dress doesn’t have to be black – if emerald green suits you best, then that’s the one to go for (and Whistles has some beautifully cut dresses in jewel-coloured satin). Nor should you worry about it being unique: indeed, three of the Stella fashion team own variants of the same Marc Jacobs frock, known in the office as 'the dream dress’. It’s off the shoulder – thus covering the tops of the arms – and knotted under the bust, to give the illusion of a tiny waist, and the Stella advocates have it in black, with a gold zip, or brown, with a silver zip.

  I’m not suggesting that everyone else should rush out and buy a Marc Jacobs dress (though if you do want one, there are currently some tempting discounts on Net-a-porter), because one woman’s dream dress might be another’s nightmare. The point is to search for a dress that makes you look good and feel happy, and, once you’ve found it, to cherish it as a wise investment that will also be enjoyed for years.

   

  (telegraph)

• Fashion news: Topshop's New Generation winners announced

  
  16 December 2008
  

  Topshop's New Gen sponsorship has been announced. Winners including Danielle Scutt, House of Holland and Louise Goldin will all show at London Fashion Week in February 2009.

  

  New Gen winner: Agyness Deyn shows off a piece from the spring/summer 2009 collection by House of Holland Photo: GETTY

  Two dozen of the hottest young fashion businesses have been announced as the line-up for New Gen sponsorship, supported by Topshop, at the next London Fashion Week, in February.

  The list was revealed by the British Fashion Council today.

  Eight designers are receiving sponsorship for their catwalk shows, including three who will be making their runway debuts. The five New Gen catwalk veterans are Danielle Scutt, House of Holland, Louise Goldin, Meadham Kirchhoff and Peter Pilotto, while the trio of newcomers are Mary Kratrantzou, Mark Fast and Nasir Mazhar.

  Scutt, who also designs her own prints, is fascinated by American fashion as the 1960s morphed into the 70s. House of Holland, the invention of Henry Holland, is known for its pop-art, streetwise approach to everything from T-shirts to tartan. Goldin is a knitwear wizard whose uncompromising silhouettes and body-contouring defy the traditional approach to knitwear.

  Edward Meadham, a Brit, and the French-born Benjamin Kirchhoff have already attracted praise and stockists for their slash-and-burn approach to denim, while Austrian-born Peter Pilotto and Libyan-born Christopher De Vos, the names behind the PP label, who met while studying at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, blend eclectic inspirations such as the Ballet Russes, Leon Bakst, Byzantine churches, Roman gladiators and science fiction.

  Twenty-five-year-old Nasir Mazhar from east London is a hatter obsessed by millinery history, who originally trained as a hairdresser with Vidal Sassoon, while Mark Fast is a knitwear specialist with a craft-based approach, who has previously designed for Bora Aksu.

  The Greek-born Katrantzou studied at Rhode Island School of Design before transferring to Central Saint Martins, London. She specialises in textile designs, using digital technology to create hyper-realistic, ‘trompe l’oeil’ prints of giant necklaces which would be far too heavy to wear.

  In addition, the following have been named for sponsorship of a stand at the LFW exhibition: Anna Vince, Borba Margo, Craig Lawrence, Cooperative Designs, David David, Emilio de le Morena, the German twin sisters of (Daniela and Annette) Felder*Felder, Fred Butler, Hannah Marshall, House of Holland, KTZ, Krystof Strozyna, Louise Gray, Meadham Kirchhoff, Nicholas Kirkwood and Peter Pilotto together with Mary Katrantzou and Mark Fast.

  The British Fashion Council established the New Gen scheme in 1993. It has become the most internationally-recognised talent ID scheme in the UK and its alumni includes many great British designers such as Alexander McQueen, Matthew Williamson, Julien Macdonald, Boudicca, Giles Deacon, Jonathan Saunders and, more recently, Christopher Kane and Marios Schwab.

  London Fashion Week for autumn/winter 09/10 takes place in the grounds of the Natural History Museum from February 20th to February 24th 2009.

   

  (telegraph)

• Fashion news: The Duchess of Cornwall wears Westwood to the Royal Variety Performance

  
  16 December 2008
  

  The Duchess of Cornwall stood out among the crowd when she entered the Royal Variety Performance in a specially commissioned dress by Vivienne Westwood, says Hilary Alexander.

   

  

  The Duchess of Cornwall arrives at the Royal Variety Performance in a Vivienne Westwood dress Photo: GETTY

  It was a case of the Duchess and the Dame at the 80th Royal Variety Performance last night.

  The Duchess of Cornwall arrived for the event wearing a dramatic design by Dame Vivienne Westwood OBE, the designer who counts Sarah Jessica Parker, Gwen Stefani, Daisy Lowe, Hilary Duff and Cate Blanchett among her celebrity clientele.

