MODEL PROFILES - JULIA SANER

Born on the 19^th February 1992, Swiss model Julia Saner entered the Elite Model contest in 2009. Winning first place, Julia signed with Elite’s agency in Paris that same year.

Her catwalk debut took place in September 2010, with Saner debuting at both Milan and Paris Fashion Week. She opened the Valentino show, and appeared in shows for Fendi, Roberto Cavalli, Alexander McQueen, Givenchy and Chanel.

Julia’s impact on the runway was immediate. At 5’11”, Saner was ideal catwalk material. Her win at Elite brought her to the attention of designers, but award or not, Saner still had to prove her abilities on the runway just like every other new model. Luckily for Julia, she and the runway appeared to be the perfect match.

In January 2011, she appeared in her first couture season, closing the Valentino show and walking in the Elie Saab, Chanel, Dior and Jean Paul Gaultier shows. Valentino’s infatuation with the new model was rubber-stamped in when it was announced that she would become the face of its newest campaign, along with Caroline Brasch Nielsen and Freja Beha Erichsen.

The revamp of the Italian label meant hiring fresh, new faces – faces that could lend themselves to the uber-feminine designs of the ready-to-wear line as well as the more challenging silhouettes of the couture collection. Julia proved to be particularly useful for Valentino, with strong features handling the camera beautifully, her memorable face making her both avant-garde and reassuringly classic.

Her runway success translated into editorial work, with spreads in Numero and American Vogue in February. Saner showed off her high-fashion skills in ‘Labyrinthe’, a typical Numero shoot with complex angles and challenging poses. It was a very technical shoot – photographing high-fashion this way can lean towards parody if care isn’t taken. The result was an editorial packed with bold ideas, but performed with subtlety. It was just right.

Her second editorial that month was the Spring / Summer preview in American Vogue. The ‘Gangs of New York’ spread featured every model of note, and Julia got the title page, a huge honour for any model, let alone one who had only been working for six months. With her first cover in March (Italian Marie Claire), Julia also scored another career high with an editorial for Italian Vogue, called ‘Wasted Luxury’.

The editorial saw Julia working with models Saskia de Brauw and Milou Van Groesen. Photographed by Steven Meisel, this editorial was a brilliant reminder of why everyone in the fashion industry looks to Italian Vogue.

Heavily ornate, eccentrically styled with kooky accessories and clashing prints, this was hyper-fashion at its best. It was all in the execution: with Meisel behind the lens, the shoot was kept restrained but purposeful. Looking at the images, you can’t help but rest on details: gold-leaf embossed on a pair of trousers, metallic pleated collars.

The focus is on the beauty of the individual pieces, making this editorial far more user-friendly than you might expect. This isn’t eccentricity for its own sake, but exploring ways of presenting beautiful things. Italian Vogue actively strives to find new solutions to this oldest of problems – keeping the desire alive for brave new fashion. The path more travelled can often seem like a lot less hassle. But it’s the job of Italian Vogue to keep us interested in what’s next; asking us to change our perceptions of what is fashionable and beautiful. No easy task, but when it comes to sartorial persuasion, no-one does it better than Italian Vogue.

With appearances in German and Japanese Vogue in May, Julia appeared in June’s Turkish Vogue, in an editorial named ‘Disniz Dan Biri’. Exuding colour and texture, Julia takes to the street markets to shoot a fashion travelogue that evokes the excitement and unfamiliarity of experiencing different cultures.

It is interesting to note just how many fashion shoots take place on location. It’s not just making the clothes look even better against a stunning backdrop: like travel, fashion broadens the mind. Seen from a fresh perspective, editorials push us to see fashion differently too, encouraging us to try a new shape, a new colour. Fashion has a habit of surprising us, but these editorials offer up the idea that sometimes we should take control, and surprise ourselves.

Julia’s career continues to go from strength to strength in the final months of 2011, with three campaign signings. The first, with Mulberry, sees Julia join forces with Taitana Cotliar in a series of typically bohemian and eccentric images. A success already, the bright leather satchels and pleated skirts featured are visibly making an impact on our buying habits for this autumn.

