Modeling Journey

French model Aymeline Valade has emerged as this season's most coveted newcomer landing three  Fall/Winter campaigns for Kenzo, Just Cavalli and Etro photographed by Mario Sorrenti, Mert Alas & Marcus Piggott, and Mario Testino respectively. At age twenty six, Valade's success may come as a surprise to many given that most newcomers are barely shy of their teens. Valade's breakthrough occurred during the Fall/Winter 2011 collections in New York when Alexander Wang selected her to open his show. What followed was a deluge of runway bookings in Milan and Paris for the likes of Gucci, Chanel, Balenciaga and Louis Vuitton for which she closed. Valade has since made an indelible mark editorial-wise in blue chip publications including W, Interview, Numero, the Journal, i-D Magazine and German Vogue.

Valade along with Arizona Muse and Saskia de Brauw represent a shift in modelling's aesthetic toward models with life experience, a defined sense of self and purpose, and above all with personality. More than just a pretty face, Valade is an inquisitive woman who is clearly at one with her body, having trained for years in classical ballet. Valade details in an interview with the Cut that "I was scouted multiple times at multiple ages, but due to school and lack of interest I never pursued it. When I was 23, I went to Paris and was interning at a communications agency. Every day I passed by an agency and they scouted me. I did a few jobs with them but left after my internship was over. I eventually signed with Women Paris when my old agent from the agency became my manager and the rest is history."

Valade's striking individual looks are accentuated by an insightful mind and serene nature, adding in the interview with the Cut that "Happiness is a state. It is not something you think about, but something you are. The best thing to do is to just enjoy every situation as much as you can, the less you think about it, the better." Valade to me represents a backlash against the past few years of android-like pre-pubescent models predominantly from Eastern European block countries. Valade possesses the looks and personality to inspire photographers and designers to allow models to project their own personality onto the runway and editorial pages.

  

The lovely and beautiful Tao Okamoto has joined forces with photographer John Paul Pietrus to raise funds for the disaster relief in Japan. Hailing from Japan, Okamoto was in Tokyo at the time of the earthquake and tsunami, and saw first hand the devastating effects of the natural disaster. In an open letter to the general public, Okamoto recounts the fear felt by her fellow country men and women and encourages "friends of the world" to continue in their support of the relief efforts in Japan. 

New York based Okamoto has since been searching for a way to contribute to the relief effort and to raise awareness for the long road to recovery for the people of Japan. Okamoto has collaborated with Pietrus to produce a limited edition print run of 100 photographs signed by the photographer and his muse with proceeds going to the Red Cross specifically for the Japan Tsunami Appeal www.redcross.org.uk/japantsunami

Okamoto who is represented by Ford Models in New York, rose to prominence in 2009 when her waist length hair was cut with dramatic effect into a pixie-like bob. Okamoto has appeared in advertising campaigns for Ralph Lauren, Benetton, Kenzo and Uniqlo, and has also featured in editorials for US Vogue, Interview and i-D Magazine. More a muse to designers and photographers alike, Okamoto is fast becoming an iconic model and her efforts to raise awareness for the Japan Tsunami Appeal demonstrate that beauty is indeed more than skin deep.