  The evening gown, in petrol-coloured double duchesse satin, was a special one-off commission, designed by Westwood especially for the occasion. It incorporated elements from two of her signature pieces: the ‘Diva’ skirt, which was elegantly draped and semi-bustled, and the ‘Dame’ corset, which was styled with long sleeves.

  The Duchess’s choice was a continuing sign of support for British design, but a major departure from her normal wardrobe by the likes of Anna Valentine and Antony Price.

  Although it is the first time the Duchess has worn Westwood, she is not her first royal client. Sarah, Duchess of York and both her daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, are big fans of the flame-haired designer.

  Westwood, 67, is one of the major figures on the world fashion stage, marrying the polar opposites of Establishment and eccentricity.

  Regarded as the ‘godmother of punk’, she opened her first shop, with Malcolm McLaren, ‘Let It Rock’, in the King’s Road in 1971. She was awarded the OBE in 1992 and was made a Dame in 2006.

   

  (telegraph)

   

• Fashion news: British designer Amanda Wakeley leaves her label

  
  16 December 2008
  

  In a corporate takeover British designer Amanda Wakeley has ended up leaving her own business and becoming a victim of the trade that catapulted her into an A-list favourite, says Hilary Alexander.

  

  Designer Amanda Wakeley arrives at Brown's Hotel in Mayfair for a fashion and beauty dinner Photo: CLARA MOLDEN

  The British red carpet designer Amanda Wakeley has become a victim of a corporate takeover of her fashion company and has left her business.

  Her brand has been bought by the corporate restructuring specialist, Jason Granite, a former City trader with Deutsche Bank.

  In a statement released today, Wakeley said:” I have been advised that I will be no longer required and have tendered my resignation which has been accepted with immediate effect. I shall leave the company today.”

  Wakeley, who established her signature label in 1990, built up an illustrious list of Hollywood clients including Scarlett Johansson, Dame Helen Mirren, Demi Moore, Kate Beckinsale, Helen Hunt and Jada Pinkett Smith.

  The company has a flagship store in Fulham Road, London, SW3, as well as concessions in Harrods, Selfridges and Harvey Nichols.

  Wakeley is a popular figure on the British fashion scene and has vowed to re-emerge.

  In her statement, she said:”It is the end of one chapter but the beginning of another. I have been overwhelmed by the warm messages of support in recent days and the many very kind offers to invest time (and money!) in the future. As a result, I am considering a variety of ideas which I look forward to developing in the New Year.”

  Wakeley, who said she has already designed all her collections for 2009, was believed to have been considering taking part in London Fashion Week in February, via a presentation.

  Her statement added: ”My understanding is that it will be business as usual whilst Jason Granite’s team establishes itself within the company."

  However, it is understood that at least 13 of Wakeley’s fashion and design staff were given notices of redundancy yesterday.

  The purchase is the latest in a string of sales for the Amanda Wakeley brand. Granite bought the fashion company from the Saudi billionaire Walid Juffali, who is married to the former American model, Christina Estrada. Juffali, in turn, had purchased it in 2005 from the fashion tycoon, Richard Caring.

   

  (telegraph)

• Model news: Top 20 sexiest models - With rank 16-20

  
  11 December 2008
  

  Top 20 sexiest models - With rank 16-20

  16. Tori Praever

  17. Irina Shayk

  18. Emanuela de Paula

  19. Bar Rafaeli

  20. Oluchi Onweagba

  16. Tori Praever

  [ profile ]
  
  New York:
  IMG
  

  Animal lover Tori Praver never intended to be a model- in fact she had her heart set on a career as a marine trainer but after a chance encounter with a scout, the 5'11 Hawaiian beauty decided to give fashion a try instead. A few short years later she was the face of Guess - the rest as they say is history.
  
  Related: Past and current (2008) Sports Illustrated model

  

  Ph: Alasdair McLellan for Pop Magazine F/W 08

  17. Irina Shayk

  [ profile ]
  
  New York:
  1 Model Management
  
  Barcelona:
  Elite Barcelona
  
  Milan:
  d'management group
  
  Hamburg:
  MODELWERK
  
  

  With her full lips and dangerous curves Russian born model Irina Shayk was a perfect fit for Guess. She appears in their Spring/Summer campaign looking sultry, steamy and every bit the bombshell.
  
  Recent related campaigns: S/S08 Guess with Yu Tsai
  
  Related: Victoria's Secret model; current (2008) Sports Illustrated model

  

  Ph: Yu Tsai for Guess, S/S08

  18. Emanuela de Paula

  [ profile ]
  
  New York:
  Marilyn Model Mgmt
  
  Milan:
  d'management group
  
  

  Emanuela de Paula took the catwalk as her stage and then used it as her platform onto the sexy market via her VS pages as well as the forthcoming Pirelli calender.
  
