Modeling Journey

Lakshmi Menon is one of the few South Asian models to have achieved international modelling success. Bangalore-native Menon began modelling in 2006 at the ripe old age of 25, purely as a means to finance her University studies in developmental economics and sociology. Menon is an intelligent and insightful woman whose beauty lies more than skin deep. Menon's beauty is mesmerising. The quality that I find most striking about Menon is her eyes which emote a rare combination of fragility, strength and sense of knowing. 

Menon was fast tracked to the upper echelons of the modelling pyramid when she was championed by Jean Paul Gaulthier and Givenchy's Riccardo Tisci. In an interview with American Vogue, Tisci says of Menon "When we saw her, we said 'Wow! She is so strong. She has this elegance that is rare to find these days." Tisci swiftly cast Menon in Givenchy's Fall/Winter 2008 campaign alongside Lara Stone, Natasha Poly, Kristen Owen and Maria Carla Boscono. Tisci reveals in a press release statement for the campaign that "I chose these five women that represent elegance, femininity and masculinity with character. The new Givenchy star for the Fall/Winter 2008 season is the Indian model Lakshmi Menon." In an interview with Vogue.it, Menon also acknowledges Gaulthier's instrumental role in her entry into the international modelling circuit when he cast her for his Spring/Summer 2007 show exalting that "Jean Paul Gaulthier has an eye for women as such. If you come across as a striking woman, he will cast you."

Menon has since fronted campaigns for Max Mara, Hermes, H&M and multiple Givenchy campaigns and has posed for Mario Testino, Patrick Demarchelier, Terry Richardson, Mikael Jansson and Craig McDean for American Vogue, V Magazine, Allure, Paris Vogue and Dazed & Confused. In 2008 American Vogue went as far naming Menon model of the year. Menon was also selected as part of the illustrious line-up for Pirelli's 2011 calendar lensed by Karl Lagerfeld. This is far cry from her early days of modelling in 2006 when Menon recalls in an interview with the Independent that "When I first signed with agencies in Europe and the US I barely did anything; it was one show here another there. At that time it was completely dominated by Caucasian girls, particularly Russians." 

London stylist Nicola Formichetti, who cast Menon for the cover of Dazed and Confused in April 2009,  cites fear as the motive for under-representation of Asian models in the modelling industry speaking with the Independent, "It's a shame; there are even fewer Asian girls then black girls, which is why it's so exciting when you find a girl like Lakshmi. I think people are just scared of taking risks. They won't start doing it until everyone else does." Lakshmi adds in the same interview that "If there aren't many South Asian girls modelling, that's because the agencies haven't looked. I don't think anyone has really come to India to scout for girls, or at least not in the same way they go to South America or Eastern Europe. In a country of more than 1.2 billion, there are bound to be beautiful women - I mean, come on, who are we kidding." 

French beauty Anais Mali has confirmed her status as one of Anna Wintour's staple models, scoring her first only-girl editorial for US Vogue captured by Raymond Meier. Mali has a look that transcends race, being of African and Polish heritage, and of French nationality. Mali is a versatile beauty, capable of alternating with ease between haute couture looks whilst posing for Steven Meisel for Vogue Italia, to sporting more consumer-friendly attire for commercial end clients like the GAP, Levis and J Crew.

I recall being transfixed the first time I laid eyes on Mali during the Spring/Summer 2011 collections. Mali's crescent shaped eyes, luminous skin, impossibly divine bone structure and engaging personality have landed her a slew of editorial appearances in V, i-D Magazine, Vogue Italia, US Harpers Bazaar, Interview and US Vogue. In an interview with Bethann Hardison conducted back in July 2010 for Vogue.it, Mali forecasts the future, "I would love to work with photographers like Steven Meisel, Mario Testino, Stevn Klein, all these people that you dream of because they are such big photographers for the likes of Vogue magazine." Mali is well on her way to achieving her goals and her innate love for fashion and chic sensibility make her an attractive proposition for many designers.  

i-D Magazine delivers another set of innovative covers for it's Summer 2011 issue featuring a diverse group of models truly worthy of the "Super" tag. Amber Valletta, Behati Prinsloo, Stella Tenant, Kristen MacMenamy and Daphne Groeneveld pose for Craig McDean, Matt Jones, Paolo Roversi, Josh Olins and Dan Jackson respectively sporting the trademark i-D wink. Prinsloo looks uber cool with ghoulish Joker style makeup covering half of her face and ends up bearing a striking resemblance to Elle MacPherson. Valletta works it to full effect with electrifying, neon highlights and a hair style which pays homage to Blondie whilst McMenamy looks positively regal with her now trademark silver grey tresses encased in a crown of thorns. Rounding up the covers are hippie chick Groeneveld and the fashion's perennial favourite Stella Tenant. 

