Wixson

 I used to be kind of afraid of Lindsey Wixson. That's right, I felt fear for little 16-year old Lindsey from Wichita, Kansas. It's just not very often you come across such immaculately doll-like features on a real live person. And that mouth? Let's not get started on how astronomically out of this world it is (two intergalactic references in one sentence; look at me go). To this day I think that Ms. Wixson looks a little creepy in her fame-making Miu Miu ads, but as her career has grown, so has her versatility. Wixson shines in the more naturally themed editorials she's done and even more so on the runway. Jax has posted about her in the past, but somehow I haven't ever gotten around to it. So I figured I'd jump in now, while Wixson is still in the semi-early stages of her modeling career, and do a fist pump or two in support of her awesome work.

Get it, girl

Rag & Bone Spring 2011 Campaign

Rag & Bone's Marcus Wainwright and David Neville have taken an unconventional approach for their advertising this season.  Rather than paying to rent out a high-end studio and hiring expensive photographers, the boys handed out digital cameras to some of their favorite models and asked them to take pictures of themselves in Rag & Bone clothing however they'd like.  Once Abbey, Sasha, Edita, and Lily had taken their pictures, Wainwright and Neville blew up over 1,000 copies and plastered them all over lower-Manhattan as a guerrilla marketing platform.  The end result, I have to say, is one of the best advertising campaigns that I've seen in a while.

Note from the Editors

Gisele for Isabel Marant Spring 2011 Campaign, image via

I love Gisele's recent foray into high fashion, and I think Marant is a very fitting label for the relaxed Brazilian.  But does anyone else think that her hand placement is kind of awkward in this shot?

Anyway, you may have noticed lately that the layout of Les Deux has been changing a lot.  I, for one, actually hate change, and I often find it very difficult to deal with.  However, Katie and I have recently been surged with a charge of creative energy; and thus, are attempting to restructure and create the perfect format for our blog.  I just hope that we haven't scared any of our regular readers away in the process.  At any rate, we have some exciting things in store for the site, so just know that the best is yet to come!

Prada Spring 2011 Commercial

Such a great departure from the usual fashion commercials that can often come off as trying to be avant garde.  This take feels fresh and matches the collection perfectly.

fashionologie via the cut

Jil Sander Spring 2011 Campaign

This is another one of those instances where I know that these photos have been out for a day or so, but I like them so much that I'm posting them anyways.  My favorite advertising campaigns (aside from those shot by Juergen Teller) are the ones that are innovative without being overly conceptual.  These Willy Vanderperre shot images perfectly embody that.  The use of lighting is beautiful and unexpected, plus, Daria Strokous's pink hair goes perfectly with the upbeat collection.  

(images via fashion gone rogue)

Jax

Plus-Size, Straight-Size, What About Healthy-Size?

Crystal Renn is everywhere these days.  On top of walking some spring 2011 shows, modeling for Zac Posen's look book, and booking a million editorials, among other things, she now stars in DSquared2's spring 2011 campaign alongside some straight-size models.  Renn has seemed to have lost some weight within the past few months and has been the source of some controversy, but honestly, I think that she looks better than ever.

If you want my personal opinion, the vast majority of girls in the modeling industry are not healthy.  There are the straight-size, who are generally much too frail.  Then there are the plus-size, who have to be at least size 12 to 14 to even qualify as such in the first place.  I know everyone wants to be all, "Curves are sexy," blah blah blah, and maybe this is an uneducated statement, but I don't think that being that large at age 20 is any healthier than being overly thin.

That's why I'm glad that Renn (who has had an incredible journey, starting straight-size, going through an eating disorder, going to plus-size...) is getting so much work now.  Even though she came to fame as a plus size model, she is actually too small to be considered one now.  Whereas Renn was around a size 12 before, she's about a size 8 now.  I think that, ultimately, this is the most healthy image to project to the public.  Not plus, not straight, just healthy in general.  It's unfortunate that aside from Renn, "healthy" is a class of people that seems to be ignored by the industry entirely.

image via the cut

Jax

Ghostly Goes Commercial

Here we have the recently released campaign for Valentino's Spring 2011 RTW collection, which I loved and thought to be a little ghostly. Well, clearly the fine people at Valentino agreed. 

Freja above; Julia Saner below

The filmy monochrome shots feature Freja Beha Erichsen with new faces Julia Saner and Caroline Brasch-Nielsen wandering around an 18th century palace in exquisitely styled looks. Freja clearly stole the show, and more or less rendered the other two girls her supporting actresses. That said, if the campaign were a movie, Julia Saner would be up for Best Supporting Actress in my book. I'm really liking her work so far, and she's a perfect fit for this mysterious campaign. Brasch-Nielsen, on the other hand, fell kind of short. She just wasn't very memorable for me. Then again, I should take it easier on her; it can't be all that easy to stand out when you're up against one of the industry's all stars and one of their new favorite faces. 

