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Sunday, 9 January 2011
Siri was discovered at a shopping mall in 2007 and appeared in her first major editorial in June the same year. The client was Italian Vogue. Her high-flying start progressed into substantial campaign work, with Siri representing both DKNY and Prada Sport.
September’s runway season was Tollerod’s ultimate test: a model with hype is not a new phenomenon, the fashion industry is a tough crowd to please and reputations aren’t made until a model’s successfully negotiated Fashion Week. If a model can impress on the catwalk, she moves from being just one in a sea of new faces and becomes a bookable name. Getting signed by an agency often isn’t the toughest challenge for a model; it’s proving your worth as someone who can compete on a level with models who already have years of experience behind them.
Only a few months into her career, Siri’s first international season proved a triumph. Booking spots with Alexander McQueen, Balenciaga, Chloe, Marc Jacobs and Prada, she also opened and closed the D&G show and was the closing model for Lanvin. Appearing on runways in New York, Paris and Milan, Siri was a hit in any language.
Tollerod rounded out the year with editorials for British and Italian Vogue and a Chanel Couture spread for Numero. But Siri’s blockbuster season kept her fresh in the minds of the industry, and in early 2008, Tollerod appeared in Prada’s resort look-book.
Effectively a high-fashion catalogue for buyers and stylists, getting hired for a look-book is on a par with getting a campaign. Siri’s initiation in the world of high-fashion was completed in January when she walked in the couture season. Her slight frame was perfect for haute couture and she walked for Givenchy, Chanel and Valentino, at a point where her career was still being counted in months, not years.
February saw Siri open RTW shows for Jason Wu and Chanel, in addition to walking for 60 other designers. She also landed the cover of Italian Vogue Beauty – a coveted spot famously difficult to get. A good face that can handle tight beauty shots is one thing, but Italian Vogue doesn’t ask for good, it demands excellence. Siri’s ability to meet the toughest client’s demands was furthered by her appearance in March’s edition of Numero. Featuring in an editorial photographed by Karl Lagerfeld, this really was modelling at the sharp end.
In April, Tollerod was featured in www.models.com for her ability to accrue booking after booking. As if to prove the point, she appeared in April’s Russian Vogue, and British, Italian and Chinese Vogue in May. Just a year into her modelling career, Siri was making her presence felt on an international level.
Autumn 2008 saw Tollerod reach even higher, with a campaign for Alberta Ferretti (shot by Steven Meisel) and three separate editorials in September’s edition of Italian Vogue. 2009 was a flurry of editorial and runway work, including a campaign for a new fragrance from Valentino, but Siri’s next career high-point came in early 2010 when she hired by Max Mara diffusion label, Sportmax, to be the face of their new campaign.
The distinctive, unusual images were super-styled, edgy and unique, standing out in a year where the natural look reigned supreme. The quirky look, featuring Siri with pale-skin and bleached-hair, was so successful that Sportmax repeated the winning formula with Ginta Lapina for Autumn. The key to its success wasn’t hard to fathom: the sophisticated approach made the clothes the focus, and it worked, bolstering the label both in terms of image and sales.
February 2010 saw Siri’s runway career soar once again, with over 50 appearances, including closing spots for Sportmax, Badgley Mischka and YSL. With editorial work for V Man, Allure, Numero and French Vogue, Siri’s career highlight was yet to come. In the autumn, it was announced that she would appear in the next Miu Miu advert alongside Lindsey Wixson.
Miu Miu has a strongly-defined look at its core, with a bold, avant-garde signature style that has made it a must-have label for a whole generation of fashion-savvy girls. Modelling labels with such a strong identity brings its own set of challenges, as there’s always the possibility of being overwhelmed by the clothes. It’s true that the clothes should be the ultimate point of focus, but the most successful campaigns happen when there is a balance struck between the model and the clothes: when both are on top-form, the result is hard to resist. Siri brought what she had learned from Sportmax, and the Miu Miu campaign was pitch-perfect: high-fashion that met aspiration with approachability.
The shot of publicity worked: Tollerod enjoyed another 50-show season in September, appearing for names such as Balmain, Fendi, Chanel, Lanvin, Jason Wu, Nina Ricci, Sportmax and Versace. Siri had finally become part of the fashion modelling elite, a presence in every major show of Spring / Summer 2011, including Marc Jacobs’ effusion of 70’s colour and Jason Wu’s multi-cultural epic.