The casting of a show plays a vital role in ensuring that the designer's vision for a collection, translates onto the catwalk and continues to resonate long after the final turn on the runway. Casting director, Natalie Joos knows a thing or two about the casting process, having cast shows for Hugo Boss, Philip Lim, Helmut Lang, Yigal Azrouel, ADAM, Jill Stuart, VPL, Valentino Red, Bruno Pieters and Cosello Tagliapietra. Joos' interest in casting developed during her five year tenure as a studio manager for photographer Craig McDean, when she would assist with castings. McDean encouraged Joos to pursue casting full-time and in 2003, Joos formed her own casting agency, Natalie Joos Casting. 

For Joos, the casting of a show is akin to assembling a puzzle and involves the painstaking selection of the right line-up of models to embody the designer's aesthetic. Speaking with style.com, Joos shed light on the casting process, "for a show especially, your trying to sell a coherent story. You want the whole group of girls to have the same feel. Casting ADAM is very different to casting Yigal, you know? It's a different girl. Yigal's girl is tough, she struts. The ADAM girl is a bit softer. You have to translate the vibe of the clothes through the girls wearing them. It's not just, oh, let's find the prettiest ones. There's a whole process of interpretation."

Joos sees hundreds of models in the lead up to the shows and concurs that the appearance of a particular model on a particular runway is anything but arbitrary; "I start by seeing all the new faces at the pre-casting. They come in have their polaroid taken, do the walk and leave. I then make my wish list board. I place all the girls' cards on the board who I could/would like to see in the show. Then I request options for each of the girls on my board. Once you get all of them in place you start confirming, scheduling the fittings and calling them in for the show. Done."

With the increasingly rapid turnover of new models each season, Joos has mastered the art of distinguishing between a mere pretty face and a model with true staying power, "There are certain gems that emerge every season. The ones that truly possess all the right qualities to survive model trends, with or without great management. A great model really has the right face, body, proportions, walk and personality and there are only very few girls who have all the elements in place. I don't think it's necessarily the clients who get fed up with the same faces, but if you have a little bit of an eye you can easily tell who are the true wonders; the rest are fillers."

As for the Fall/Winter 2011 collections, Joos reveals to the New York Times that, "I'm seeing two different scenarios emerge as I'm looking at all of these new girls, which I already predicted from last season. We're looking at a more characteristic girl. She's a character, she has a signature all of her own. She's something different." Joos concurs though that character and beauty go hand in hand, "I like beautiful girls. That's my taste, and yeah, if you work with me I bring my own aesthetic to the table. I like a girl who you look at and say, wow...where did you come from? Who made you? I like a model to be a model. Taller, more beautiful and a little unreal."

Born in Hungary on the 11th May 1988, Eniko Mihalik fuses European glamour with a bold, sensual approach that’s anything but old-hat.

Eniko’s career began in 2002 when she won the Hungarian round of the Elite Model Look contest, and came fourth in the International Elite Model Look contest. She debuted at Paris Fashion Week in July 2006 when she walked for the Chanel Couture show.

Her name became better known in January 2008 when she was nominated as Model of the Week by http://www.models.com/ – the Hungarian then took on Fashion Week and was selected to appear for Alberta Ferretti, Betsey Johnson, Blumarine, Diane Von Furstenberg, Elie Saab, Gucci and Marchesa. A clutch of labels with one thing in common: they were all ultra-feminine labels and Eniko’s unique look answered their purpose perfectly. A body that’s couture-ready but still retains curves is a rare find even in the modelling industry, and Eniko has proved that curves – whatever the fashion barometer’s showing – are always in demand.

Her editorial career took off at the same time, securing a 6-month exclusive contract with photographers Inez van Lamsweerde and Vindooh Matadin. Mihalik shot editorials for Italian Vogue in August and the cover of V in September. Also landing a contract with Gucci, Eniko appeared alongside Lily Donaldson and Abbey Lee as one of the new faces of the brand.

Following a successful runway season including appearances for Versace, Derek Lam, Thakoon, Jason Wu, Isabel Marant and Zac Posen, Eniko ended the year with two more editorials for Italian Vogue in October; shoots for French and Japanese Vogue in November; and further editorials for W and Japanese Vogue in December.

2009 started extremely well for Mihalik, with not only a shoot for the French Vogue calendar (shot by Terry Richardson) but a campaign for Italian luxury label Max Mara, photographed by Craig McDean.

Eniko scored a cover in January with i-D, appearing on the front page with a butterfly over one eye. Both striking and original, it was a brilliant summing up of Eniko’s quirky beauty and editorial appeal. With another editorial for Italian Vogue that same month plus an appearance at the couture shows, walking for both Givenchy and Valentino, Mihalik’s career was blossoming.