  Related: Victoria's Secret model, Pirelli Calendar girl 2009

  

  Ph: courtesy of Marilyn

  19. Bar Rafaeli

  [ profile ]
  
  New York:
  1 Model Management
  
  Hamburg:
  MODELWERK
  
  Berlin:
  Iconic Management
  
  

  Glowing beauty Bar Rafaeli has appeared not only in the Sports Illustrated 2007 issue, but also the 2008 edition as well. With those piercing blue eyes who can resist a second helping of Bar. Having her name hinged to Hollywood's biggest star has certainly helped ramp up that Rafaeli profile.
  
  Related: Current (2008) Sports Illustrated model

  

  Ph: for Arena, Feb 08

  20. Oluchi Onweagba

  [ profile ]
  
  New York:
  DNA Models
  
  

  Oluchi is a true work of God. 'Work of God' is the meaning of her name and she personifies this not only with her stunning looks, but also her shining personality. It is no wonder Sports Illustrated came knocking for a fourth time for a feature in the 2008 swimsuit edition. When L'Oreal Paris, Lancome, Christian Dior, Giorgio Armani and Fendi have sought her out, then you know Ms. Onweagba is indeed an exemplary piece of work.
  
  Related: Victoria's Secret model, past and current (2008) Sports Illustrated model

  

  Ph: for Sports Illustrated

   

  (Models)

• Model news: Top 20 sexiest models - With rank 11-15

  
  11 December 2008
  

  Top 20 sexiest models - With rank 11-15

  11. Izabel Goulart

  12. Anne Vyalitsyna

  13. Ana Beatriz Barros

  14. Behati Prinsloo

  15. Jessica White

  11. Izabel Goulart
  [ profile ]

  New York:
  Women Model Management
  
  Milan:
  Women Milan
  
  Munich:
  Louisa Models Munich
  
  Barcelona:
  Traffic Models
  
  Hamburg:
  Louisa Models Hamburg
  

  Ever since she joined the ranks of the VS Angel dream team, stunning Brazilian Izabel Goulart has been a force to be reckoned with - racking up editorials and covers left and right along with her fellow Angels. This is in addition to her long-standing tenure as a face of Armani Exchange, which adds another notch on the perennially sexy Izabel's belt.
  
  Related contracts: Victoria's Secret
  
  Related recent campaigns: Armani Exchange with Tom Munro S/S 08, Armani Exchange with Tom Munro F/W 08
  
  TV appearances: Entourage 2007

  

  PH: Tom Munro for Armani Exchange SS08

  12. Anne Vyalitsyna

  
  

  With her sweet smile and freckled face Anne Vyalitsyna is the definition of coquettish sex appeal. But playing coy isn't her only talent - Anne is known for her grace in print - both in high fashion and in sexier editorials. Anne's natural charms can be seen everywhere from the pages of Numero to the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue.
  
  Related: Past and current (2008) Sports Illustrated model

  

  Ph: for V magazine

  
  

  13. Ana Beatriz Barros

  [ profile ]
  
  New York:
  Elite New York
  
  Milan:
  Fashion
  
  Copenhagen:
  Elite Copenhagen
  
  Barcelona:
  Elite Barcelona
  
  

  Brazil has long cornered the market on sexy models so it's no surprise that Ana Beatriz Barros is among the most sought after sexpots in the industry with clients ranging from Armani to Bebe and L'Oreal.
  
  Related: Sports Illustrated model for 8 seasons running, including 2008

  

  Ph: Richard Kern for GQ Italia, June 08

  14. Behati Prinsloo

  [ profile ]
  
  New York:
  Supreme Management
  
  London:
  Storm Model Management
  
  Paris:
  Marilyn Agency
  
  Hamburg:
  MODELWERK
  
  Milan:
  d'management group
  
  

  The Namibia born Behati made her debut in 2005 as an exclusive for Prada and Miu Miu. From that auspicious beginning, Behati has gone on to work with the cream of the high fashion crop (Marc Jacobs, Vogue Italia, Paolo Roversi). Her Victoria's Secret contract signed this past spring cements her status as a girl not only most wanted but most sexy!
  
  Related: Victoria's Secret contract

  

  Ph: Felix Lammers for Tush 3

  15. Jessica White

  [ profile ]
  
  New York:
  Elite New York
  
  

  All American sweetheart Jessica White appeared in the 2008 Sports Illustrated Issue in an amazing pictorial showcasing why she's got the body to make anyone swoon. Her 2007 Maybelline contract was a deserving power deal marking her her the only African-American model with two make-up contracts.
  