Tollerod’s ability to carry a label, proved since her signing with Prada Sport in 2007, came full circle when in November she appeared as the only model for Lanvin’s range formulated for high-street giant, H&M. Like Miu Miu, Lanvin has a strong sartorial identity and it takes a skilful model not be outperformed by the look. Siri was visibly at home in the high-fashion designs, and Lanvin’s high-street version of their trademark crumpled dresses went on to become a bestseller.
Working at the heart of the industry since the very beginning of her career, Siri Tollerod has been steadily rising through the ranks, and is this year on the verge of becoming fashion’s next big thing. Recognised from the start, Tollerod’s strength has always been her tendency to multi-discipline. A regular feature of runway, editorial and campaign work, Siri has worked at being consistently good. Her signings with Lanvin and Miu Miu indicate her level of ability, not just to model, but to carry a brand.
What Siri does best is inhabit every look she’s given like it’s a second skin. The common theme running throughout Siri’s photographic work is that, no matter how high-fashion the concept, nothing looks forced. Tollerod wears every look as if she had chosen it herself. If there’s only one note to making it in modelling, it’s just to love everything. Having favourite looks and designers is human, but to make it your business to find the joy in a brand that is a total remove from your own personal style - that’s called being a model.
Versatility isn’t just about being able to handle looks from the romantic to the avant-garde. It’s about putting on the clothes and becoming that person, whether it is for a few minutes on a runway or a whole day whilst shooting an editorial spread. Siri’s career stands for what can be achieved when you model from the inside out. Her popularity for runway alone flags up how easily she can move from the soft, ethereal romance of Marchesa into the ultimate high-fashion experience that is Alexander McQueen.
Her campaign work ranges from an early signing with Prada Sport to her latest booking, modelling for Max Mara Elegante. It’s the modern definition of a fashion chameleon; a model that not only does it all, but convinces completely in every frame.
Where Tollerod’s career goes from here will be the most exciting part of her journey. The bar has already been raised this year with her solo appearance for Max Mara, taking on and representing a mega-brand as the main attraction, not a support act. In 2011, expect to see Tollerod become increasingly visible in an industry where it’s all too easy to blend in. A long-time stand out on the runway, Siri is about to get her moment in the spotlight, because finally it’s her time.
Sunday, 6 June 2010
Born June 6th 1987, Canadian model Alana Zimmer’s profile may lack the celebrity kudos of a Lara Stone or Georgia Jagger, but she has been a lynchpin of the fashion industry since her discovery in 2005.
Alana’s story begins when she was discovered whilst working in a restaurant. She was spotted by the friend of a model scout. Encouraged to consider a career in fashion, Alana emailed off some of her prom photos. The response was immediate, and Alana began to model locally in Toronto. In September 2006, she made her international catwalk debut, walking for designers such as Alexander McQueen, Burberry, Chanel, Dolce & Gabbana, Marc Jacobs, Prada and Vera Wang.
That same month, website http://www.wwd.com/ named her a face to watch, and Alana found herself featured on http://www.style.com/, on their list of Top 10 Models of the Spring / Summer 2007 season.
In October, she landed her first major editorial with fashion heavyweight, Italian Vogue. Capping off the year with a 10-page editorial for Numero, in 2007 Alana became the face of Missoni Sport. It was a brilliant casting for a model whose hobbies include running and yoga.
Fitness modelling exacts very particular requirements. Sportswear shows up poor muscle tone quicker than any couture design and being fit is essential if a model wants to be an all-rounder. Zimmer’s intelligent blend of cardio and body conditioning made her the perfect candidate for the campaign.
Zimmer’s ability to do it all was confirmed when show season arrived in February. Closing shows for Dries van Noten and Jill Stuart, she also appeared for Cacharel, Calvin Klein, DKNY, Jean Paul Gaultier, Jonathan Saunders, Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs and Prada. Her comprehensive list of credits got her noticed by Marie Claire, who dubbed her the face to watch in March.
The press attention made Zimmer hot property, and her dreamy, ethereal look put her in pole position for Autumn / Winter campaigns. Later that year came the announcement that Zimmer had been waiting for. She had landed the coveted spot in the new Marc Jacobs campaign.
