MODEL PROFILES: KATE UPTON

Born on the 10^th June 1992, Michigan-based model Kate Upton signed with Elite Models in 2009. Just a year later, Upton made the pivotal decision to switch agencies, moving to IMG in 2010. The decision to sign with this uber-agency, that not only manages models, but works with stars from the worlds of music and sport, was the key change Upton needed. IMG is an agency that specialises in self-branding, tailoring their management strategies to an individual client’s strengths and weaknesses. It is entirely plausible to attribute Upton’s current success – and huge popularity – down to smart branding.

Upton started in the sectors of the fashion industry where she would be well-received. Her first campaign booking was with Guess Jeans. Becoming the face of the brand at the age of 18, she stayed with Guess for two years.  Also undertaking some modelling for the 2011 Victoria’s Secret catalogue, this was a classic case of Upton playing to her strengths.

Then came her big break. After appearing in the 2011 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, she was invited back in January 2012 – to be their cover girl. An American institution, this annual cover can be a star-making deal – recent cover girls include Bar Refaeli and Brooklyn Decker. 

It is not just the preserve of swimwear / lingerie models either: Tyra Banks famously graced the cover in 1996, during the height of her high-fashion career. Like Victoria’s Secret, this magazine offers huge cross-over potential, and Kate’s appearance on this year’s issue had the desired effect: she became a star overnight.

With Upton now on everyone’s radar, a new phase of her career kicked in: in early 2012, she appeared on the Spring / Summer cover of Muse magazine. Photographed by Sebastian Faena for both the cover and accompanying editorial, ‘Blonde Bombshell’, this was Kate’s first foray into the world of high-fashion and she proved herself more than capable of stepping up. 

Upton also appeared in the Spring / Summer issue of V. This was a crucial booking for Kate, as V is an ultra-edgy, highly influential magazine. For Kate to appear in this magazine indicated that, while popular opinion was still locked into Upton’s triumphant turn for Sports Illustrated, the fashion industry was already starting to look ahead and see a different kind of potential.

In May, Kate appeared on two magazine covers: Esquire and Harper’s Bazaar. The latter was photographed by Terry Richardson, along with the prophetically-titled editorial ‘The Shape of Things to Come’. Kate worked Hermes and other old-school labels, channelling full-on glamour. Richardson proved to be an inspired choice of photographer, being someone who is very comfortable at producing highly-sexualised fashion images. Richardson’s photographs may provoke, but they are always grounded in the world of high-fashion.

Upton’s affiliation with Richardson continued into July, when they created the cover for GQ magazine. Treading the line between appealing to men and adding that all-important high fashion gloss, Richardson’s gift for translating sexuality on film is self-evident here. The cover feels fun and spontaneous, a tricky balance but Upton and Richardson get the tone just right.

July was also the month that Upton made her inaugural appearance in American Vogue. ‘Bringing Sexy Back’, an editorial photographed by Sebastian Kim, profiled Kate’s career to date and her newly-unleashed charm offensive on the fashion world. It was a significant nod to Upton: American Vogue’s success rate at spotting the next big thing is unsurpassed.

In a busy month, Upton also appeared in the UK’s Sunday Times Style magazine. A supplement that has become both influential and highly significant (editorials were once presided over by stylist Isabella Blow), Upton is here sold as America’s latest pin-up. She models traditionally ‘sexy’ clothes, but it is styled sharply and cleanly – no sleaze, just fashion.

Kate’s final booking for the summer was with Spanish Vogue. In ‘Fuego en el Cuerpo’ (Body Heat), Upton gives a master-class in how to model swimwear. It is an undervalued area of modelling, despite its profitability. To model swimwear requires not just energy but focus; an awareness of angles and negative space. These tend to be highly technical shoots, replying on just the right angle to create that perfect shot. It is testament to what Upton has learnt in a short space of time, in that she makes the job of modelling swimwear look unnervingly easy. 

Kate returned to American Vogue in September, appearing in ‘The Vogue 120’. Shot by legendary photographer Norman Jean Roy, this mega-editorial featured every current designer and model of note. Working in groups, Upton modelled with Candice Swanepoel and Chanel Iman. Placed side by side, the two ‘glamour’ models meet Iman’s high-fashion experience head-on: there is no weak link in this shot.

