Magna Carta, the blog

the cobrasnake

“thats it i am starting my own blog” noted a poster claiming to be Stephanie Carta at 2.18am AEST this morning in a comment on frockwriter. And evidently they haven’t wasted any time. Hot on the heels of Carta's inauguration as a models.com Top 10 Newcomer (Europe) for SS09 – which seemed to pop up, coincidentally, a matter of hours after frockwriter’s Carta-dedicated post and video on Friday - comes what could be the latest model blog, Carta.

In a first post, dated Monday 6th October, 5.13pm (Paris time, one assumes), "Carta" wrote:

"WATCH THIS SPACE
(this is not the first blog)
maybe it is."

Hey Carta - how about a bit of behind-the-scenes @ Balenciaga?

A Miu Miu, a Miu Miu - they still all fall down

miu miu SS09/style.com

And there I was, having a SS09 debrief with Oz shoe guru Matt ‘Imelda’ Jordan earlier this afternoon, saying how fascinating it would have been to be a fly on the wall at Prada over the past two weeks. And if, keen to avoid yet more bad press over model stacks in killer heels, Prada might have done an eleventh-hour switch of shoes for the show of its diffusion label Miu Miu. Because dang, how terribly sensible the shoes of last night's Miu Miu show in fact appear to be, by comparison with some of the other footwear monstrosities that we have seen on the past month’s runways. Overlooking the nouveau pauvre-look burlap uppers of course. As it emerges however, what happened to the very last girl modelling the very last look of the very last show of SS09?

According to the testimony of The Guardian’s Hadley Freeman via her virtual Style.com alterego:

“As the last girl was going backstage she yes, fell down onto the catwalk, to many sympathetic gasps. You definitely knew that this was the season of the extreme shoe and I knew at that point that it was time to go home”.

And if that’s not funny enough – in a very macabre way of course – then have a look at Style.com’s just-posted portfolio of runway images from the Miu Miu show.


miu miu's relatively 'sensible' - but apparently still unwearable, SS09 shoes/style.com

If this sequence of images is as per the show, then the very last girl of the Miu Miu show was none other than Russian Yulia Kharlaponova (pictured at the top of this post).

That’s right, the very same girl who famously fell directly in front of the camera pit during last week’s Prada show in Milan – images of whom, AOT on Prada's fish mosaic of a runway floor, wound up splashed over newspapers across the globe.

A lucky escape then for Australia’s Myf Shepherd who was, according to the Style.com images, the fourth last girl in the Miu Miu show.


myf shepherd, miu miu SS09/style.it

Collette Dinnigan's three strikes on Style.com

collette dinnigan SS09/style.com

Critics, at the end of the day, voice personal opinions and I must admit there are many times when I don’t necessarily agree with some of the reviews on major fashion sites such as Style.com or The New York Times. Critics also don’t buy the clothes. Retail buyers - and of course consumers – buy the clothes. And critics and buyers often have quite different viewpoints on runway collections. That said, I can’t help thinking that Collette Dinnigan won’t be taking too kindly to the Style.com review of her SS09 show in Paris yesterday. To make matters worse, it’s Dinnigan’s third bad review on that site.

Notes Nicole Phelps today:

“There was a little black dress midway through Collette Dinnigan's show that reminded people who've followed her career of the early days. The frock's peekaboo-lace back echoed the lingerie-inspired dresses with which she made her name in the nineties. It would've been a good look upon which to build her Spring collection. As it was, it was just a (welcome) blip among many other pleasant but less distinctive dresses, some densely embroidered in metallic paillettes or studs, others cut in a filmy white chiffon with a violet butterfly print. Military touches on jackets struck a timely note, but there wasn't enough here to distinguish the clothes from those found in the contemporary collections seen on the runways of New York. In fact, that might be a good venue for this commercially oriented designer”.

Reviewing Dinnigan's previous FW0809 collection Phelps wrote in March:

“It's the last day of Paris, and if people aren't preoccupied with plotting their exit strategies, they're tallying up the season's strongest shows and asking questions about what it all means. It's not a good day for the Aussie designer Collette Dinnigan to present her modest collection. There are simply too many reasons to overlook it, and Dinnigan's first job should be to address that issue before another season passes”.

And here is what Phelps wrote reviewing the SS08 collection:

“Does Dinnigan, who was on the runway for the second time after a comeback last season, have the goods to compete on the Paris stage? Not yet, and not unless she returns with a collection that has some actual fashion in it”.

Upon Dinnigan's return to the Paris runways in March last year, after a one year hiatus, I blogged the show and an interview on smh.com.au.