I'm glad the advertising team went with this eerie campaign because now I feel way ahead of the fashion curb when I re-read my review of the runway show. Woo!

(Images from Fashion Gone Rogue)


Katie

Spring 2011 Adverts

The other day the Cut ran a feature of all of the spring campaigns that have been released thus far.  These are just my favorites, for various reasons.  Dior because Karlie Kloss looks so grown up, and the background is perfect for the Honolulu themed collection without being overly obvious.  Prada because I'm just glad that they kept the hair and makeup exactly the same as the show; it goes perfectly with the clothes.  Bally because it's a step up from when they used to just shoot bags with a blue sky background, and I'm liking the crayon colors.  Gucci because, God, how fantastic was that collection?  The looks exemplify it perfectly.  Bottega Veneta because I have to appreciate the arthouse vibes.  Chloe because Iselin Steiro so adorable and smiley.  And Burberry because it adequately disguises how, ahem, not fantastic the collection was.  That is all.

Jax

Choo Choo

Crystal Renn, the no-longer-plus-size model, is still on top of the world. After being featured on models.com's Top 10 models of the year, Renn has now replaced Amber Valletta in the newest Jimmy Choo campaign. Renn looks sexy as can be; super slim, but definitely fit. Even though the girl has lost a lot of weight in the last year, she's still got enough meat on her bones to look real (and hot).

As good as she looks though, Renn should watch her weight. People love her for her curves, and if she gets much smaller there won't be any left.

Katie

(Images from The Fashion Spot)

Lanvin for H&M...

KATIE

 Here's some shots from H&M's website of the Lanvin for H&M collection that recently hit stores. Almost all of these dresses are about $200, which is not that much to ask for when considering the fact alone that they were designed by Alber Elbaz. Personally, I wouldn't pay more than $80 for any of them, Lanvin or not. The collection is kind of a let down. The dresses, while beautiful, are just not all that Lanvin to me. Elbaz brought Lanvin to fashion fame because of his impeccable tailoring; his dresses are generally simple satin sewed into a origami-like masterpiece. H&M's selling point for most is the fact that they sell super trendy clothes at low prices; but because of the nature of Lanvin's design, you can't make a good piece without putting a lot of time and money into it. I feel like neither was put into this collection, yet they're charging out of this world prices for the pieces in it.

Rip off? In my opinion, yes. But I know my opinion; what do you guys think?

-Katie

(Images from H&M)

Domesticated

KATIE

Like everyone else in the fashion world, I'm a huge fan of Freja Beha Erichsen. She's the reason I became interested in fashion five long years ago. She's the reason I (mistakenly) got blunt bangs when I was 16, and then again helped inspire me to chop off over a foot of hair the very next year. So basically, I'm obsessed.

While she's a beautiful model, she usually sticks to more edgy editorials, rarely doing something that is too traditionally "pretty". I thought that her Vogue UK cover was about as domestic as she was going to get...until I saw this:

 

She's doing Harry Winston ads? She's brightly smiling? She looks like a J. Crew model!?

I love it. Congrats on making yourself a household name, Freja.

-Katie

(Images from stylefrizz and Fashion Gone Rogue)

Aquascutum Fall Campaign

JAX

via fashion gone rogue

Shot by Willy Vanderperre, featuring Karlie Kloss, Matt Benstead, Jacob Coupe, and Tristan Knights.  I like the moody English background, but in all honesty, the boys are my favorite part.

Stefanel Fall 2010 Campaign

JAX

via studded hearts

I won't lie, I'm a sucker for a nice, simple ad campaign, and this one for Stefanel is pretty well executed.  Starring Daria Werbowy and shot by Mario Testino, these clothes look so cozy and are everything I want to be wearing while walking to class come fall.  I really like blanket-y sweaters, as I've mentioned before on our blog, and these ones are absolute perfection.  On another note, is anyone getting tired of Native American as inspiration?  I thought I would be by now, but I'm still not.  It's like the trend that keeps on giving.

Model of the Moment: Ashley Smith

JAX

via fashion gone rogue

Ever since being profiled by New York Magazine in their "Meet the New Girl" segment, Ashley Smith has been absolutely everywhere I look.  She reminds me a bit of Georgia May Jagger, with a little more playful youthfulness to her.  All the photos that I've seen of Ms. Smith show such an exuberance for modeling, when she's not grinning from ear to ear she's channeling a perfectly created character for her work.  Here she is for Sisley's Fall 2010 campaign shot by Terry Richardson.  You'll definitely be seeing more of Ashley Smith from us.

Loads of Inspiration

KATIE

What has been inspiring me lately. 

-Katie

(Images from Fashion Gone Rogue, tumblr)