Was on the first day of the year. After the show, after the allegedly long night that ended quite early for us. We were walking on the desert streets, avoiding some firecracker’s corpses on the sidewalk. Searching for a sandwich and a place to go on the internet. Our meal was easier to find. The only place we found with some connection was one of these so-called taxiphones where you can call abroad and check your mail. Both for cheap. Odd place, odd computers, odd atmosphere. Odd day anyway, deadly quiet. It’s lunchtime and the town was sleeping. Everything went back to life since, even under the snow.

Our first girl for this new year is called Laine Rogova, found by latvian 2B Models and she’s definitely not the kind who would let you down even on January 1st. She’s actually the girl that pops up somewhere to disappear then strike back where and when you don’t expect. She created quite a buzz when she signed with Ford NY then seemed to be under the radar. She’s finally blossoming in Barcelona, carefully groomed by Uno and shining at her castings. She already booked Spanish Glamour with photographer Alfonso Ohnur, Vanidad and Modzik. Not your most familiar names, only suprising and captivating editorials.

On new eve, the night first falls down then falls flat. Laine is only rising. And rising again.

First thing we saw of Magdalena was a lonely polaroid. So lonely but striking enough to put her name on our list. Wasn’t that long ago, end of 2007 and she signed with d’management since, which was definitely a good move in her career. We thought about her as a doll with the cutest chin ever, the kind of jawline we couldn’t not notice. She quickly proved to be much more that a lovely doll when she arrived in Milan and started to fill her portfolio with impressive tests. Brought a little more darkness and much intensity. Some will say drama. We’d rather agree. There’s something truly dramatic in her attitude in front of a camera. Her gaze. The way she moves. A presence. Nothing overwhelming in a bad way, nothing too powerful to be true. Just the most honest way to appear on some early tests. Lighter as a feather, fierce like no other.
No wonder this kind of book has made of our beloved beginner a natural choice for our favorite italian magazines. Twice in Amica by Massimo Pamparana then Vicky Trombetta (and we owe to both some marvelous new faces moment in that same magazine) and in Velvet by Takay. It’s no longer testing, it’s getting real as her book is gets thicker. And stronger. Last but not least and to tell it with a quirky gallicism, we’d say the cherry on the cake is her runway bookings last September. Albino and Antonio Marras among others. Two more good reasons to call her our favorite.

Some people say that classic beauties are back. Not completely wrong. Some even say it’s the new trend. Still not completely wrong yet we don’t believe in massive trends. We don’t believe there is or will be one trend with enough power to outshine any other kind of beauty. We believe each model can bring her look on the runway, turn into a sweet little trend herself. Without needing to be surrounded by other girls with the same appeal. Of, course you can always point out a few more or less striking similarities among the most booked models of the season. But special ones have their word to say. Stazia definitely has her place among these special ones even if you wouldn’t call her the most coveted face of S/S 09. The shows she booked are more than honest. We’d even say they are interesting. First in NY. With Vena Cava and Benjamin Cho on her list, we can already tell she caught some picky eyes. Add Alexandre Herchcovitch then let’s fly to Paris. Again, not the highest amount of runways ever yet the three we have in mind are worth a few more words. Three of our favorites. AF Vandevorst, Junya Watanabe and Wunderkind. We owe them some fantastic selections of models season after season and they surely didn’t disappoint that time. AF Vandevorst was simply magical, Stazia’s delicate look and walk perfectly matched their collection and big red lipstick. As much as she surprised us working out any other look.

First thing that might caught your eyes while checking IMG London’s Development board is the high number of high profile new faces. Second thing might be that on the middle of page three, line two, sixth row you’ll find a the stunner among the stunners. L’atesha. Her look would already be enough to capture our attention and put her among our favorites, the little extras are just the kind to make you love her even more. Lean silhouette of a fragile girl ? On our screen or on glossy paper for sure. In real life she might be a bit more suprising as she’s quite a passionate ice-hockey player, sporty girl discovered… at a fast-food restaurant. Fascinating story ? Even more when you know this 18-years-old model, born and raised in London has Chinese, English, Sudanese roots… but also Jamaica, Syrian and Italian. Still not enough ? She’s shot for i-D and has even more to come, ready for the upcoming fashion week in London too. We simply love how everything goes direct to the point with her. And we keep our four eyes wide open.

As she’s currently in french Glamour and, even more remarkable, in UK Vogue introducing Marni’s capsule collection in the magazine. Reminds us how impressive she looked at Marni S/S 09 in September. And how impressive was her whole season – perfect in London walking for Christopher Kane or Armandi Basi One among others. Only a very selective list of high profile bookings. Her recent spreads in magazines and the upcoming season looking closer than ever suddenly brought back some sweet memories of lively lady with an unforgettable look. As it’s how we discovered her at Marithé + François Girbaud in Paris. Always keep in mind, this show is a marvelous opportunity to meet with the greatest new faces in town and girls like Anna Selezneva did some remarkable performances here before moving up some incredible heights. Their S/S 09 casting did more than meeting our expectations. Beyond. Daniela stood out, stronger than standards. High standards. We put her name on our list of models to feature. Emergency. More than three months later, the few digitals that remain unpublished are still the most exciting way to have a proper look at her limitless potential.