This month, Upton goes from cover girl to superstar. Coming of age in a Steven Meisel shoot for American Vogue, Kate, as ‘The New Girl’, models sports-luxe inspired fashion from some American greats:  Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren, Jason Wu and Donna Karan. The editorial, aiming to sell Upton as the new American sweetheart, directly draws a line between Kate, Jayne Mansfield and Marilyn Monroe. 

As daunting as this proclamation is, Upton’s giddy ascent to stardom does beg comparisons to Mansfield and Monroe. But Upton’s own image is far from that of the ‘doomed blonde’. Depicted as a youthful force of nature, Upton’s appeal is rooted in a girl-next-door philosophy. Upton’s success stems from the fact that she is a girl from Michigan who was smart about grabbing the opportunities that would further her career.  Her July cover for GQ keenly lays out the reason for Upton’s popularity: along with her beauty is an air of accessibility. This cover works because it never takes itself too seriously. It may also be the reason for Kate’s success.

This November has seen Kate upgrade from swimwear and catalogue work to fashion’s Holy Grail: the cover of Italian Vogue. Photographed by Steven Meisel, the cover titled ‘Seductive’ has made headlines around the world. Styled as an 80’s glamour girl, the magazine plays on old ideas of ‘sexy’ and ‘seduction’ by presenting them with a new face. The cover has not received all positive press, with lots of fashion fans being very vocal in their disapproval despite Kate’s stellar performance. Never afraid to court controversy, Italian Vogue has hit a home run with this cover.

Also appearing in the leading editorial of November’s Italian Vogue, ‘Miss Kate Upton’ is given the full Vogue Italia treatment. Kate works every angle here – her previous experience working swimwear and lingerie proves the perfect base for a shoot like this. Upton knows instinctively what works and what doesn’t: ‘Seduction’ may be a mind game, but Kate plays the game like a master. It is, without doubt, one of the most extraordinary transformations the fashion industry has seen. To go from modelling lingerie to the pages of Vogue in the space of a year is incredible progress. 

Upton’s next challenge will be to keep the momentum going. As Kate has been accepted by the flagship publications of the industry, it will be interesting to see if she makes the next step from editorial to runway. While Upton has proved herself in print, runway is notably missing from her CV. Although a catwalk-friendly 5’ 10”, Upton has no high-fashion runway experience to date.

Right now, the odds of Kate making that leap are not in her favour. Upton’s curves would have placed her in good company during the Supermodel period – it is easy to imagine Upton modelling with the likes of Cindy Crawford and Helena Christensen. But for the moment, the emphasis is on tall, lean girls who can handle fashion’s rapidly changing and increasingly-bold silhouettes. 

It all hangs on what will emerge from the collections next February. Prada’s curve-hugging collection from Autumn 2010 is a great example of fashion doing the unexpected: Miuccia Prada’s work begged for a different shape, and models such as Doutzen Kroes and Lara Stone were hired to (literally) do the leg-work. All it takes is another collection like this, or a trend that requires curves to do it justice, and Kate could find herself a runway star as well.

For now, Kate must end 2012 with a huge sense of accomplishment. She started the year as the cover girl for Sports Illustrated, and finished it as a cover star for Italian Vogue. The fashion world was under no obligation to take to her the way they did, but her versatility and ability to grow is what makes Kate that one in a million. Whatever direction her career takes in 2013, Kate really is the shape of things to come.

HELEN TOPE

MODEL PROFILES: BAMBI NORTHWOOD-BLYTH

Born in 1991, Stephanie Bambi Northwood-Blythe began modelling locally in Australia at the age of 18.

Signing with Elite in 2010, and adopting her middle name, Bambi scored her first international editorial with RUSSH that April. Photographed by Beau Grealy, ‘Stoned’ was a series of neutral-toned portraits.  Styled with distressed edging and rough textures, Bambi gave an astonishingly accomplished performance, adding a layer of sophistication entirely in keeping with the tone of the shoot.

Landing the cover of Australian Harper’s Bazaar in June, Bambi took to the runway in September. Walking for Chanel, Balenciaga, Rag & Bone, Topshop Unique and Kenzo, Bambi defied the legend that shorter models can’t do runway.

