A FACE TO WATCH: HEDVIG PALM

Born in Sweden, Hedvig Palm was discovered in 2010 at the age of 15, whilst eating at a local restaurant. Signing with Next Models the same year, Hedvig kicked off her modelling career in January 2011.

RUNWAY

January 2011: Valentino Haute Couture

September 2011: Alexander Wang, Celine, Jil Sander, Jonathan Saunders and Valentino 

February 2012: Balenciaga, Cacharel, Chanel, House of Holland, Louis Vuitton, Mulberry and Topshop Unique.

September 2012: Miu Miu, Roland Mouret, Giambattista Valli, Alexander McQueen, Vanessa Bruno, Givenchy and Prada.

January 2013: Valentino Haute Couture

EDITORIALS / CAMPAIGNS

March 2012: Love S/S issue. ‘A Chorus Line’, photographed by Solve Sundsbo, this exquisitely choreographed editorial (based on 1930’s Hollywood musicals), also featured other new models including Caitlin Lomax, Ajak Deng, Lida Fox and Josephine Skriver.

June 2012: Prada Resort look book.

July 2012: Italian Vogue. ‘Collections’, photographed by Steven Meisel, featured groups of models wearing the headline-making pieces from the A/W collections, including Prada’s printed trouser-suits and Jil Sander’s cocoon coats. 

January 2013: Look books for Christopher Kane (Pre-Fall 2012) and COS (Spring / Summer 2013).

Traditionally used as a means of allowing wealthy clients to view haute couture collections, the look book’s purpose is being extended far beyond its high-society origins, and is now being deployed by high street titans.

The look book is joining the digital revolution, transforming into a smartly-produced video. The COS look book sits somewhere between catalogue and campaign, pausing on details in the clothing, showing both how the clothes move and sit on the body.

Campaigns have already made the leap to video, with the video acting as a companion piece to the more traditional print ad, and the concept brings together one of fashion’s oldest means of self-promotion and the latest technology to make a look book that’s about functionality and purpose. 

Hedvig enters the fashion industry at a tipping point heralding enormous change: how we buy and how we wear fashion has changed radically in the past five years and fashion has adapted accordingly. 

Even in a climate of change, there are still constants and faces like Hedvig are destined to thrive because they are an ‘easy sell’. Proving equally productive modelling haute couture as the best of the high street, Hedvig’s appeal puts her ahead of the pack.

The easy sell is becoming increasingly important, but selling a product in the first place has created a unique set of challenges especially for online fashion retailers. Selling fashion is rarely about combinations of fabric and fastenings, but selling an idea. For retailers, this means hiring models who are not only good all-rounders, but confident communicators, as they need to convey, in a matter of seconds, not only how an outfit looks but how it can make you feel.

The models then have to apply those skills across disciplines. A walk that would normally be employed for runway is now needed for a webpage (eg: ASOS, Net a Porter who both use moving images to show a garment). Editorial skills are no longer the preserve of high fashion: they are readily used for high street campaigns. Production values have increased because our raised expectations demand more. There are still easy sells, but they are hard won. Everyone has had to raise their game.

The good news for Hedvig is that she is already meeting the new requirements of the fashion industry. Strong in individual skills, she is already able to draw from runway and editorial experience and translate that into something that works on the screen as well as the page. It is the equivalent of a theatre actor learning how to act on film. Details become larger on the screen, movement seems more exaggerated. Making the performance more nuanced, but not making it smaller, is now part and parcel of the model’s job. The performance still has to have impact, and Hedvig’s role in the COS look book convinces. It is in the tiniest choices of movement that Hedvig communicates the feel of the collection. 

As the presentation of fashion becomes an increasingly virtual experience, making that emotional ‘must-have-it’ connection becomes ever more important. Access to fashion may be at an all-time high but seeing a dress on a screen will never be the same as walking into a shop, and seeing the dress in real time and real life. Technology can only give us so much information - the rest is inferred. To decide how we feel about the garment, and how it feels to wear it, only works on a non-virtual level. Therefore, the model becomes the intermediary. Communicating how the garment feels on the body, in both a physical and psychological way, has become the most crucial aspect of a model’s armoury. 

Two years into her career, Hedvig is already shaping up to be one of the industry’s go-to girls. Equally adept at haute couture, ready-to-wear and the best of the high street, Palm’s multi-platform CV is the calling card of a 21^st-century model. Hedvig’s classic beauty and modern skills-set makes her one of 2013’s brightest prospects. She is a face to watch.

HELEN TOPE

MODEL PROFILES: TATIANA COTLIAR

Born in Buenos Aires on 31^st October 1990, Tatiana began her modelling career by signing with NEXT Models in 2009.

She debuted at Fashion Week that September, walking in shows for Burberry, Jason Wu, Mark Fast, Rodarte and YSL. She also became a hit with legendary designer Vivienne Westwood. Picked to close both Westwood shows in London and Paris, Tatiana was also selected to appear in the brand’s latest campaign.

Forever rebellious, the label stems from punkish roots to form a fashion house underpinned by a couture sensibility. Like Alexander McQueen, Vivienne has taken her extensive knowledge of fashion history and translated it into a silhouette that’s become the Westwood signature.

With a career spanning 3 decades, Vivienne joins the likes of Karl Lagerfeld and Giorgio Armani in marrying old-school skill with new-world philosophy. All three designers are over 70 years old, but are as relevant today as they’ve ever been.

Tatiana’s ability to wow fashion’s elite became apparent when her runway breakthrough came in February 2010. She was picked to open the Autumn / Winter Marc Jacobs show. The staging provoked as much response as the clothes themselves and Tatiana got to open a show where models emerged from a large Perspex box to take to the runway. Unveiled by Marc himself, this was Jacobs tearing up the rulebook, presenting a collection filled with wear-now, love-forever pieces. It was a startling about-turn for Jacobs, but the show, as a concept and as a collection, was a hit.

With closing spots for Ungaro and Miu Miu, Cotliar also signed up to appear in over 50 shows. Tatiana was a feature in runways as diverse as Chanel, Missoni, Prada, Versace and Valentino. Her unique blend of edginess with real-girl likeability made her a shoo-in for this season where classic and contemporary came together to produce a spectacular season. Sure enough, the press took note. In March 2010, Tatiana was featured as a Top 10 Newcomer by www.models.com. A day later, she was ‘This Week’s Model’ for www.wmagazine.com.

Filling the summer months with editorial work for German and Chinese Vogue, Tatiana made a bold try at campaign domination, with appearances for Proenza Schouler and Valentino. It would be hard to find two labels more different, but Cotliar’s presence belies her experience, then barely totalling a year. Tatiana epitomised Proenza Schouler’s effortless, art house cool and mastered Valentino’s heritage elegance.

With another successful RTW season in September, Tatiana hit a genuine career high in early 2011 when it was revealed that she would become one of the faces of Prada’s S/S 11 campaign.

A now-landmark campaign of dizzying stripes and swirls, Tatiana joined models Arizona Muse, Zuzanna Bijoch and Kinga Rajzak; at the time all were new faces breaking into the industry. This campaign helped launch all of them onto the fashion circuit as serious industry contenders. A Prada campaign is a powerful calling card, and unsurprisingly, Tatiana’s link with the Italian powerhouse sent her career into overdrive.

The Prada effect was in full flow just a month later, when Tatiana opened shows for Giles Deacon, Isaac Mizrahi and Sonia Rykiel. Her charm offensive on the fashion industry was certainly working: in February she appeared in Russian Vogue for the first time, in March it was Japanese Vogue. In April, she appeared on the cover of i-D, in a series of multi-covers including models Shu Pei and Meghan Collison.

In August, Tatiana got to feature in a spread of self-named portraits, photographed by Rafael Stahelin for Wonderland magazine. Her ability to work avant-garde grew in earnest as she landed an editorial in Love magazine the following month.

Proving the reported demise of print media as somewhat premature, both magainzes have bucked the trend by adopting a multi-platform approach to exploring fashion. With the explosion of blogs and fansites peppering the internet came one very clear message: those outside the realm of glossy, aspirational fashion wanted their fair share of representation. Those with alternative views; those who didn’t find what they were looking for on the catwalks of Paris, wanted to be heard. But more than that, they wanted to be seen.

The answer was a type of new magazine that brought together the best of new media, art and fashion to make a hybrid fashion experience with an intelligent, inquiring spirit at its core. The natural heirs to magazines like Dazed & Confused, this latest generation are delivering high fashion to an audience who have often felt sidelined. This same audience is now at the forefront of driving forward how high fashion is presented online. Quite a reversal of fortune.

The spirit of individuality made its way to Fashion Week with designers taking the deliberate decision to move away from their usual point of view and explore new things. Christopher Kane veered off the neon path to present a collection blossoming with femininity; Rodarte explored Western chic, taking the theme to a whole new level. It’s evident that tough economic times have not made our designers timid, they have made them bold. This last season was a game-changer for many designers, taking them from left-field to centre-stage.

Against this backdrop, Tatiana’s individual beauty couldn’t help but score big, and this Autumn she did just that with a huge, multi-page campaign from Mulberry. Joined by Julia Saner, they modelled Mulberry’s satchels against a background of birds’ eggs and sleeping foxes.

One of fashion’s best at self-marketing, Mulberry’s semaphore is firmly embedded in the mythology of English country houses, evoking images of Hunter boots caked in mud, and jars of home-made preserves. It seems so instinctively old-school, it’s hard to get your head around the fact that Mulberry is barely 40 years old. Created in 1971, Mulberry is a classic example of writing the history you want.

In October, Tatiana came full circle with a cover and major editorial in the Argentinean edition of Harper’s Bazaar. Her editorial, ‘Diario de una Princesa’ represents a new direction for Tatiana as she works ladylike, regal fashion. It is somewhat surprising for someone who has built her career on appearances in fashion’s edgiest tomes, but as we have seen, a change of direction can often work in your favour. Tatiana’s ability to cross over into softer fashion is particularly well-timed with many designers showing work that would not look out of place in a princess’ wardrobe. The hit show of London Fashion Week, Jonathan Saunders, made Deco pastels and 50’s skirts thoroughly desirable. After years of urban chic reigning supreme, these new clothes are elegant, graceful but workhorse-like in their potential cost-per-wear. Feminine, but not fussy, will be the watchword for Spring 2012.

Where fashion moves, modelling must follow. One of Tatiana’s last editorial assignments of 2011 has been to appear in V, celebrating the achievements of NEXT agency. The catalogue of established and newer faces on their books shows that NEXT is not only great at compiling feminine faces, but promoting diversity within that brief. Compare the quirky, editorial stance of models such as Hailey Clauson or Suvi Koponen to the glossy, campaign regulars like Abbey Lee and Shu Pei, and it’s evident that Tatiana is neither one nor the other. She falls somewhere between, and that ambiguity has made her very successful.

The difficulty with putting any model in any category with an absolutely degree of confidence shows how fashion’s ideas of femininity have become all mixed up. A campaign favourite can equally convince in haute couture, and someone with tough, edgy credentials can plug into soft and graceful without missing a beat.

Tatiana’s evolving career is perhaps one of the best illustrations of how the fashion industry has relaxed the rules. It’s not just about maximising earning potential, but taking a closer (and better) look at models. No-one wants to be thought of as one-dimensional, and in today’s climate, if you want to be successful, you have to reveal a little more.

The idea of models as ‘types’ is slowly edging out into a space where models are seen as the sum of themselves: looks, personality, warts and all. At a time when models have Facebook pages and followers on Twitter, the idea of model as mannequin just feels wrong.

It’s no accident that some of today’s most successful models are also the most prolific: Coco Rocha and Sessilee Lopez may be seasoned at runway, but they are positively expert when it comes to working social media to their advantage. Being an active presence on Twitter bridges the gap left when the term ‘supermodel’ was downgraded to ‘model’. Few working now have the media clout of a Cindy or Christy, but today’s smartest models create their own reputation online – and on their own terms.

Cotliar’s ace is her likeability: placed somewhere between quirky and edgy, but with the potential for glamour, Tatiana ticks all the boxes but refuses to be fenced in. Her almost-girl next door look (but not quite) is what makes her such a find for designers. Tatiana may be hard to define but that’s entirely the point. Already armed with a career that’s determined to keep us guessing, Cotliar joins a generation set on selling beauty that’s anything but skin-deep.

HELEN TOPE

MODEL PROFILES: ZUZANNA BIJOCH

Zuzanna Bijoch was born in Poland in 1994 and her connection with the modelling world began at an early age. Aged 13 years old, Zuzanna entered and won a D’vision modelling contest, signing with NEXT Models that same year.

The agency chose to develop their new talent, with Bijoch travelling to Tokyo in 2009 to accrue some modelling experience. In July 2010, Zuzanna made her couture runway debut, walking for Georges Chakra.

She made her ready-to-wear catwalk debut in September 2010, making a splash as an exclusive signing for Miu Miu. Favoured by the Italian label, her other bookings included Jason Wu, L’Wren Scott, Marchesa, Marni, Tory Burch and Prada.

The sign of approval from Prada was made official in early 2011 when it was announced that Zuzanna would be one of their faces for the Spring / Summer campaign. Working alongside Tatiana Cotliar, Arizona Muse, Mariacarla Boscono and Kinga Rajzak, Zuzanna participated in a campaign that was to define the look of S/S 11. Photographed by Steven Meisel, the mix of nautical stripes and baroque swirls in blue, green and yellow was decadence meets discipline. Counting as one of their most visually dynamic collections, it was cerebral fashion anarchy, and S/S 2011 was Prada’s season for the taking.

The effect of Bijoch’s inclusion in the Prada ads was immediate. In February 2011, she opened RTW shows for Rue du Mail, Thakoon and Victoria Beckham, closing shows for J. Mendel and Balenciaga. Zuzanna scored an amazing 58 show appearances, including Alexander McQueen, Chloe, Dior, Fendi, Givenchy, Gucci, Marc Jacobs, Michael Kors, Prada, Proenza Schouler, Ralph Lauren, Sonia Rykiel, Valentino, Versace and YSL.

Zuzanna had finally arrived on the fashion circuit, thanks to Prada’s patronage. The label’s star-spotting ability was right on the mark, with Bijoch working with a wide range of designers from feminine chic at Alberta Ferretti to sexing it up at Gucci. Appearing in every major show of the season, Zuzanna was a true fashion favourite.

Filling the next few months with editorial work for magazines such as Dazed & Confused, Bijoch travelled to Paris in July for couture season, walking for Dior, Givenchy and Valentino. At 5’ 9”, Bijoch is two inches shorter than most haute couture models, but her runway prowess marked her out as a natural.

The same month saw Zuzanna take centre stage as a cover girl, appearing in both an editorial and on the cover of Mexican Vogue. Her editorial, ‘Gracia Eterea’, is pure sun-swept elegance, showcasing classic fashion, from Ferragamo, Bottega Veneta and Halston.

Zuzanna visibly transforms in this editorial, wearing the classic pieces effortlessly. Hunched high-fashion poses have their place, but knowing how to work your body to create elegant, fluid lines is an art. Few get it right, but those that do, see their earning potential flourish.

Zuzanna’s next editorial, however, could not be more different. Working with photographers Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott, ‘Strict’, for Interview magazine was a fetish-themed editorial featuring Candice Swanepoel, Anais Pouliot, Emily Baker and Saskia de Brauw.

The theme of the shoot was a dark substitute for Autumn’s retro fantasies. In this series of provocative images, Zuzanna exudes a sultry softness that keeps the content fashion-forward, not top-shelf. With awkward camera angles and angular poses, the shoot was certainly button-pushing, but never exhibitionist. Bijoch’s strength and versatility in editorials was rewarded when she booked not only one, but three of the biggest campaigns of A/W 11: Chloe, Proenza Schouler and Louis Vuitton.

The Chloe ads, shot by David Sims, are the familiar sun-dappled vintage look that has become the visual shorthand for the label. Since its revival in the late 90’s under Stella McCartney’s directorship, Chloe has emerged as one of the labels most able to deliver what women want from their clothes. It takes the classic components of fashion – jackets, straight-leg trousers, bias-cut dresses – and re-works them into season must-haves. To model Chloe successfully, the fashion edge has to be softened, and in this campaign, Zuzanna joins forces with Sigrid Agren, Arizona Muse and Malgosia Bela to create images of women who are not slaves to fashion, but are freed by it.

Zuzanna’s second campaign is for Proenza Schouler. Bijoch carries the campaign solo, wearing the signature bright colours and geometric pattern blocking that forms the retro feel of the label. Famous for its ‘PS1’ satchels, defining its look on the runway and beyond has been crucial in creating a brand that’s developed, well-rounded and progressing ever forwards. Zuzanna demonstrates her easy affinity with high-fashion, wearing the campaign look as easily as a pair of jeans, making us not only appreciate Proenza Schouler, but covet it. The label needed a strong campaign identity; and with Zuzanna at the helm, it’s job done.

The last advert Zuzanna will appear in this year is one of the blockbuster campaigns of the season. Shot by Steven Meisel, the Louis Vuitton look is flying the flag for military chic.

Always popular during autumn and winter, the strong, body-defining tailoring of military-themed coats and jackets help in taking the sting out of cold winter days. The label is pinning its hopes on our love of perennial A/W classics, rather than fashion nostalgia.

As a collection, it is remarkable for being so different to other labels who are delving into fashion’s back catalogue. Vuitton’s creative director, Marc Jacobs, shows why he is a sure thing for the top job at Dior. Never afraid to be the first at heading in a new direction, after the pastels and sweetness forecast for Spring 2012, we may find ourselves in the mood for something a little tougher this time next year.

This September, Bijoch faces her third RTW season and so far has been seen in several shows. Scoring opening honours at Derek Lam and acting as the closer for Diane Von Furstenberg, to date Zuzanna has also appeared for Alexander Wang, Gucci, Versace, Calvin Klein, Marc Jacobs, Ralph Lauren, Donna Karan, D&G and Moschino.

The word from the front row already is a noticeable lean towards fashion’s gentler side. With pictures in from the New York, London and Milan Fashion Weeks, there is a studied softness in the colour palette with muted colours: duck egg blue, sage, primrose yellow and white all featuring heavily in numerous collections. Some of the biggest impressions have been made on our turf, with both Christopher Kane and Mary Katrantzou already jostling for show of the season.

After years of celebrating tough, urban fashion, the tide seems to be turning with many designers choosing to explore their softer side. Gentler fabrics and brighter colours are becoming the norm across the seasons. Burberry’s creative director Christopher Bailey was one of the chief exponents of the urban look, with head-to-toe black and bags covered in stud-work. But his newest collections are a complete about-turn, with 60’s inspired coats in every shade from cornflower blue to pumpkin.

The idea that a particular colour range can only be suitable for a particular season has been challenged by designers wanting to look at new ways of wearing colour. The usual colours for autumn (red, yellow, orange) have been augmented to include brights more usually associated with summer: pink, green and blue.

This widening of our perception has heralded an end to the reign of urban fashion. As ubiquitous as it was useful, the street uniform of leather leggings, hardware and lashings of black has served us well. It was a look that could be punctuated with texture – shearling was often featured – but the need for texture, for softness, eventually became too hard to resist.

The core of this change is embedded in our economical turmoil. If we dressed for battle during the early part of the recession, as we now do our best to ‘keep calm and carry on’, what we need is comfort.

The abundance of tweed, lace, calfskin and shearling on this year’s catwalks go a long way to explaining our desire to be cosseted. We want to be wrapped up in cosiness, with texture providing us with a fourth fashion dimension. The feel of clothes has been neglected over the past decade, with our attention focused on their visual impact. How clothes feel next to the skin is rapidly becoming one of fashion’s major steering factors.

The theme of softness continues beyond outerwear with chiffon and silk lending themselves brilliantly to the 70’s-style pussy-bow blouses seen at Chloe, and the star-spangled jumpsuits from Dolce & Gabbana. The lightness of the looks coming off the runway is about freedom, not constriction. It’s not only our range of movement that gets a break this winter: the capacious silhouettes of cocoon coats and capes give us room to relax and take stock. If you’re already feeling the pinch, the gentleness of a cocoon shape won’t fence you in. When we’re all feeling the pressure, fashion lightens the load with collections filled with airy, dreamy looks that reassure and comfort us.

It’s this fashion landscape that Zuzanna will inherit in 2012. With an already-proven track record as an interpreter of fashion’s softer side, Bijoch stands to make it big next year. Her ability to fuse strength with softness will prove invaluable as the fashion world moves its tough-guy act out of the spotlight in favour of a look that’s soft on the surface.

But don’t be fooled: fashion’s new affection for softness isn’t about denial; it’s right in the action, with a core of strength that’s there, even if you can’t see it. In times like these, fashion is far from being frivolous: it has something very profound to say about the art of survival. 2012 will be a quiet show of strength, but no matter what, fashion has our back.

HELEN TOPE