The post included reference to one 2006 Sydney Morning Herald news story in which I had reported the industry speculation which had initially followed the news of Dinnigan's decision to take time off to raise her new baby.

At the time, retail sources speculated that Dinnigan may have been dropped by the Paris organising body because she wasn’t pulling her weight in publicity (publicity beyond Australia, that is - where Dinnigan's publicity is almost invariably uncritical).

The Chambre Syndicale denied it - and of course Dinnigan has been back on the Paris schedule now for four seasons.

Part of Dinnigan’s problem, in my humble opinion, lies in the fact that she not only continues to show in the claustrophobic underground Carousel du Louvre venue, but at a time when a major ennui has descended on the fashion caravan (not to mention the media at large) after buyers and media reps have been on the road for four weeks following the season.

Dinnigan moved her time slot to Saturday this season, but it does not look to have won her many favours, at least in Style.com's view. What does WWD have to say about the show? One sentence.

Then there’s the runway collection. Not to mention the show.

Dinnigan has a great brand and she gives good glamour, via both her signature beaded lace cocktail dresses and the longer eveningwear. And she is capable of putting on a sensational presentation.

Dinnigan should try to come up with a fresh new strategy for FW0910. The 'first Australian designer to show on schedule in Paris' schtick has worn thin. In spite of Style.com's criticism that Dinnigan is a "commercially-oriented designer" - which must sting, because Dinnigan has long traded off the idea of the Parisian fashion fantasy - New York is not such a bad idea. At least for a change of pace.

Yes the New York event is an absolute monster however Dinnigan is a well established brand, the American market is an intrinsic component of her business, the New York shows take place at the very start of the season and furthermore, they are infested with the kind of celebrities who like to wear her clothes. Dinnigan would presumably be able to leverage considerable star power there.

Last but not least, never put your showroom on the runway. It's about the brand - not bread-and-butter.

In Vogue: McBeha

vogue italia/glen luchford via models.com

No this is not a portrait of a young Mick Jagger although granted, there is a remarkable resemblance. This is top Danish model Freja Beha Erichsen, as shot by Glen Luchford for the October edition of Vogue Italia. Erichsen also happens to be the November covergirl of Vogue Nippon - as well as great mates with the November covergirl of Vogue Australia, Catherine McNeil, who is currently giving the European runways a miss while she nurses a mystery illness. But McNeil's health isn't the only mystery preoccupying the blogosphere at the moment. Net wags seem to be convinced that romance is in the air for the duo, prompting the creation of a hybrid couple name: McBeha.

Here is Erichsen's Vogue Nippon cover:



vogue nippon november 08/TFS

And McNeil's Vogue Australia equivalent:


vogue australia november 08/TFS

Now look McNeil's and Erichsen's private lives are, one assumes, really their own affairs. When confronted by all the net speculation which has been circulating for at least six months, McNeil's Australian agent Kathy Ward told frockwriter point blank, "I don't comment on models' personal affairs".

And fair enough.

Some nevertheless continue to be incredibly excited by sightings of the duo in close proximity backstage, out and about at parties or on shoots:


mcbeha via cutebunny121/bellazon

I mean, just because McNeil - who apparently likes to call herself 'the Bogan from Logan' - boasts a plethora of piercings and tats, originally planned to be a mechanic and was once dubbed hot by out MTV Australia VJ Ruby Rose, does that axiomatically make McNeil an L-train ticketholder?

Also to be taken into account is the fact that some seem intent on romantically linking Erichsen with any and every female model who ever sat in the vicinity of her hair & makeup chair. A case in point, Irina Lazareanu - speculation around which liaison prompted the creation of yet another hybrid name, "Frina".

Frockwriter is stumped.

All we will say is that, irrespective of sexual proclivities, the fashion biz could do with a few more ballbreakers. So bring 'em on.

RELATED: MCBEHA ON THE PARK

Model faints - New York mag uses psychic powers to suss out the story

the cut

Ah yes, it's fascinating to see how stories unravel online. Although it had already been reported that a model had fainted at Alexander McQueen - on The Fashion Spot three hours ago, as picked up by Fashionologie - almost simultaneously frockwriter named her as Abbey Lee Kershaw. Thanks to an SMS alert from eyewitness Sonny Vandevelde. I also Twittered the post. The Wall Street Journal picked up the story - apparently via fellow Tweeter Julie Fredrickson over at Coutorture, who tells me she alerted the WSJ. But apparently New York magazine's The Cut blog used a crystal ball to determine that the model down was in fact Kershaw and the problem, her corset.