Jacobs was, and still is, the king of the fashion jungle. Not so much a designer as the pace-setter; walking in one of his shows is an achievement. Scooping the campaign puts you in a different league altogether.
In September, British Vogue (unsurprisingly) feted Alana as a model to watch, and in October, she closed the show for Louis Vuitton. The vintage label, now steered by Marc Jacobs, has been rejuvenated under his guidance, and famously brought back bunny ears as a legitimate fashion accessory.
Dubbed the playful, girlie cousin to Marc’s own label, Zimmer’s pivotal role in the show also meant more bookings from other designers, eager to get the new Marc Jacobs muse on board. Walking for Alexander Wang, Chloe, Dior, Gucci, Marchesa and Rodarte, Alana was landing the type of work that figures on pretty much every aspiring model’s wish-list.
Her ability to command a runway got her the cover of the Italian Vogue couture supplement. The high-stakes booking did not phase Zimmer one bit, and she finished the year with an editorial for i-D and a Numero cover in December.
2008 began with more campaign news for Zimmer, whose versatile look got her the lead role in Moschino’s campaign.
January was couture season, with appearances for Jean Paul Gaultier and Armani Prive, and in February, Alana was closing shows for Moschino and Marc Jacobs. It was a real career high: in terms of runway, it doesn’t get much better. Marc Jacobs also selected Zimmer to open his resort show in June, which she had to balance with editorial work for Japanese Vogue.
The campaigns kept coming with Alana being signed to do the A/W advert for DKNY Jeans. Five years ago, Zimmer’s look would have made her unlikely to be anyone’s first choice for a jeans commercial. Paired with rising star Chanel Iman, the duo made for a new kind of aesthetic. Traditionally jeans advertising has relied on the bronzed sex-bomb approach, and both Zimmer and Iman were the antithesis of the Brazilian bombshell look that had until recently been in favour. Neither models were conventional casting choices, and their appeal was defiantly off-centre, but it worked and it got DKNY noticed. Where cosmetic brands like Estee Lauder are just beginning to adopt a more cosmopolitan look for their campaigns, DKNY showed they were ahead of the curve. It was a brilliantly timed fashion coup, and gave both Alana and Chanel a huge career boost.
Alana followed the DKNY campaign with editorials for Italian and German Vogue during the summer. When show season came around in September, Zimmer was given the honour of opening the S/S show for Louis Vuitton.
Her roster of bookings, including appearances for designers as diverse as Alberta Ferretti, Alexander Wang, Cacharel and Thakoon, points to the importance of being able to pick up a designer’s aesthetic and run with it. In today’s industry you will find precious few one-trick ponies. Alana’s ability to switch between strictly editorial and fashion’s playful, feminine aspect has her pegged as one of the industry’s best team players. Whatever the brief, Alana delivers.
2009 saw Zimmer branch out into more campaign work, including high-street stalwart Topshop. Sandwiching this and an ongoing contract with DKNY in between editorials, Zimmer hit another highlight in September with the S/S 2010 season.
Walking in what was to be Alexander McQueen’s final show, along with appearances for Christopher Kane, Erdem, Jason Wu, Marc Jacobs, Mary Katrantzou, Rachel Roy and the re-launch of Versus (Versace’s diffusion label), Zimmer’s catwalk range featured an effortless mix of editorial high-flyers with more traditionally feminine labels.
2010 is already proving to be a crucial year for Alana, with her move from Supreme Management to Ford Models. So far this year, Zimmer has opened the Jean Paul Gautier couture show and signed up for the S/S Sonia Rykiel ad campaign. The French label, which is a perfect blend of pretty and quirky, is about as tailor-made to Alana’s strengths as it’s possible to get.
With a strong A/W season done and dusted, Zimmer has continued her reputation for being a favourite with up-and-coming designers. Not only walking for press favourite Mary Katrantzou, she has also appeared for Prabal Gurung, who has recently been debuted on the red carpet by Gossip Girl Leighton Meester.
Being able to see-saw from cutting-edge print to mainstream appeal, Alana is doing well in this economic climate because she represents a softer side of editorial. Zimmer’s look translates as clearly to the pages of Italian Vogue as it does on the runway wearing a Diane von Furstenberg wrap-dress.