  Related contract: Maybelline
  
  Related: Victoria's Secret model; current (2008) Sports Illustrated model

  

  Ph: Steward Shining for Sports Illustrated 2008

   

  (Models)

• Model news: Top 20 sexiest models - With rank 6-10

  
  11 December 2008
  

  Top 20 sexiest models - With rank 6-10

  6. Karolina Kurkova

  7. Selita Ebanks

  8. Marisa Miller

  9. Miranda Kerr

  10. Julia Stegner

  6. Karolina Kurkova

  [ profile ]
  
  New York:
  DNA Models
  
  London:
  Models 1
  
  Paris:
  Viva Model Management
  

  She could strip her name down to the initials and people would know KK meant Karolina Kurkova. Classic and quirky, sleek yet curvy, upbeat and ambitious: Miss Kurkova has been around and is staying around proving herself to be a consistent winner for the Victoria's Secret brand. Like a walking, talking blue chip stock, she is also a beauty with a plan as Miss K has been cast as the character Cover Girl in the upcoming 2009 film "G.I. Joe." How fitting! Karolina to save the world.
  
  Related contract: Victoria's Secret Angel contract

  

  PH: Mathias Vriens for Harper's Bazaar UK November 2008

  7. Selita Ebanks

  [ profile ]
  
  New York:
  Women Model Management
  
  

  The girl from Grand Cayman keeps going strong; following in the footsteps of her mentor Tyra Banks and building a career that extends all the way to Victoria's Secret and possibly beyond. You're just as likely to see Selita on the red carpet as you are to see her in the catwalk but wherever she is she keeps it sexy.
  
  Related contract: Victoria's Secret Angel contract
  
  Related: past and current (2008) Sports Illustrated model

  

  Ph for Sports Illustrated

  8. Marisa Miller

  [ profile ]
  
  Los Angeles:
  Vision LA
  
  Hamburg:
  MODELWERK
  
  

  Her flowing blonde hair, glamazon proportions and love of all things sun and surf make Marissa Miller the ultimate California girl. Sports Illustrated has signed on, as has Victoria's Secret. Mario Testino even joined her band of admirers at one point making Marisa Miller one of the biggest breakout starts of that market. Her gorgeous, glowing healthy beauty has graced everything from the pages of Maxim to countless billboards for Victoria's Secret - not to mention that unforgettable cover of a little magazine called Sports Illustrated.
  
  Related contract: Victoria's Secret Angel contract
  
  Related: Past and current (2008) Sports Illustrated model, 2008 Sports Illustrated cover model

  

  Ph: Raphael Mazzucco for Sports Illustrated 2008

  9. Miranda Kerr

  [ profile ]
  
  New York:
  IMG
  
  Sydney:
  Chic Management
  
  

  This beauty found down under has found her way up. That is, up to the top to garner status as one of the most recognized Victoria's Secret Angels. The sexy Australian has come a long way since winning a model competition in 1997 at the young age of 13. Miranda is true beauty personified and will continue on that ladder of success straight up to the heavens.
  
  Related contract: Victoria's Secret Angel contract

  

  Ph: for FHM November 2008

  10. Julia Stegner

  [ profile ]
  
  New York:
  IMG
  
  London:
  Storm Model Management
  
  Paris:
  Marilyn Agency
  
  Copenhagen:
  UNIQUE DENMARK
  
  Munich:
  Louisa Models Munich
  
  Milan:
  IMG Milano
  
  Hamburg:
  Louisa Models Hamburg
  
  Barcelona:
  Traffic Models
  
  

  With a career that encompasses the very best in blue chip high fashion bookings paired with the sexy struts down the Victoria's Secret runway, Germany's Julia Stegner represents the very best of both worlds. Whether she's steaming it up along side Evandro in the Armani Jeans campaign or looking sumptuous in the new Ferre ads Julia puts those legendary legs to good use.
  
  Related contract: Maybelline
  
  Related: Victoria Secret model

  

  Photo: for Numero Tokyo November 2008

   

  (Models)

• Model news: Top 20 sexiest models - With rank 1-5

  
  11 December 2008
  

  Top 20 sexiest models - Have rank 1-5

  1. Adriana Lima

  2. Doutzen Kroes

  3. Gisele Bundchen

  4. Alessandra Ambrosio

  5. Isabeli Fontana

  1. Adriana Lima

  [ profile ]
  
  New York:
  Marilyn Model Mgmt

  Hailing from Bahia Brazil, this smoldering beauty is a major double threat with big bonanza contracts for Maybelline, Victoria's Secret. Her unique beauty, the kind you could only dream to find in Brazil has created for her a singular career. No other girl even vaguely looks like this, glows like that and moves the units like that. Beyond rare!
  