In a post dated 6.50pm October 3 Eastern Standard Time, The Cut blog reported:

"One model fainted as she exited the runway and had to be carried out....We took a close look at the pictures to try to figure out who fainted, and our guess is Abbey Lee. She sure looks distressed doing her walk in this picture. Lest any rumors get started, we're wondering if perhaps her corset was too tight? It's certainly doing something intense to her bust here."

The only backlink provided is to Fashionologie's original item, dated 1.34pm, October 3 (although it is not clear which time zone this is), which does link to both SHOWstudio and the TFS post, but does not name the model.

Logic would appear to dictate that if you spotted the original Fashionologie item, then you probably also spotted Fashionologie's update at 3.04pm, October 3, which reported Vandevelde's eyewitness account on frockwriter, dated 7.20am, October 4 AEST.

Or else the WSJ item, dated 6.35pm, October 3 EST.

Where's Abbey Lee? Apparently in the need of a little TLC!

abbey lee kershaw, alexander mcqueen SS09/getty


Well if the heels don't get you - the corsets will. According to an eyewitness report, three weeks after Abbey lee Kershaw came a cropper at Rodarte due to the show's Nicholas Kirkwood shoes, Kershaw finished off Friday night's Alexander McQueen show in Paris not falling, but in fact fainting on the runway - a combination, in their opinion, of the tight corset and perilously high heels she was wearing.

According to photographer Sonny Vandevelde, who was photographing the show from the auditorium and not backstage, as usual, Kershaw fell just as she was about to exit McQueen's 'runway' space - the bare concrete floor of a venue in the 19th arrondissement.


kershaw just prior to falling/sonny vandevelde

To add to the absurdity of the moment, McQueen had decorated the runway backdrop with a number of plush toy animals [correction, stuffed animals] - and made his bow at the end of the show in a giant rabbit suit.


kershaw's mqueen corset from behind/getty

"She fainted - out cold" said Vandevelde.

"When she was coming to the end [of the runway], back near the [entrance] ramp, I could tell she was having difficulties, because her steps were getting shorter and shorter, they were more like baby steps. I was reading her face and I could see 'struggle' all over it and I was thinking, 'She's not going to make it'. But then she made it to the top of the animals and I thought she was OK, that's why I turned my back on her to to go back to the main room.

"As soon as the show finished, [model] Ali Stephens came running out to her mother to say, 'OMG, did you see that?' - she said Abbey had fainted. I asked if Abbey was OK, Ali said 'Yes, she's fine - the corset was too tight. But she's OK now'"

According to Vandevelde Kershaw was helped backstage by two members of McQueen's production crew and did not walk in the finale.

Stephanie Carta: Even Raf Simons thinks camilla & marc are cool

balenciaga SS09/catwalking via tfs


After a brief industry hiatus, Stephanie Carta popped up on the international modelling radar earlier this year as no less than the only Australian in Balenciaga’s FW0809 show. Following SS09 shows in New York, London and Milan, Carta continues her ascent in Paris bagging, among other names this week, Balenciaga, Dries Van Noten and Givenchy. In this video interview just shot by Fashionlab, Carta talks about April's skinny model furore at Australian Fashion Week, her Australian designer mates and her slow-but-steady career strategy.

Fashionlab shot that amusing Sonny Vandevelde video that I posted on Saturday (and thanks Sunster for the headsup on Carta). It’s a project of the Nokia Trends Lab and the quality of the video is quite remarkable – for what one assumes is a mobile phone.

Just to clarify I have no commercial connections whatsoever to Nokia.

Can anyone ID the Australian interviewer?

In the iv Carta talks about the controversy in which she found herself embroiled in Sydney in April – when her agency, then Chic Management, famously pulled her off Michelle Jank’s runway because she was considered too skinny, only to reinstate her the following morning for camilla & marc.

Carta tells Fashionlab:

“I don’t know why they targeted me. Maybe because I’m a local model. So many models were brought into Australia that were skinnier than me....everybody in Australia is looking at me now, but when you come here and look at everybody...”

A few other bits and pieces mentioned by Carta in the iv include:

1. Dan Single scoring some "guest hosting UK tv gig" (beyond vogue.co.uk?).
2. A designer friend Nathan (we assume Smith) is planning to move to Paris.
3. “Collette Dinnigan doesn’t interest me”
4. Carta wore a pair of camilla & marc “tights” to castings (possibly the two-tone Jacoba Pant) and reports she was stopped not only by models, but even Jil Sander designer Raf Simons, asking who made them. She says she was also snapped in them by The New York Times.

Of the new model influx this season, notes Carta:

"The girls are coming around so fast now it seems. Everybody’s new. It’s everybody’s first season it seems. Everyone’s doing 20 million shows at once. And they’ll probably be like, nobody, tomorrow. I'm in it for the long run”.