Mulberry remains one of the most influential labels working today. The ‘Alexa’ satchel saw copies spring up across the high street. Its success in re-defining vintage shapes has made Mulberry a highly competitive force in today’s fashion market. Its brand identity has rocketed in recent years, with the campaigns becoming the label’s calling card.

This season, Mulberry celebrates the British countryside with a series of images that are bold, quirky and unmistakable. Julia’s inclusion in this campaign has already raised her profile in the industry, taking her from runway favourite to campaign star.

Her next signing is with one of fashion’s newest – and hottest – names. Prabal Gurung has already been making waves, becoming a red-carpet must for stars who like their fashion served with an edge.

The last, with high-street chain Karen Millen, shows Julia’s ability to cross boundaries and defy definition. It’s an important asset for a model, but crucial for one who plans to become a fixture on the modern campaign circuit. Mulberry, Gurung and Millen represent three very different campaigns, but together they point to the career Julia will develop.

With a body that can handle the highest of high-fashion and a face built for mass appeal, Saner finds herself well-placed to offer the fashion industry the best of both worlds. She possesses a face that can make high-fashion look approachable, steering it to a new generation, but still satisfies the old-school, avant-garde leanings of the most edgy designers.

The idea that you can tailor a modelling approach to an individual brand or label is nothing new, but what is becoming clear is that it’s by no means set and dried as to which brand requires which approach. It’s not guaranteed that a high-street favourite will need a bright and breezy commercial face, no more than a high-fashion brand will require someone with serious fashion credentials.

With the gap closing between high-fashion and high-street, editorial and commercial modelling have come together to form a third approach, to answer a desire for a new level of sophistication that celebrates our growing fashion knowledge. Look at any of the large high-street stores, and their campaign images, dotted around the store and in the front window, are all using this new approach to create and generate sales.

H&M do minimal sophistication, keeping the clothes centre-stage; Topshop use fashion’s brightest new modelling talents to showcase their latest looks and Zara’s campaigns are a master-class in marketing, owing a debt to designers such as Jil Sander who work on the principle of keeping it simple.

What these brands have gained in sophistication they haven’t lost in populist appeal – many of them are more successful than ever. This shift isn’t just restricted to the British high street either: many high-fashion labels have been revising how they reach out to their customers. Mulberry’s campaigns have piqued mainstream interest, making their products as familiar as any high-street hit. Julia as the Mulberry girl is undeniably high-fashion, but there is an approachability in her performance that helps explain the label’s continuing success while its competitors falter.

While some labels thrive on the unfamiliar, and change their approach every season (such as Balenciaga), others have decided to stick to a formula that develops a sense of cohesion. Labels such as Chloe have streamlined their campaigns, making their dreamy, vintage-inspired images a trademark of their brand.

The idea of not taking yourself too seriously is also a winner for many brands, and has recently been adopted by French label Lanvin. With a campaign video available online, models Raquel Zimmermann and Karen Elson demonstrate some seriously camp dance moves, and the coup de theatre is Alber Elbaz himself joining in the fun. If Lanvin could ever be accused of being too serious, this video goes a long way to redressing the balance.

Just five years ago, these about-turns for such established labels would have seemed unthinkable, but in ensuring their survival, each brand is looking again at how it presents itself to the world. High-street and high-fashion are learning from each other, creating surprises and delights along the way.

What remains steadfast though, is the idea that a good campaign does the leg-work in developing a brand. It’s why designers and companies spend so much in creating that perfect first impression. Right now, fashion needs not just multi-taskers, but faces that go beyond trends; avant-garde, commercial and everything in-between. Breaking the rules in staging campaigns has resulted in a playing field where, quite frankly, anything is possible.

With a career still in its infancy, Julia has already demonstrated she can be that new kind of model that fashion so desperately needs. Her ability to cross boundaries is what will continue to define her career as fashion strives to prove it hasn’t lost its way, but is merely treading new ground. The path less travelled has never seemed so much fun.

HELEN TOPE

MODEL PROFILES: CAROLINE BRASCH NIELSEN

Born in Denmark, 17-year-old Caroline Brasch Nielsen began her career in 2010, signing with Elite, one of the largest modelling agencies in the world.

Despite having a career that has yet to hit the two-year mark, Nielsen is a model who has already learned to think big. Debuting in Paris Fashion Week, she opened the Autumn / Winter 2010 show for Valentino, also walking for Balenciaga, Chanel, Givenchy, Miu Miu and YSL. Unsurprisingly, her impressive catwalk CV caught the eye of website www.models.com that featured her as a Top 10 Newcomer.

Two months later, Caroline was shooting an editorial for Italian Vogue. Working with photographer Steven Meisel, as far as modelling rites of passage go, this is the classic, star-making ritual. With Meisel’s ability to cherry-pick modelling talent, Caroline starting her editorial career with Italian Vogue was to prove a highly significant move.

A magazine also with a reputation for spotting great model potential, Nielsen’s next assignment was with French Vogue. Shooting ‘Country Club’, Nielsen experienced first-hand the magazine’s penchant for launching new models into the deep end of the editorial experience.

Her ability to remain cool under pressure placed her at an advantage when she undertook her first couture season in July. Closing the show for Valentino, Nielsen also appeared for Elie Saab and Chanel.

Caroline’s developing links with Valentino couldn’t have been better timed. After Valentino himself retired in 2008, its re-launch under new creative direction began somewhat shakily, but finally found its feet with Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli at the helm.

No-one has done glamour more perfectly than Valentino, and the handing over of the reins meant a rethink of the whole brand. Maria and Pier kept the sophistication, but brought in a girlish softness that has scored highly with young Hollywood. In previous years, Valentino was perceived a red-carpet label strictly for grown-ups. You rarely saw anyone under 30 wearing the gowns. If the label was to progress, it needed to address this oversight.

Valentino’s enthusiasm for Caroline is not accidental. Her delicate, fresh modernity makes her a perfect fit for the brand’s new look. Still catering to the glamour crowd, the label invites younger fashion fans to participate in the Valentino experience. Light-as-air tulle replaces silk-satin, polka dots instead of sequins; the intelligent application of modernity combined with a respect for the legacy Valentino created, has ensured that this label doesn’t become lost to a new generation of fashion-savvy girls.

Caroline’s affinity with luxury labels continued when she was selected to appear in the A/W Balenciaga ad campaign along with Meghan Collison, Mirte Maas, Stella Tennant and Karen Elson. The quietly-directional series of images is made all the more astonishing when you consider that up to this point, Caroline had been modelling for a period of months, not years.

In September, Nielsen got dual editorial honours for Russian Vogue and Dazed & Confused. With an eponymously-titled editorial in the mix, Caroline was hitting every standard required to make it from good model to great. That same month, she experienced her busiest season to date, clocking up appearances in 60 shows.

These were not just ordinary appearances, but Nielsen managed to open shows for Narciso Rodriguez, Thakoon, Alberta Ferretti and Nina Ricci. Closing the show for Herve Leger, Giambattista Valli, The Row and Valentino, Caroline’s runway celebrity has been well and truly established.

Nielsen walked in every show of note, including Marc Jacobs’ technicolour homage to Seventies New York, and Prada’s show of swirls and stripes that came to define the season. Nielsen’s start in the modelling industry wasn’t just about hype – her ability to command attention was rapidly becoming a highly-valued commodity. Caroline wasn’t only adapting at will, transforming into the perfect Prada girl, but she was immersing herself in every runway look and editorial. It is this quality that has taken Caroline so quickly from ingénue to star. The good model gets there too, but the model with potential for greatness, makes the transition at break-neck pace.

2010 ended with Nielsen emerging as one of the faces to watch. Still only 9 months into her career, Caroline had become one of fashion’s most bookable girls. Entering 2011, it was announced that Nielsen would be fronting campaigns for both Marc Jacobs and Valentino. The Marc Jacobs campaign represented a spectacular coup for Nielsen: it was one of the seminal looks of the Spring / Summer season, and Marc’s ‘Seventies Show’ was awash with tropical colour played out on an urban scale. It was flirty, playful, evocative and hard to miss.

In January, she scored more couture appearances, working in Paris for Elie Saab, Valentino, Dior and Chanel. It is not hard to figure why the couture houses took to Nielsen. Her adeptness at interpreting a look made her a natural at modelling couture. If ready-to-wear is all about the hard sell, what really counts in Paris is how couture makes you feel. Without that act of seduction on the runway, the collection will fail to have an impact on changing our dressing habits, whether it’s a new hem-length or a bold new colour.

Caroline took those lessons from couture and applied them to one of the most demanding shoots in the fashion repertoire: the beauty close-up. Shooting ‘A Vision of Colour’ for the March edition of Japanese Vogue, this was a postmodern exploration of summer brights. Modelling extreme beauty is a tricky business, as you run the risk of being overwhelmed by the sheer level of artistry involved. Caroline excelled in this editorial, bringing a depth to a subject that could very easily tip over into sugary confection. With no diversionary tactics in play, Caroline’s performance tempers the sweetness, making this shoot a multi-colour feast for the eyes.

Nielsen’s ability at handling challenging work was utilised throughout the year with editorials for W, Numero, Russian Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar. Each one was a test of Caroline’s skills, from W’s ‘Against Nature’ shoot to Harper Bazaar’s youthful, punky spin on ladylike pastels.

Her August shoot for Numero, ‘Cap d’Antibes’, saw Caroline take her interpretative skills to the next level. Moody, strong and sultry – the shoot is a potential game-changer for Nielsen, showing future clients that she is ready and willing to handle fashion’s darker hues. Followed by an editorial for i-d magazine, Caroline is capping the year as she started it: with high-profile campaigns.

Signed again for Valentino’s A/W ad, the campaign showcases texture from the snakeskin boots to the blurred camera tricks, giving the resulting images a dreamy, otherworldly quality. Bridging Valentino’s gift for elegance with modern production values, the label sells us exquisite fashion that is both timeless and contemporary.

As Nielsen’s affiliation with Valentino continues, her ability to exist in two camps, classic and editorial, endows her with that elusive quality; being all things to all designers. Whereas some models are blessed with genetics that place them squarely in one sector, Caroline joins the select list of models who work without limits.

Appearing in ads for fashion houses as diverse as Valentino and Balenciaga, Caroline’s talent for booking campaigns, good ones, at this early stage of her career, marks her out as a very modern money girl. The term refers to any model capable of transforming a label’s fortunes simply by association. If you can raise a brand’s profile from also-ran to must-have, you’re definitely a money girl.

Many of the money girls of the past have been some of modelling’s biggest names: Cindy Crawford, Claudia Schiffer, Kate Moss and Gisele Bundchen count among the industry’s most influential models: financially, artistically and globally.

The campaign faces of today – Arizona Muse, Raquel Zimmermann – may not be household names like Schiffer or Crawford, but the ‘money girl’ isn’t being phased out, just re-assessed for the 21st century. The persuasive selling techniques are just the same, but the sell isn’t about celebrity, but high-fashion prestige.

The campaign draws you in by stealth. The latest ads for Mulberry, for example, don't trade on big names, but the anonymity of the models make it much easier (and inviting) to imagine yourself in the gloriously eccentric world of Mulberry. They may not have fame on their side, but these new money girls definitely have the x-factor. Rather than relying on star draws, the latest campaigns are putting the fashion first. The model is, in the nicest possible sense, a placeholder for us, the consumer.

It makes our connection with high-fashion much more immediate. At a time where every sale counts, breaking down the barriers people feel when it comes to purchasing a big-ticket item is crucial. How the campaign does this is to remind us what makes the luxury brand so special: the design, the craftsmanship, the feeling that you own an original. That feeling of exclusivity is still high-fashion’s ace up its expertly-stitched sleeve. We are powerless to resist.

Driving this desire for uniqueness are models like Caroline, who will go on to join the raft of new money girls transforming the way high-fashion is sold. With these girls in charge, buying high-fashion becomes an inclusive experience, not a daunting one. It will be an investment that will keep you, and the fashion industry, coming back for more.

HELEN TOPE