  Related contract: Victoria's Secret Angel contract

  

  Photo: Inez Van Lamsweerde & Vinoodh Matadin for GQ April 2008

  2. Doutzen Kroes

  [ profile ]
  
  New York:
  DNA Models
  
  Paris:
  Viva Model Management
  
  Milan:
  Women Milan
  
  

  Everything that spells big money has come flooding Doutzen's way in the recent years of her career. Fragrance? Check, via the Calvin Klein Eternity fragrance. Make-up? That would be the L'Oréal contract and then there is the recent pièce de résistance... that V/S contract for La Doutzen complete with Angel wings. That's the power of beauty for you.
  
  Related contracts: Victoria's Secret contract, Calvin Klein Eternity fragrance, L'Oréal

  

  Ph: Russell James for Victoria's Secret F/W 08

  3. Gisele Bundchen

  [ profile ]
  
  New York:
  IMG
  
  London:
  IMG London
  
  Paris:
  IMG Paris
  
  Milan:
  IMG Milano
  
  Hamburg:
  Model Management Hamburg
  
  

  Viva La Gisele. She of the cascading hair, the shimmering skin, the impossible body and the effervescent personality. Still rocking every magazine cover in sight, from GQ to V and Arena. Still clocking the massive bucks that sends the wags wagging in amazement, Gisele truly looms as THE last supermodel of our era. She is a Brazilian national hero for a reason.
  
  Related contracts: Past Victoria's Secret Angel, Dolce Gabbana fragrance "the one", Max Factor

  

  Photo: Mario Testino for V Magazine August 2008

  4. Alessandra Ambrosio

  [ profile ]
  
  New York:
  Elite New York
  
  Milan:
  d'management group
  
  Barcelona:
  Elite Barcelona
  
  Hamburg:
  Model Management Hamburg
  
  Copenhagen:
  Elite Copenhagen
  
  

  Alessandra Ambrosio with her multi-million dollar Victoria's Secret contract, her highly touted appearance on "Entourage" and her status as a mass media celebrity from Brazil back to the USA certainly proves that a beautiful (and undeniably) sexy girl is a a financial force of nature in her own right. This girl moves it, manages and maintains it like no other.
  
  Related contract: Victoria's Secret Angel contract

  

  Photo: Stephen Wurth for British GQ, November 2007

  5. Isabeli Fontana

  [ profile ]
  
  New York:
  Women Model Management
  
  Milan:
  Women Milan
  
  Copenhagen:
  2pm Model Management
  
  Munich:
  Louisa Models Munich
  
  Hamburg:
  Mega Model Agency
  
  Barcelona:
  Traffic Models
  
  Paris:
  Women Paris
  
  

  Hailing from Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, this blue eyed beauty has graced the covers of Vogue, Numero and French Vogue just to name a few. Add Isabeli's current 4-pac of blue chip fashion campaigns for FW 08 and the renowned Pirelli Calendar twice. A model so gorgeous and sexy, she can go from high editorial to mass market and back to high editorial without blinking. This is the ideal dream of what modeling is all about, as any client, manager or model will testify. No wonder she's one of our top sexiest models. When Isabeli Fontana is not strutting her stuff on the catwalk, she's at the gym kicking some major butt via one of her favorite past times, kick-boxing.
  
  Related campaigns: H&M Lingerie F/W 07
  
  Related: Victoria's Secret model

  

  PH: Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin for H&M

   

  (Models)

• Fashion news: Suzanne Neville designs for Strictly and X Factor

  
  11 December 2008
  

  Celebrity designer Suzanne Neville has created numerous gowns this season for high profile events and talent shows including the X Factor and Strictly Come Dancing, says Hilary Alexander.

  

  X-ceptional dress: Dannii Minogue holds on to her contestant Ruth Lorenzo, who wears a design by Suzanne Neville, as Dermot Dermot O'Leary presents during the X Factor Photo: REX

  Suzanne Neville, the British designer best known for her bridal gowns – (she was the creator behind the wedding dress worn by Clare Harding when she married Tom Chambers, the actor and Strictly Come Dancing star, in November) – is making a new career as the designer with the X Factor.

  She has been the designer behind many of the stunning creations seen on the popular ITV talent show and has now been selected to design the dress Alexandra Burke will wear in the X Factor final this coming Saturday.

  Alexandra Burke has frequently worn designs by Neville, as has Ruth Lorenzo, the Spanish bombshell who was voted off the show on November 30th.

  One of the secrets behind Neville’s designs is the incredible corsetry concealed within each gown, giving the wearer a perfect hourglass silhouette.

  Neville set up her business in 1990 immediately on graduating from the London College of Fashion. She is now regarded as one of Europe’s leading designers of bridal and evening wear and has her own stores in Guildford, Wilmslow and Knightsbridge, London, as well as being stocked at major bridal wear specialists throughout the UK.