Here's the vid:


fashionlab

Two men, one woman, coupla million hits?

viktor & rolf

Well if style.com's published traffic figures after each show season are any gauge, then Dutch design duo Viktor & Rolf may well be hoping to generate seven figure page impressions after today's little e-stunt. Following on from Dolce e Gabbana's live show stream last week, comes Viktor & Rolf's virtual fashion show. Starring just one model, Shalom Harlow, the show was advertised to go live from 8am Paris time. It went up a little earlier than planned, which means that the punters have been able to peruse the collection while the frontrowers in Paris are still sleeping off the aftereffects of last night's Rykiel bash.

A mere snapshot, presumably, of Viktor & Rolf's full SS09 collection, the show nevertheless provides a very clear view of some of the garments and accessories - and with etail-like, multi-angle clarity.

Of note, the beaded microdresses, the ruffled trenches, the colourblocked series in a citrus palette of tangerine, lemon and mandarin which included one panelled cocktail dress and blouses teamed with city shorts or cropped Capri pants; and the striking, Aztec-like black-on-white graphic used in T-shirting, a tunic, leggings and a pair of platform ankle boots.

A ram's horn or shell motif, fashioned from pleated silk taffeta, pops up throughout the collection, notably overblown into a gargantuan rosette on one shoulder of the show's solitary big dress.

Beyond the novelty factor, there is no big bucks Viktor & Rolf drama - this is more like an in-your-face shopfront.

But in the current economic climate, and with similarly-sanitised shows seen even on the runway proper this season at big names such as Gucci and Christian Dior, some seem to be overlooking the sizzle this season, in favour of the steak.

The reason given for the virtual show was not to cut costs or pioneer a new fashion frontier - Diesel founder Renzo Rosso recently acquired a majority stake in the company and the duo report that the business is currently "in transition".


Click here to see the show.

Onya Sonia

sonia rykiel SS09/getty

What a hoot Sonia Rykiel’s show must have been last night in Paris. Staged in Saint Cloud, guests were wined and dined beforehand and later pelted the runway with flowers from their table arrangements. Rykiel’s shows have, of late, tended to culminate in mad sashaying romps of barefoot giggling models, but this one was extra giggly – a celebration of the designer’s 40th anniversary in business.

Opening her boutique during the May 1968 riots, at a time when the haute couture establishment was experiencing heavy losses - with one notable subsequent closure, in Balenciaga – Rykiel, now 78, was a pioneer of the Paris prêt-à-porter revolution.

To help celebrate 40 years of skinny knits and jersey suits and dresses, 40 international designers, from Karl Lagerfeld to Martin Margiela, created outfits in homage of la Rykiel – many of them apparently using the designer’s trademark poodle-esque red mane and kohl makeup as their creative kickoff points. There are some pretty hilarious pictures.

No idea at this stage who created Myf Shepherd's rather macabre-looking Sonia doll (^), but note Shepherd's expert pose interpretation - not of Zoolander's Blue Steel, but rather, Ayesha Makim's infamous knicker flash to the camera pit at Fashionassassin.




sonia rykiel SS09/getty

Ali Michael: Bulimia one season, Balenciaga the next

ali michael, balenciaga SS09/wwd

“On Tuesday morning in Paris, as the fashion elite were gathering at the Balenciaga show, 17-year-old model Ali Michael was heading home to the U.S. far earlier than anticipated”. So read the lead of Christina Binkley’s February 28th Wall Street Journal story “Wasn’t skinny supposed to be out of fashion?". Fast forward to Tuesday 30th September and there is Michael, in Balenciaga’s SS09 show.

Balenciaga is a great get for any model – and it tops off a very successful comeback season for Michael, whose many other SS09 shows have included Burberry and Christian Dior.

However the Balenciaga coup seems nothing short of extraordinary for a model who, as Binkley reported, was told by Paris casting directors last season that she was too fat because she had gained 5lbs – and who later went on the record about her battles with an eating disorder and the unrealistic pressures on runway models to be thin.

Many, including Michael herself, believed this critical commentary on the modelling business could spell the end of her career.

At the time, some of the comments from anonymous industry insiders on blogs such as COACD were fairly revealing.

One commenter suggested that casting agents boycott American models altogether and only use foreign girls - apparently inferring that "foreign" girls can be better counted on to put up and shut up.


lanvin FW0708 - march 07/style.com


anna sui, FW0809 - feb 08/style.com

What happened in the interim? That’s the real story here.

Did Michael return to the shows exactly the same weight that she was in February, but as a ‘celebrity’ this time, buoyed by all the publicity? Or did she in fact lose weight? Some seem to think so.