Modeling Journey

The modelling industry is like a magnet drawing beautiful women from all over the world in pursuit of fame, adulation and fortune. Every few years distinct modelling trends emerge reflecting consumer needs and demand, and the socio-economic climate. From the sexy Brazilians, to the androgynous Belgians, the ubiquitous Russians, and the current wave of models from Asia and Scandinavia, it's no wonder at times castings can resemble a veritable United Nations beauty summit.

Photographer Peter Farago and stylist Ingela Klemetz Farago celebrate the beauty of models hailing from Nordic and Baltic countries in their new photographic tome entitled Northern Women in Chanel. The photographic travelling exhibition and accompanying coffee table book features 46 of the most sought after models from Nordic and Northern Baltic states in archived Chanel collections from the past ninety years.

Over a period of a year the creative duo worked in close collaboration with Chanel, gaining unrestricted access to the fashion house's archives of haute couture collections. Helena Christensen, Carmen Kass, Louise Pedersen, Freja Beha Erichsen, Sigrid Agren, Iselin Steiro, Edita Vilkevicuite, Caroline Brasch Neilson, Kirsi Pyrhonen, Frida Gustavsson, Siri Tollerod and Suvi Koponen amongst others, pose for Farago amidst tundras, arctic plains and native forests in an epic visual story which melds together the worlds of photography, art and fashion.

Klemetz Farago's meticulous styling draws inspiration from dance, opera and art, whilst matching each model to a particular Chanel creation and setting. The resulting visuals are breathtaking and capture a unique universe in which timeless fashion is reinvented amidst ethereal and startlingly beautiful Scandinavian landscapes. The 384 page photographic book has a limited edition release of 2112 copies with profits of sales going towards the Save the Children organisation. The exhibition is currently showing at the centre of contemporary photography Fotografiska, in Stockholm, and will tour the world throughout 2011 to 2013.

Models from the past, present and future, team up with photographer Scott Trindle for an exhibition of portraits to mark the opening of Viva Model Management's London office. The exhibition currently showing at the Rochelle School of Art in London, features Viva's superstar models and budding hopefuls in a series of paired-back, black and white portraits. The exhibit entitled "Untouched" takes the audience up-close-and-personal with established names including Natalia Vodianova, Kristy Hume, Raquel Zimmerman, Edita Vilkevicuite, and relative newcomers, Codie Young, Jessica Clarke and Emily Baker, amongst others, in a series of untouched images. With minimal make-up and styling, the uniqueness and natural beauty of each model is magnified ten-fold. 

In an interview with vogue.com, Trindle asserts that "It doesn't scare me that the images aren't retouched, it adds another layer of interest and intrigue... The fear that surrounds an untouched image is quite amazing - and again I'm no martyr. So much can be adapted in post, and so I suppose the main benefit is purity." Viva's director Natalie Hand adds that "His images stood out because it is just so interesting to see the girls like that: he shot them with no additional hair, make-up and styling. They were shot exactly as they were in person, exactly how they were when they walked through his door. And they looked really beautiful. The blemishes added to their charm. And you could definitely learn something about the model's real character from the pictures."