  Her celebrity clientele takes in the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing, as she has dressed previous contestants Rachel Hunter and Jodie Kidd as well as last year’s winner, Alesha Dixon.

  In 2003, she launched her first perfume, ‘Pour Femme’. Future plans include expansion into the US and the launch of another perfume.

   

  (telegraph)

• Fashion news: Jeweller Stephen Webster is named creative director of Garrard

  
  11 December 2008
  

  Garrard have appointed A-list jeweller Stephen Webster as creative director for the brand, says Hilary Alexander.

  

  Jewellery designer Stephen Webster poses with singer Christina Aguilera, who wears one of his necklaces

  Stephen Webster, the London-based designer regarded as the celebrities’ favourite jeweller, has been named as the new creative director of the world’s oldest jewellery house, Garrard.

  Webster will bring a contemporary and innovative approach to the Garrard collections, modernising the brand while maintaining its illustrious heritage.

  Among his first projects will be the design of three dynamic collections: a new women’s range in a fiery combination of red, black and white gemstones; a bold men’s range, inspired by the British sportsman, in a mix of black, green, brown and gold; and the recently announced Georgina Chapman for Garrard collection, due to be launched next autumn.

  Webster has a blue chip portfolio of famous clients, including Madonna, Sharon Stone, Jennifer Lopez, Cameron Diaz, Pink, Christina Aguilera, Johnny Depp, Sir Elton John, Jay Z, Ozzy Osbourne, Nicholas Cage and Michael Stipe.

  He is a three-time winner of the British Luxury Jeweller of the Year; the winner of the Diamond Jeweller of the Year in 2004 and 2005; and was awarded Jewellery Designer of the Year in 1997, 1998 and 2006.

  Most recently he received the UK Jewellery Brand of the Year 2008.

  Webster began his career at the age of 16, enrolling for a jewellery and silversmith course at Medway College of Design.

  He completed his training under Tony Sheperd, a former Prime Warden of the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths. He then worked as a craftsman for a number of established London brands.

  Among many highly-regarded commissions was the honour of twice setting the De Beers Diamond Stakes Trophy. Later, he worked in Canada and California where he perfected his signature approach to bold style and the use of exotic and unusual gems for fine jewellery.

  He returned to London in 1998 to establish his own brand and now has one of the largest jewellery manufacturing and design studios. The company has a global chain of 20 Stephen Webster boutiques and 120 points of sale worldwide including the United Kingdom, the US, Russia, Dubai, Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong. Further boutiques in Estonia and Spain, as well as a new London flagship in Mount Street, Mayfair, to replace the existing Duke Street store, are planned for 2009.

  Webster’s rise to international prominence is a result of his dedicated craftsmanship and an edgy approach to fine jewellery which he sees as an expression of ‘rock ‘n’ roll glamour’.

  “Things have changed,” he says. “The fear factor, the reverence and the rather staid formality have all but disappeared. Magazines now have fashion shoots featuring H&M jeans and £10,000 diamond rings. Adding a diamond-studded detail to a watch or a piece of jewellery no longer marks a customer as a flashy ostentatious type. It just makes a person look more lively.”

   

  (telegraph)

• Fashion news: Dame Helen Mirren could get own M&S fashion label

  
  11 December 2008
  

  Dame Helen Mirren could get her own Marks & Spencer fashion label after she said she would jump at the chance to design her own collection.

  

  Dame Helen won most stylish woman at the Inspiration Awards for Women earlier this year Photo: EPA

  Dame Helen, 63, who won an Oscar last year for her portrayal of the Queen, has bemoaned the fact that designers fail to make dresses with sleeves suitable for older women.

  When asked if she would accept an offer from M&S to have her own label, she said "Oh yes", adding that she would call it "DWS: Dresses With Sleeves."

  Her comments prompted Sir Stuart Rose, Chief Executive of Marks & Spencer, to suggest he would consider launching such a range.

  "She is a very stylish lady," he said. "I once sat next to her at lunch and I remember her even if she won't remember me. Her's is a very interesting concept and we're always interested in new ideas so let's see what happens."

  Dame Helen, who won most stylish woman at the Inspiration Awards for Women earlier this year, was speaking in the forthcoming issue of Glamour magazine.

  She said: "There are no dresses with sleeves - we need to bring back the sleeve: fine, see-through ones, three-quarter length or long - there are many wonderful things you can do with sleeves."

  Dame Helen also discussed her marriage to American film director Taylor Hackford.

  The couple married on 31 December 1997 despite her previously saying she the institution never interested her.

  She admitted that the only reason she married him after spending 12 years together, was for "death duties".

  "Economic reasons are the only reasons to get married," she said. "But I'm very glad I did now for other reasons. I ended up loving it more than I thought I did, and actually I love being married now.