The fact that Alana is able to do both points to how fashion is rethinking its stance on trends. Just look at the choice available for this summer: there are modern, spare neutrals, nautical (as ever) and edged-up florals and gingham. Trends instead of being polarised are starting to meet each other halfway. The utilitarian nature of the neutral trend is softened by a feminine palette; florals give us attitude when paired with directional dresses.
The emphasis is now on good design, not top-to-toe trends. The idea of copying runway looks verbatim is becoming increasingly outdated. The looks you see on the runway were never meant to be copied, but to be used as inspiration: a sartorial jumping-off point to explore new ideas. Looks were absolutes: the most literal translation of a designer’s vision.
This idea got lost in the pre-recession era where consumerism often outranked common sense. The race to be the first to wear the latest dress, or ‘it’ shoe became so frantic that mere mortals just couldn’t keep up. Allowing fashion to operate in a tortoise-and-hare manner, also robs us of the joy of the experience. Fashion should be about fun and self-expression, not a manic dash to be the first to wear that must-have label.
The idea that you can only be ‘in fashion’ by donning the latest label is a notion that’s had its time. The rigours of a season dictated by key pieces and statement bags don’t allow space for creativity and movement, and isn’t fashion autonomy what style is ultimately about?
Slowing down the pace, partly through financial necessity, has been good for the fashion industry. It’s given everyone a chance to step back, reflect and catch a breath. The return to classic shapes and familiar styles is about more than appealing to the masses; it’s about exploring what truly works. The perennial trends that we keep returning to, however they’re spun, translate across the board.
Tossing out the rulebook is what fashion does best, and this time it’s going back to the start. It’s finally time to stop and smell the roses - even if they’re courtesy of Erdem.
Sunday, 4 April 2010
Born in Belgium on the 8th of October 1988, Hanne Gaby Odiele was spotted at a rock festival when she was 17 years old. Hanne’s modelling career took off when she signed to Supreme Management agency in 2005: in September that same year, she made her runway debut, walking for designers such as Thakoon, Rodarte and Marc Jacobs.
2006 also started well with editorials in Italian and British Vogue, plus campaigns for Topshop and Philosophy di Alberta Ferretti, but Hanne’s blossoming career flatlined in December 2006, when she involved in a serious car accident in New York. Odiele was knocked down by a car running through a red light, and the impact of the crash was so severe, that Hanne ended up with two broken legs, plus other fractures. Hanne’s doctors advised her that due to the severity of her injuries, recovery would take at least a year.
Hanne was left bedridden for several months and had to endure several surgeries and months of intense physical therapy. But just 10 months after the accident, Hanne made a triumphant return to the runway, turning in appearances for Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Miu Miu, Paul & Joe, Prada, Rick Owens and Vera Wang.
It was a personal victory for Odiele, and her return to modelling was lauded by designers and editors: magazine Marie Claire named her one of their Top Ten New Faces, and Hanne became the face of Vera Wang, even modelling some of the designer’s clothes on a special edition of ‘The Oprah Winfrey Show’. 2007 ended triumphantly with an editorial in Italian Vogue, proving that the promise of Odiele’s early career was no fluke: Hanne was in it for the long haul.
Hanne’s star continued to rise in 2008, with the announcement that she would join forces with Maryna Linchuk in a campaign for Mulberry, photographed by Steven Meisel.
February saw Odiele put in appearances for the Autumn / Winter show season including Balenciaga, Chloe, Marios Schwab, Jonathan Saunders, Richard Nicoll and Proenza Schouler. Hanne’s affiliation with fashion’s bright young things was a signal to everyone watching that her potential was something authentic, and not to be underestimated.
Odiele also began landing major campaigns and cover-space, signing a contract with DKNY Jeans and making the Spring / Summer edition of French fashion bible ‘Revue de Modes’.
In August, she scored a third editorial with Italian Vogue (this time shot by Richard Burbridge) and another outstanding runway season in September. Walking for the likes of Calvin Klein, Burberry, Dries Van Noten, Prada, Rebecca Taylor and Temperley, Hanne was starting to rise through the ranks, getting the attention of big brands too.
Hanne finished the year with editorials for 10 and Numero, and in 2009 she was announced as one of the faces of Balenciaga’s new campaign.
February’s show season saw Hanne scoop more honours, including opening shows for Christian Lacroix and Rue du Mail. She also walked for Alexander McQueen, Chloe, DKNY, Lanvin, Marc Jacobs, Matthew Williamson, Prada, Thakoon and Valentino. To cement Hanne’s growing status, she landed the March cover of Italian Vogue, photographed by Steven Meisel.