In February, Eniko landed her biggest show season to date, walking for 56 designers, including Alexander Wang, Balmain, Chanel, Diane Von Furstenberg, Isabel Marant, Marc Jacobs, Nicole Farhi and Stella McCartney. Her diverse list of runway credits carried through into print work, with Eniko working three editorials in one month. Appearing for W, French Vogue and Italian Vogue in April, Mihalik demonstrated the depth of her versatility. The French Vogue shoot, named ‘Noces de Diamants’ was a shoot requiring nudity (up to and including full-frontal), shot in black and white by Mario Sorrenti. Her work for W, an editorial called ‘Harvest’, was a collection centred on the eclectic folk trend. It was packed with colour and detail, and also shot by the same photographer. Google these shoots and you will find yourself doubting whether the models used in both editorials are the same person.

In May, Eniko got the cover of Japanese Vogue, and further editorials for Italian, Chinese, French and Japanese Vogue throughout the summer. Her work for V magazine in July included a beauty editorial and a fashion spread. Called ‘Forever Young’, the atmospheric shoot paid homage to film noir, and it was ideally matched to Eniko’s strengths. Whether projecting anguish or ennui, Mihalik was pitch-perfect in every photograph. In August, she appeared in three editorials (Italian, French and Chinese Vogue) whose subject matter ranged from Parisian Victor/Victoria chic to sculptural cutting-edge eveningwear.

In September 2009, Eniko’s runway cachet began to soar: not only was she appearing for names such as Balmain and Chanel, but she was also being booked by the best of the newcomers. Walking for Peter Pilotto and Mary Katrantzou, Mihalik was securing her fashion future. The year ended on a surprising note: Eniko was asked to appear in the Victoria’s Secret fashion show. Like Chanel Iman, she was a high-fashion choice that raised some eyebrows, but her performance on the runway silenced critics: this was a high-fashion model not afraid to be just sultry, but downright sexy.

2010 has seen Eniko already score another high-profile campaign. Working with Liya Kebede, she will be the face of Kenzo. In February she appeared for Jill Stuart, Jason Wu and Carolina Herrera on the runway, but the main story of 2010 for Mihalik is an almost dizzying array of editorial work.

Starting with an editorial for Chinese Vogue in January, Eniko has appeared for Italian, French, Chinese Vogue and W in March; plus the cover of Hungarian Elle. She appeared in a provocative topless shoot for Purple Fashion with Constance Jablonski, Jamie Bochert and Emma Heming. Her coy side came out in a spread for Bon magazine, called ‘Too Shy to Convey’ and this August she has appeared in two shoots: the first for Numero, called ‘Sortilege’ (a Klimt-inspired, Art Nouveau shoot) and the second for Japanese Vogue. ‘Red Star’, shot by Camilla Akrans, is Eniko playing the siren card in ultra-glamorous couture gowns.

The thread running throughout Eniko’s career has been editorial. From the very start, Mihalik has distinguished herself as a model that will go the extra mile when committing to a frame. Her body type also lends itself to the more daring shoots as well as the straightforward fashion spreads which makes her a highly covetable signing for any magazine.

Eniko’s body of work is truly fashion made filmic. Look at any of her editorials, and the one thing they all have in common is they tell a story. The visual aspects of fashion (the shows, the magazine covers, the fashion spreads) are increasingly becoming the most lucrative form of currency the industry has. If the fashion industry’s trade is fantasy, then models like Eniko are doing their part in bringing that fantasy to life. Modelling is about more than striking a pose; it’s about making a visual connection and making it meaningful. Looking gorgeous on a cover is great, but if that cover doesn’t say something to the person thinking of buying that magazine, then it’s an opportunity lost.

Editorial work is one of the most challenging areas for a model to master simply because it requires the model to become someone else for the day, even if it’s well beyond their range of personal experience. Eniko has never been a neo-Goth, a lovelorn aristocrat or a footballer’s wife, but she embodied them all on film. Forget model turned actress, this is model as actress. There is no challenge too tough for the Hungarian, either. So far this year she has modelled for the Pirelli calendar, undertaken a 5-cover shoot for V and shot a multi-million pound jewellery editorial for British Vogue. Eniko’s ability to move from the toughest editorial demands to on-the-nail modelling for H&M is what marks her out as a true chameleon of the fashion world.

Along with models Raquel Zimmermann, Karlie Kloss and Magdalena Frackowiak, she understands that to be an editorial model today requires more than beauty: it requires something deeper, and the model that is prepared to take on those terms cannot be ordinary.

This is what separates high-end editorial work from mainstream. Clothes are there to be showcased, but being editorial is about more than being edgy or controversial. It’s about conveying mood, atmosphere and desire, in a way that’s both subtle and sublime. Eniko’s career puts paid to the theory that fashion is little more than skin deep: great fashion images are the point where fashion intersects with art and film, creating challenging, thought-provoking images that remind us that fashion is more than what is on the surface, it’s about what lies underneath.

HELEN TOPE