  "I love that I am committed to him and that he is to me and I am utterly convinced that we will be together until I or he dies.

  "And it's a great excuse, of course, when you're being asked to do something you don't want to do, you can just say 'I'll have to ask my husband'."

  Dame Helen also discussed the fuss created during the summer when she was pictured wearing a red bikini while on holiday in Puglia, Italy.

  She said: "I thought 'I wish I looked like that' to be honest."

   

  (telegraph)

• Fashion news: The Grateful Dead collaborate with Converse

  
  11 December 2008
  
  

  Dancing Bears: the new collaboration between The Grateful Dead and Converse

  Deadheads of the world rejoice; you can now access a pair of trainers stamped with the imprimatur of The Grateful Dead.

  The legendary hippie-era band, formed in San Francisco in 1965 and regarded as ‘the pioneering godfathers of the jam band world’, has joined forces with Converse.

  The band has recreated its famed, psychedelic ‘Dancing Bears’ artwork as an eclectic, colourful print on the canvas upper which is based on the original Chuck Taylor silhouette.

  The trainers, in a black/red/blue/yellow colour scheme, are priced from pounds sterling 44.99, from the Converse Store at UK Size 6-11, Carnaby Street, London W1 (020 7287 4016; 

  The Grateful Dead Dancing Bears trainers are part of Converse’s ongoing music collaborations.

  Purists may well argue the news is equal to the shock-wave that followed Ben & Jerry selling their ice-cream to Unilever in 2000.

  But commercialism has never looked more attractive when retirement beckons, even for hippies.

   

  (telegraph)

• Fashion news: Fashion Forward winners announced

  
  11 December 2008
  

  The catwalk future of Christopher Kane, Marios Schwab and Erdem, three of the country’s most talented young fashion designers, is secured – for at least one further season.

  

  Fashoin Forward: Christopher Kane's latest design for s/s '09 Photo: Heathcliff O'Malley

  Christopher Kane, Marios Schwab and Erdem have all been given the British Fashion Council Fashion Forward sponsorship for the second season in a row.

  The sponsorship, which is partly underwritten by the London Development Agency, means that all three will now be able to commit to a full catwalk show during the next London Fashion Week season, for autumn/winter ‘09/10, in February.

  Apart from a substantial cash prize, the BFC Fashion Forward scheme provides a system of business mentoring, vital for any young designer wishing to turn his own-name-label into a global business – particularly imperative during an economic downturn.

  Kane, 26, is the Glasgow-born fashion wunderkind who attracted the attention of Donatella Versace while still a student at Central Saint Martins. His MA graduate collection, of dresses in neon-bright stretch lace, won the Harrods Design Award and pioneered the new wave of body-conscious dressing.

  An active ambassador for his native Scotland, Kane works with his sister Tammy. He was awarded the New Designer of the Year at the British Fashion Awards in November 2007. All of his collections, from distressed/faded denim to romantic flounces to opaque/transparent games to ‘dinosaur’ embellishments, supposedly influenced by The Flintstones, have presaged major trends in fashion, both on the catwalk and in the high street.

  The Greek, London-based designer, Marios Schwab, is another exponent of the ‘body-con’ movement and, like Kane, is a graduate of CSM. He took his MA there, following on from studies in Berlin, and graduated in 2003. After working for Kim Jones, he established his own label and made his catwalk debut in 2003. Metallics, subversive prints and an obsession with the body’s interior form characterise his precise, sculpted signature.

  Erdem Moralioglu, originally from Canada, studied at the Royal College of Art in London and won the Fashion Fringe award in 2004. He worked for Diane von Furstenberg before establishing his own label in 2005. Moralioglu is a painterly, theatrical designer, inspired, by turns, by the likes of Bakst or the Empress Josephine and is renowned for his exotic, passionate approach to colour and print.

  London Fashion Week, the platform for the country’s pounds multi- billion pound clothing business, is on from February 20th to February 24th 2009.

   

  (telegraph)

• Fashion news: Claudia Schiffer announced as new face of Yves Saint Laurent

  
  11 December 2008
  

  As a 'supermodel' she has graced all the major catwalk shows and magazine throughout the world. Here Hilary Alexander explains why Claudia Schiffer has been picked once again to front YSL's latest ad campaign...

  

  Claudia Schiffer as the new face of Yves Saint Laurent

  Claudia Schiffer, the Comeback Queen, has been named as the latest ‘supermodel’ to become the ‘face' of Yves Saint Laurent.

  The German former catwalk star follows in the stiletto heels of Naomi Campbell, Kate Moss, Gisele Bundchen and the flame-haired Brit, Karen Elson, all of whom have been hand-picked by YSL’s creative director, Stefano Pilati, to front the brand’s major advertising campaigns.