In September, Hanne’s clutch of runway credits proved particularly telling. Walking for designers such as Alberta Ferretti, Carolina Herrera, Donna Karan, Herve Leger, Louis Vuitton and Nina Ricci, Odiele had now graduated to old-school European labels and power-house US brands, such as Marc Jacobs and Michael Kors. No more a budding talent, Hanne was winning her fashion stripes.
October saw Hanne appearing in editorials for Dazed & Confused and Italian Vogue, and in December ’09 Hanne claimed a spot alongside names like Lara Stone, Natasha Poly and Gisele Bundchen, in the famous Twitter-inspired editorial in Italian Vogue.
The new decade promises to be a good one for Hanne, with an Alberta Ferretti campaign upping her profile even further. Posing alongside Kasia Struss, the advert is a frothy confection of ribbons and pleats, bringing the label front and centre for the next generation of high-fashion consumers. Every designer needs to find that next customer, and Ferretti’s youthful new direction is indicative of where fashion’s head is at.
Hanne’s youthful look plays right into fashion’s latest obsession with blondes, but Odiele’s niche (high-fashion-meets-cool) paired with her ability to be approachable on camera is translating into major kudos for Hanne, who has sealed her reputation modelling for high-street giants, Benetton, MAC and Topshop.
For brands like Topshop, striking a delicate balance between desirable and achievable fashion is crucial for its success. A 15-yr-old girl isn’t going to spend £40 on a dress if she isn’t convinced the dress is going to look as good on her as it does the model – or as near as damn it with the help of some clever styling.
This age group has its own spending power, and hiring the right model for a campaign can mean the difference between a good year and a great one. It’s one of the toughest age groups to please as teenagers are no longer intimidated by high-cachet labels and a campaign for H&M has to have the same production values as Prada, if it’s to convince teenagers to part with their cash.
With the success of magazines like Teen Vogue, this generation of teenagers are probably the most fashion literate to date, and their influence is starting to rub off on the entire industry. With the recent press attention on Christopher Kane’s revival of Versace’s diffusion label, Versus, the line between ‘young fashion’ and ‘women’s fashion’ is becoming increasingly blurred. Scan the stock of any e-boutique and try to guess which age bracket a Lanvin jacket is suitable for, or a Marc Jacobs sundress. It’s not as easy as it used to be.
No-one, regardless of what it says on their birth certificate, wants to be accused of dressing ‘old’, and the move towards trans-generational fashion: fashion for all, at any age, is something that Hanne is a part of. She’s just as comfortable modelling for Oscar de la Renta as she is for DKNY and that’s why she has continued to be so successful.
What makes Odiele special is her evergreen quality. To be relevant after several years on the circuit is no small achievement. Hanne has spent years working for diffusion labels like DKNY and Marc by Marc Jacobs, and only recently graduated to prestige labels like Valentino and Chanel. It’s all part of fashion’s game plan: make it young, make it cute; make it desirable.
But every model, no matter how successful, needs a back-up plan for when her career eventually comes to a close: Hanne has said that she wants to work as a stylist. Her sense of style has been well-documented on sites like http://www.whowhatwear.com/ and http://www.fashionising.com/ and she was even spotted by Scott Schuman, owner of the famous Sartorialist website. A brilliantly simple concept, the Sartorialist website (http://thesartorialist.blogspot.com/) scouts cities across the world for stylish people. Schuman takes their picture, and uploads it onto the site. It’s a new technology version of the fashion scrapbook, documenting all the different facets of modern style. Schuman spotted Odiele, and asked to use her photo on the website, having no idea who she was. If you get the seal of approval from The Sartorialist, you must be doing something right.
This February, Hanne enjoyed her biggest show season yet: getting hired for 63 shows is a pretty powerful indication that fashion can’t get enough of this gutsy blonde. Walking for prestigious names like Chanel, Chloe, Marc Jacobs, Sonia Rykiel and Thakoon, Odiele’s full-to-bursting itinerary proves that second acts in fashion are possible.
Hanne has won over the fashion industry by being one of the most enthusiastic and hardest-working models in the business, and with her career in the ascent, Hanne’s name is about to get a whole lot more familiar.