Following a ready-to-wear debut with a pre-Fall show for Chanel in December, this was a very interesting booking. Bambi’s look could easily be classified as very ‘Chanel’ – her strongly defined eyebrows make her memorable, much like Alice Dellal and Vanessa Paradis,  two of Lagerfeld’s most recent campaign girls. Chanel, despite its image beyond the fashion world, is not merely a wardrobe go-to for Park Avenue princesses. Every Chanel girl has had an edge, an intelligence that communicates a brand more intrigued by character than beauty alone. Bambi’s inclusion in the show, at such an early point in her career, was more than Lagerfeld latching onto the face of the moment; Bambi was being touted as a star of the future.

In January 2011, Bambi landed in a ‘new faces’ spread for V magazine. All hand-picked by model, stylist and photographer Natalie Joos, Bambi is joined in the editorial by now-familiar names such as Arizona Muse, Ashley Smith, Carola Remer, Caroline Brasch Nielsen, Julia Saner and Daphne Groeneveld. Joos scored highly with her predictions: all these models are not only working regularly but impressing at the very highest levels of the fashion industry.

Featuring in the February issue of RUSSH, Bambi worked with photographer Benny Horne in an editorial called ‘Babes’. Also including Lisanne di Jong, Hannah Holman and Meag West, the group shots are a lovely example of working together for the greater good. Every model here has star potential, but they put star-billing aside to create group shots that are harmonious and beautiful.

February also saw Bambi head back to the runway, this time walking in A/W shows for Chanel, Jill Stuart, Giles and Topshop Unique. Her ability to command attention paid off in early 2011 when she became one of the faces representing the ck one fragrance by Calvin Klein. Photographed by Steven Meisel, the mega campaign featured Lara Stone, Abbey Lee Kershaw, Alice Dellal plus newer names including Samantha Gradoville, fresh from her runway triumph at Prada. 

Proving her versatility, Bambi then booked her first editorial with W. ‘The Change Agent’, photographed by Steven Meisel, sees Bambi work punk chic with Eliza Cummings and Saskia de Brauw. Between the gentle sensuality of ‘Babes’ and the fierceness of ‘The Change Agent’, Bambi proved herself a perfect fit for every concept. 

Stepping it up a gear, Bambi joined a slew of rising stars for the April cover of Japanese Vogue. Bambi is joined here by Britt Maren, Fei Fei Sun and Milou van Groesen. The cover, called ‘Next Wave’ is pretty accurate, its selection including Milou who would, within a year, become the face of Giorgio Armani.

The model was on home turf again in June, with a cover try for Australian Harper’s Bazaar. In ‘Bambi Turns up the Heat’, the model is featured topless – her modesty preserved by male model Jack Vanderhart’s arm placed across her torso. Bambi’s ability to do the sultrier shoots was also beautifully realised in the August issue of Australian GQ. Modelling with Tyson Ballou, Bambi models retro 1950’s glamour in ‘Before Night Falls’. 

After a highly successful year, Bambi finished 2011 by appearing on the cover of V, photographed by Terry Richardson. ‘Let’s Go Cruising’ features Bambi and Lindsey Wixson playfully posing in Louis Vuitton. 

Heading back to V in March 2012, Bambi channelled the darker side of sexuality in ‘Playing the Field’. An edgy shoot that sees Bambi play the scheming WAG-in-training, it is clear to see that her wealth of editorial experience has made her a highly valuable player. 

Bambi’s latest booking has been to appear in the resort lookbook for Marc by Marc Jacobs. Working looks designed for launch in Spring 2013, Bambi models alongside new model Ondria Hardin. The collection, reputedly inspired by Portland, refers back to ‘old classics’: nautical stripes, muted blues, polka dots and florals – all are thrown into the mix and given the Marc Jacobs treatment. Even the famous mouse-ear flats get a makeover, returning next year as clogs. 

Still barely two years into her career, Bambi has excelled at finding a diverse range of work. Rather than finding a comfort zone, and playing that to perfection, Bambi has actively sought different experiences; her CV charts the progress of a model determined to do it all.

Her bold approach to assignments has seen her star rise quickly and steadily: in the space of a few months, Bambi booked a Chanel show, a campaign for Calvin Klein and the cover of Japanese Vogue. Individually, these credits are impressive. Together, they form a picture of someone who is absolutely fearless in taking on those high-pressure jobs. It’s a good quality to have as a model – especially if you want to go further. 