  The new campaign starring Claudia Schiffer was shot in the iconic Hollywood Hills by the photographic ‘dream team’ of Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin and will begin appearing in January when the February editions of the glossies hit the newstands.

  The exclusive shot, pictured above, is the first to be released and is the image Pilati has selected as the cover of his fourth fashion ‘mission statement’, the Yves Saint Laurent Manifesto, which will be distributed worldwide on February 14th, 2009.

  Schiffer’s fame dates from the late 80s when she was discovered in a Düsseldorf nightclub at the age of 15. She became an overnight sensation when fellow German, the couturier and designer, Karl Lagerfeld, dubbed her the ’new Bridgette Bardot’ and sent her down the Chanel catwalk in Paris as the new ‘face’ of the brand.

  Although her walk was criticised as less than graceful, she was an immediate hit and her global appeal was assured when she appeared in a Guess? jeans advertising campaign. She became the first model to make the covers of Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone magazine, the New York Times and People.

  After a decade as a supermodel, she gradually took on fewer and fewer modelling assignments. She married the British film producer-director Matthew Vaughan in 2002, who gave her a tortoise instead of a wedding ring.

  The couple have two children and an Elizabethan mansion in Suffolk, as well as homes in London, New York, Germany and Monte Carlo.

  She made a spectacular return to the international fashion scene when she rejoined forces with Karl Lagerfeld as the ‘face’ of this year’s Chanel spring/summer campaign.

  Now 38, she says: ”I know one day I’ll be considered too old. But I think 40-year-old women actually look more healthy and fit than some girls in their 20s. I’ve met women who have way better bodies in their 40s because they’ve been working on them for all these years.”

   

  (telegraph)

• Fashion news: 2008 Victoria’s Secret underwear fashion show

  
  05 December 2008
  

  Some of the models that strutted their stuff at the  2008 Victoria’s Secret underwear fashion show included  Adriana Lima, Miranda Kerr, Doutzen Kroes

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

• Fashion news: Hannely Quintero miss Venezuela

  
  04 December 2008
  

  pictures of Hannely Quintero miss Venezuela:

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

• Fashion news: Sasha Pivovarova super model

  
  04 December 2008
  

  Sasha Pivovarova was born in Moscow, Russia. She was a girl who never dreamed of becoming a model. But everything began after a friend and photographer, Igor Vishnyakov, took photos of her. He knew she had something special, so he then gave them to IMG and her career took off. Before this, she was studying art history at Russian University for the Humanities

  Pictures of Sasha Pivovarova with Chanel 2009:

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

• Fashion news: "angels" of Victoria's Secret in Miami beach

  
  04 December 2008
  

   Miranda Kerr, Heidi Klum, Doutzen Kroes, Allesandra Ambrosio, Marisa Miller, Adriana Lima, Selita Ebanks, Karolina Kurkova fashion models of Victoria's Secret in Miami beach

    Selita Ebanks, Adriana Lima, Heidi Klum,

  Allesandra Ambrosio

   

   

   Allesandra Ambrosio

   

   Miranda Kerr and Allesandra Ambrosio

   

   

   

  Adriana Lima and Heidi Klum

   

   Heidi Klum

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   Adriana Lima

   

   

  
  

   

   Marisa Miller, Doutzen Kroes, Karolina Kurkova,

  Miranda Kerr, Allesandra Ambrosio

   

   Miranda Kerr

   

   Allesandra Ambrosio

   

  Marisa Miller and Allesandra Ambrosio.

• Fashion news: Karolina Kurkova in Victoria's Sercet show

  
  04 December 2008
  

   

  

   

  
  Karolina Kurkova in Victoria's Sercet show 2008.

   

  

   

  

  Karolina Kurkova

  1. Karolina Kurkova

   

  

   

  2. Bar Refaeli

   

  

   

  3. Angelina Jolie

   

  

   

  4. Gisele Bundchen

   

  

   

  5. Scarlett Johansson

   

  

  6. Adriana Lima

   

  

   

  7. Heidi Klum

   

   

   

  8. Penelope Cruz

   

  

   

  9. Manuela Arcuri

   

   

   

  10. Shakira

   

  

• Fashion news: Miranda Kerr fashion model

  
  04 December 2008
  

  Miranda Kerr fashion model in Baby Phat, Lisa Ho, Levi's, Nicola Finetti, L.A.M.B., Betsey Johnson, John Richmond, Blumarine, Neiman Marcus, Anna Molinari, Rock and Republic, Roberto Cavalli magazine

  Miranda Kerr in Ocean Drive magazine:

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

• Fashion news: Joanna Krupa supper model

  
  03 December 2008
  

  Joanna Krupa fashion model famous in FHM, Stuff, Men's Fitness, Trump World magazine

  Joanna Krupa  2008-2009 of Leg Avenue: