Paris Part four: Last models review (but not Least)
by Maud & Pénélope . posted on March 14, 2009Manish Arora is a place where we might look more at the outfits but keep our four eyes wide open on the casting. The clothes were colorful, the collection was dramatic as always but we’d dare to say wearable. Love that concept and it looked exactly the same about models. Expensive yet unexpectable. Angela Lindvall opened and closed, Viviane Orth offered us a true runway moment with her incredible walk (rythm, rythm and more rythm, never overdone and always graceful), Wanessa Milhomem who also did the show last season improved a lot with a much more confident look and Anna Arendshorst was probably one of the most outstanding choice (and delightful moment for redhead lovers).
Jean Charles De Castelbajac was the first on our list on that Tuesday morning. Colorful show and eclectic casting from Jandra Dziaugyte to Lexposed Faces and huge favorites Gracie Carvalho and Edythe Hughes. Good surprise here was maybe Georgie Wass, another girl we’re keeping seriously in mind these days as well as future Miu Miu-girl Barbora Dvorakova. Two for Elite and a perfect duet, too bad they were a bit hidden under their wigs. Well, this always leaves some thrill to backstage.
Alena Akhmadullina, another one of these collections we love and not only for the casting. This one was carefully built like an deeper vision of her previous work, pushing some brilliant ideas even further. Always a pleasure, always a delight and the level of Alena’s models was quite high as well. Russian ladies only, from Lena Lomkova to Anzhela Turenko including Ekaterina Smarhun, Lexa Shevchenko, Alevtina Kuptsova, Elena Sudakova, Irina Vodolazova and Avant Models’ beauties Tacie Emelyanova, Anna Kuznetsova and Olya Shpunyakova. Wigs on and hats off.
Junko Shimada was where we went between two appointments so, needless to add we were a bit nervous. Waiting for everyone to sit down and trying to cope with the heat. When the show started we started to relax, the beauty of the scene, delicate and clever was too delightful not to stop thinking of the clock. The casting was precious enough to match the mood of the collection, partly light-hearted and partly dramatic. Count timeless faces like Zuzana Gregorova or Victoria Sekrier and some of the most promising newcomers like Belle or Kelvin both from IMG. Generations of models literally hand in hand.
Wednedsay morning.Talbot Runhof is often the place you will see some of the most interesting and unexpected new girls, sometimes one season before they really start to catch some serious attention worldwide. Last examples from six months ago are called Tabea who walked for Christopher Kane or Giles since and Amparo, Paul & Joe’s current campaign girl. This time the most remarkable faces were Sonia Stracuzzi (the italian lady from Just WM’s development board) and Anka Khargelia (the latest red-haired stunner at Major). The unexpected were Charlotte Pallister and Fabiana Capra, who both immediately caught our eyes while entering backstage. Unfortunately we had to run before the show began but running to Kenzo was actually rather exciting.
So, how was Kenzo ? Neither the thrill of the unexpected nor the shock of the new but such a wonderful summary of all the girls who walked (well) during this week in Paris. Such a nice opportunity to see them all and sometimes getting a proper idea of their appeal: why they are in such a high demand. It seemed obvious for girls like Dorothea Barth Jorgensen or Hannah Rundlof who weren’t among our biggest favorites until we saw the way they move and act in front of the camera. We just couldn’t not love the contrast between their quiet, almost shy kind of beauty and glowing attitude. Sophie Srej could be close to this description as well but we’d rather consider the contrast being between quite an impish mood, a unique smart gaze and naturally melancholic eyes (and eyelids). One of these models that keeps growing on you day after day as they add more runways to their book and more editorials (she’s in current issue of Bon magazine) in their portfolio. It’s been a great opportunity to see how Anna De Rijk looks in person and all we can say is she brilliantly survived all our maddest expectations. It sounds so odd but she’s the epitome of her own image. Most surprising ones were Yulia Lobova, a real stunner in pictures that also delivers on the catwalk and Tao Okamoto. Good to see Mathilde Frachon or Marlena Szoka, always good to see Nimue Smit, Myf Shepherd and Imogen Morris-Clarke. Awesome to meet with Alla Kostromicheva, who has become a regularly featured favorite on Lexposure. It’s definitely not about to end. We ran again, stopped at a bookshop and picked our copy of French Revue de Modes and rushed to our next appointment.
Thursday. Sunday on Thursday, weird day. Miu Miu brought back some big smiles and good mood. We didn’t expect the casting to be that great, better than Prada as models seemed more carefully picked. It looked more relevant and daring at the same time. Clever bookings, brilliant use of the exclusive thing mixed to some girls who truly deserved their place there. Like Ginta Lapina. Who did such an amazing season. Amazing in its most accurate meaning. Simply amazing: made of selective castings only, bringing quality instead of number then reaching the climax at the very last time of the week. Bara Holotova was a precious choice as well, she walked Prada and fits the aesthetic of both brands. The mood, the zeitgeist and the timeless essence of a Russell Marsh/Miuccia Prada casting. Exclusive was Luisa from Stardom Management in Russia, recently signed with Women Milan and Supreme. A favorite since day one. These were the last highlights of the day, of the week, of the season. But even knowing this, we still believe the games are far from over this time. Stay tuned.
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