Bambi’s ascent can also be plotted against a larger success for Australia. Along with fellow Australians Krystal Glynn and Julia Nobis (not to mention newcomers Ollie Henderson and Emily Wake), Bambi forms part of a collective that channel and champion directional fashion. Australia’s role in high-fashion has gathered pace since the discovery of Abbey Lee Kershaw and Catherine McNeill, challenging the idea that Australia only has one type of beauty to offer. The long-limbed, athletic type has been superseded by a variety of fashion-friendly looks, dating from Abbey’s star-making turn for Gucci right up to Julia Nobis’ supporting role in the Louis Vuitton campaign for Autumn 2012.

At 5’7”, Bambi is considerably shorter than most of her peers. But her blossoming editorial and campaign career is a reminder that the modelling world can be flexible – as long as you have something extra to give. Bambi’s extraordinary face, capable of going from punk to pastels, is that something extra. It works for editorial and it works for campaigns – when your photographic presence is as strong as hers, being on the short side can easily be forgiven.

Bambi is a brilliant example of turning potential negatives into something supremely positive. Her face, with those Hilary Rhoda-style eyebrows, could at best draw comparisons, but Bambi has been smart in her choices, slowly building a body of work that’s very different to Hilary’s clutch of campaign regulars. Beating your own path in modelling is essential: as much as fashion likes to categorise, it likes individuals better. It explains why quirky faces often triumph over more conventionally attractive ones. Knowing your strengths, your weaknesses and crucially what you have to offer, is half the battle in becoming a model. Bambi proves that the true mark of success is not in the pursuit of perfection but in acknowledging one’s flaws. She is a better model for it, and will go on to ever greater heights. In fashion, what really counts is not fitting in – it’s standing out.

HELEN TOPE

MODEL PROFILES: HELENA CHRISTENSEN

Born on Christmas Day 1968, Helena Christensen had an early start in modelling, landing her first job at the age of 9. The camera’s fascination with her classic Danish features started there and then, but few would guess that Helena would make a name for herself as the model who gave it all up for a life behind the lens.

Helena Christensen’s route into fashion wasn’t particularly straightforward. In 1986, she took part in, and won, the Miss Denmark beauty contest. Helena’s win wasn’t enough to secure her attention from the people who could ignite her career. She made the critical decision to leave Copenhagen and head for Paris.

In the mid-Eighties, Paris was the undisputed champion of the fashion world. Milan was in the process of falling in love with a young designer called Gianni Versace, and London was experiencing a lull in the post-punk era, where power-dressing didn’t really sit that well with its reputation for ground-breaking, button-pressing fashion. If you were serious about having a career in fashion, on any level, it was quite simple: you moved to Paris.

The city stood on its heritage (the Chanel two-piece suit was being revived at this time by affluent Americans keen for a piece of European chic), and the thrill of the new, supplied by Christian Lacroix and Yves Saint Laurent. Paris was unrivalled for its energy, creativity and excitement.

Helena arrived in Paris, but it took another three years before she would be discovered. Photographer Friedemann Hauss has that claim, calling her a ‘natural’ in terms of modelling ability. A year later, she appeared on the cover of British Vogue.

1991 was especially noteworthy for Helena’s career. Never someone who believed in being conventional, Helena began her career by taking part in a beauty pageant, and in 1991, her next big move was to co-star in a music video.

Music videos had been around since the late Seventies, but it was in the Eighties that the true power of the video to crystallise an artist’s image was fully realised (think of Michael Jackson’s video for ‘Thriller’). Budgets during the late Eighties and early Nineties increased significantly, with record companies hiring stylists to dress their artists and make everything that little more polished. But Chris Isaak’s record company had more in mind for their artist’s video than some hair gel and a wind machine.

The video was directed by legendary photographer Herb Ritts. Shot entirely in black and white, ‘Wicked Game’ was a smouldering epic and was a hit around the world. Sensual and dreamily hypnotic, Isaak and Christensen took the music video to a whole new level. The end result was beautiful, sophisticated and shot with the care and attention to detail of a high-fashion editorial. As with Kate Moss’ iconic shoot for Calvin Klein, the ‘Wicked Game’ video propelled Helena to international stardom. She made the transition, virtually overnight, from fashion girl to pop culture icon.

Her new-found fame won Helena entry into the upper echelons of the Paris fashion world. Following the video, Helena was booked by Karl Lagerfeld and photographer Peter Lindbergh. Her name now established, Helena’s modelling career really took off. Working for everyone from Bill Blass to Versace, Helena Christensen’s runway career leaned towards the European and classic-American labels. Using her timeless features and languid sensuality, Helena became one of the most recognisable faces in the business.

Returning to film, Helena also made a cameo appearance in Robert Altman’s 1994 film ‘Pret a Porter’. A satire on the eccentricities of the fashion industry, Helena became the face (and body) of the film, appearing on film posters, draped in nothing else but a feather boa.

Helena’s effortless ability to smoulder in front of the camera was put to the ultimate test in 1996 when she was asked to be one of the first Victoria’s Secret ‘signature angels’, along with Tyra Banks, Rebecca Romijn, Stephanie Seymour and Karen Mulder. Featuring in the world-famous lingerie catalogue and television commercials broadcast across the US, Helena Christensen’s career trajectory could not have aimed any higher. Earning her fashion stripes on the runway, and bolstering that income with high-profile campaigns, Helena’s career made her, along with Kate Moss, one of the faces of the Nineties. This success made Helena’s next move all the more baffling. In 1999, she co-founded Nylon magazine with Michael Neumann and announced that she would be officially retiring from the catwalk.

Only the year before, Helena had walked in runway shows for Dior, Chloe, Helmut Lang and Dries Van Noten. This was not a model losing her touch; Helena was at the very peak of her career.

The fashion world was left stunned by the decision, but to Helena, it made perfect sense. Her motivation in pursuing a modelling career was never about money or fame. Helena was focused not on achievement for its own sake, but what felt important and valuable. Many may have thought differently, but as far as Helena was concerned, there never was a ‘Christensen brand’.

Her decision to call time on a career that many would have stuck with while the going was so good, took tremendous courage. Making the choice to move on and try something new, signposted that Helena was not afraid to go down the path less travelled. As the fashion world moved into a phase of using younger models who possessed an ethereal, Pre-Raphaelite quality (such as Lily Donaldson, Gemma Ward and Lily Cole), Helena’s decision to bow out suddenly seemed quite smart.

In the next few years, Helena Christensen delved into her budding interest in photography, which ended up taking her back to where she started. Continuing to work on Nylon, Helena also learnt the trade of taking a good photograph. Developing a keen eye for composition, Helena immersed herself in the world behind the lens.

In 2007, Helena announced that she would exhibit a collection of her photographs, ‘A Quiet Life’ in Amsterdam. Helena’s series of quiet but searching portraits and landscapes struck a chord with the art community. This wasn’t a model at play – this was someone deadly serious about creating images that matter.

The fashion world hadn’t forgotten about her either. That same year she was asked to make a brief return to the catwalk for the 60th anniversary Dior Couture show. In March 2008, her two loves of fashion and photography collided when she was asked to shoot an editorial with model Valentina Zelyaeva for Spanish Vogue. Since then, her photographs have also appeared in Marie Claire and Elle.

Helena’s work follows the theatre principle that actors make the best directors. Her insight into how a photograph is composed, and knowledge of what it takes to get that image, has placed her uniquely within the world of fashion photography. Her astutely observed images settle the argument, once and for all, that a model (especially if she is successful) cannot purse an intellectual cause.

By walking away from her career at its height, Helena Christensen earned the respect of the fashion establishment. Although it is governed by pounds and pence, the fashion industry loves nothing more than a good romance, and there is nothing more beguiling than the idea of a top-of-her-game model that leaves it all for a life behind the camera.

Though officially retired from the catwalk, Christensen has returned to modelling on and off, including editorials for Harper’s Bazaar, French and Italian Vogue.

Fashion has remained in love with Helena Christensen not because she left for the right reasons, but because she wasn’t tempted to stay for the wrong ones. By following the path that most interests her; Helena Christensen has forged a unique place in modelling history. Now in her forties, she still features on the covers of publications such as Instyle, Elle and GQ, indicating how little her appeal has abated over the years.

Helena’s greatest achievements have come about when no-one else was looking. No-one expected the Danish model with the smouldering gaze to become such a success beyond the immediate perimeters of modelling. Nylon continues to flourish with Helena as its editor, and with another photography exhibition scheduled for 2010 at Tokyo’s NEXUS Gallery, Helena shows no signs of slowing down. Never ruled by the bottom line, the unexpected quality to her career is the thing that motivates her: that roaming sensibility is what keeps Helena moving on, and moving forward.

HELEN TOPE