MODEL PROFILES - FRANZI MUELLER

Born in 1992, German model Franzi Mueller is part of a new wave of models that are wowing the industry with their ability to interpret the latest trends.

Whilst still at school, Franzi was advised by friends to become a model. Wanting to complete her education first, Mueller stayed on at school, finishing in summer 2011. She contacted a local modelling agency and was sent on go-sees for ready-to-wear shows. The bold approach by Franzi’s agency worked: in February 2012, Mueller was cast in several shows, including an opening spot for Calvin Klein.

Receiving this honour from one of fashion’s biggest names, Franzi immediately made a huge impact. It was all the more impressive when you consider that this was achieved with no pre-season buzz. Also walking in shows for Celine, Dries Van Noten, Givenchy, Valentino and Prada, all of Franzi’s star power was reserved for the runway.

Mueller made her editorial debut just a month later, appearing in Exit magazine. The editorial (‘Alice’), photographed by Paul Empson, showcased the new tailoring trend, especially focusing on peplum waists. Going from strictly couture to high-street staple in the space of five years, this trend is a perfect example of how quickly the fashion landscape can alter.

In May, Franzi make her first appearance for German Vogue. In ‘Klassenbeste’, photographed by Greg Kadel, Franzi modelled the Givenchy Couture jewellery featured in their January collection. Drawing on influences as diverse as Indian bridal jewellery and punk-rock, the large hanging earrings and nose-ring are not a look for the faint-hearted. Designed to create an impact that’s more editorial than ready-to-wear, Mueller models through a look that could easily dominate, making the photograph not just about spectacle. In this photograph, Franzi demands your attention, refusing to be overwhelmed by the massive jewellery pieces. For a newcomer, it was a significant achievement.

The following month, Franzi made her debut for Spanish V.  Appearing in ‘Electro’, photographed by Pierre Debusschere, the editorial lives up to its name, exploring neons and brights. The boldness of the colours is tempered by the super-strict tailoring of the jackets and peplum skirts. With the addition of post-production enhancement, Mueller beautifully balances the photograph; keeping her facial expressions soft and feminine to act as a neat counterpoint, making the bright colours even more appealing by making them look eminently wearable.

Packing in even more editorial commitments, in August Franzi made her inaugural appearance in Russian Vogue. Photographed by Emma Tempest, the self-titled editorial celebrated Franzi as a new and upcoming modelling talent. Along with Italian Vogue, the magazine remains a constant champion of modelling talent, regularly featuring new faces in key editorials and even on the cover. In a publishing world increasingly reliant on the pull of celebrities to boost sales, Russian Vogue remains proudly loyal to its high-fashion roots.

The glut of editorials over the summer paid off for Franzi as she managed to score two high-profile campaigns. Appearing for Louis Vuitton’s multi-model epic, Franzi joins other new names to populate what must be the most stylish train carriage in existence.

Mueller can also be seen in Hobbs’ Autumn / Winter campaign with models Karlina Caune, Emily Baker, Kinga Rajzak and Sojourner Morrell. Hobbs, along with many mid-priced high-street chains, has had to step up its game recently and along with stores like Zara, is providing great trend-led pieces for an increasingly fashion-literate audience. As well as the usual fare of tweeds and beautifully-cut coats in teals and oranges, 

Hobbs also dips its toes into winter florals – and comes up smelling of roses.

Squeezing in a few appearances for the Spring / Summer 2013 season (including Oscar de la Renta, Nina Ricci, Rodarte and Donna Karan), Mueller kicked off the autumn with a season preview with Dazed & Confused. Photographed by Sean and Seng, here Franzi appears in the S&M trend, reworked for this season as eveningwear.

September also saw Franzi hit the editorial jackpot with a spread for Italian Vogue. ‘Alta Moda: Dolce & Gabbana’ (photographed by Paolo Roversi), is a multi-page editorial dedicated to the Italian design duo. Featuring Ava Smith, Kate King, Suzie Bird and Bette Franke, Franzi has her own double-page story, working both black and white lace pieces. Mueller shows her versatility here, channelling the Dolce & Gabbana siren to perfection.

Mueller was back to her high-fashion beginnings in October with an editorial for Wall Street Journal. Shown exclusively online, ‘Austerity Measures’ featured Mueller working the more pronounced silhouettes of Autumn / Winter 2012. Deftly demonstrated through coats and jackets, it is testament to Franzi’s skill in front of the camera that every coat and jacket she models (though vastly different from each other), are anchored by her modelling style. Keeping it simple, she allows the designs to take centre stage. Exuding elegance and poise, Franzi shows off her knowledge of fashion history, channelling the original Dior models of the 1950’s.

Also in October, Franzi made her debut for i-D magazine. The editorial, ‘Being an icon is great but leaving a legacy is better’, Mueller is photographed modelling a leather dress by Celine. Mueller is also interviewed by the magazine, and cites model Mariacarla Boscono as one of her biggest fashion influences, and there are definite similarities in their modelling styles. As Boscono is one of fashion’s longest-serving models, this bodes well for Franzi’s longevity.

Appearing in November’s issue of Numero and a late 2012 appearance for W, Franzi’s editorial popularity has been not only enduring but wide-ranging. Mueller has already appeared in publications from Italy, China, Spain, Germany, Russia and the United States. Mueller’s status as a high-flyer is defined by her instinct for wearing modern design with intelligence and verve. Combine this with Franzi’s physical gifts – height, good proportion and bone-structure – and you arrive at a picture of a model that not only appreciates high fashion, but understands it as well.

Every great model knows that while their face graces an editorial, or fronts a campaign, it is the clothes that are the star. The best models working right now are the ones who have a genuine love of fashion. With high-fashion itself heading into the unknown, with ever-bolder shapes taking the lead, it is up to the industry’s interpreters (photographers, stylists, editors and models) to take the fear out of contemporary fashion and persuade us of its wearability.

Even at its most extreme, Franzi finds the beauty in high fashion, making it not just interesting but downright inspirational. These are big ideas, fashion at its most conceptual, but with the right interpretation, these are ideas we find ourselves wanting to explore.

Making that leap into wearing the next big idea takes courage and models like Franzi are going there first; showing us not only how these new trends can be worn, but how we can find a connection between the clothing and ourselves. Every regularly-worn piece in your wardrobe gets preference above others because you have a connection to it. Whether it’s a colour, or pattern, favourite pieces connect and that relationship can be deep-rooted. It explains why you end up buying one colour over and over, or variations of a jacket you have worn to death.

Making that connection is skilled work and this is why a model who loves fashion will always do well. Looking at Franzi’s CV, despite the fact her career is not even a year old; she is already shaping up to be one of high fashion’s most prolific advocates. Whether she’s channelling aspects of fashion’s history, or working the edgiest trends, the love is there for everyone to see.

HELEN TOPE

MODEL PROFILES: MACKENZIE DRAZAN

Born in Woodside, California, on the 10^th August 1995, Mackenzie was discovered at the age of 14. A year later, she had been named a newcomer to watch by www.models.com ,  signing up with Elite Models. 

In July 2010, a month shy of her 15^th birthday, Drazan debuted at the Autumn / Winter show for Valentino Couture. Mackenzie then took a brief 6-month break from modelling, returning in February 2011. Drazan made her ready-to-wear debut, including appearances for Jil Sander, Calvin Klein and Louis Vuitton.

Drazan’s early start at the very highest levels of catwalk modelling marked her out as a casting must-have.  Returning to the catwalk again that September, Mackenzie added Alexander McQueen, Celine and Balenciaga to her growing list of credits. Finishing the year with appearances in the pre-fall lookbook for Narciso Rodriguez and the pre-fall collection show for Calvin Klein, Drazan was already becoming a favourite with some of the world’s biggest labels. 

Her growing list of credits certainly got Mackenzie noticed, and in February 2012, she had her first blockbuster ready-to-wear season, walking in over 65 shows. The Autumn / Winter 2012 season saw bolder, more expressive designs making all the right moves, and the return of certain trends, such as outsize and head-to-toe print, seen at Jil Sander and Prada respectively, was tailor-made for a taller model like Drazan.  This season was an important one for the still-teenage model, and her stock soared as a result.

Mackenzie’s next assignment saw Drazan book an editorial for Italian Vogue. Photographed by Emma Summerton for the beauty supplement cover, Drazan worked the avant-garde look with total confidence. Italian Vogue’s enthusiasm for editorial make-up has become a micro-trend, with the looks that are accompanying this season’s fashion definitely moving into braver territory. The traditional smoky eye has been transformed into a multi-coloured, peacock eye, mimicking the explosion of colour that has been seen on the catwalks. Follow that with the incredible growth in nail art: not only in terms of colour but design and texture, and Italian Vogue’s take on beauty is right on the pulse. Avant-garde looks are no longer the preserve of magazine editorials, but real-life achievable.  As our fashion choices get a little riskier, make-up had no choice but to step up its game.

Drazan’s incredible run of catwalk success continued into the summer, with appearances at the resort shows including Alberta Ferretti, Bottega Veneta, Salvatore Ferragamo and Valentino. But Mackenzie’s biggest career moment was just around the corner. 

In July, Mackenzie made the cover of Italian Vogue. Photographed by Steven Meisel, this was the autumn / winter preview issue. Sharing the cover itself with Vanessa Axente, the fold-out, multi-model cover also featured Lida Fox, Elena Bartels, Julia Nobis and Erjona Ala. Channelling gothic glamour in the gowns from the Gucci collection, this was a new vision of how glamour should look for the upcoming season. Dark, moody but achingly covetable, this cover made everyone sit up and take notice.

Any appearance in Italian Vogue represents a huge turning point in a model’s career, as the magazine often champions new modelling talent, with fashion’s edgiest and most exciting faces often making their editorial debut within those pages. By getting onto the actual cover, Mackenzie had not only staked her claim to be one of those new, exciting faces, but to be one of the future leading faces in the modelling industry.

Drazan returned to catwalk duty again in July, this time heading to Paris for the couture shows. Walking in shows for Chanel, Elie Saab, Giambattista Valli and Valentino, Mackenzie also appeared in Raf Simons’ inaugural show for Dior. 

Mackenzie’s summer was filled with editorial commitments, starting with a spread for Dazed & Confused. Following that with an appearance in British Vogue, ‘Best in Show’ (photographed by Daniel Jackson), saw Mackenzie working the textured trouser-suit, and Mackenzie’s debut for W (‘Natural Selection’) saw her model the season’s texture theme with Laura Kampman, Ondria Hardin, Ophelie Rupp and Franzi Mueller.

Even with that heavy workload, Mackenzie continued to be in high demand, being booked for 55 shows in September. Including Marc Jacobs, Chanel, Givenchy, Versus, Dries Van Noten and Proenza Schouler, Mackenzie’s mix of blue-blood delicacy and ambiguous androgyny has made her a perfect runway model. The sheer range of design sensibilities that Drazan has modelled to date is dizzying: her portfolio takes us from the full-on sex appeal of Versus, to the cerebral chic of Dries Van Noten.

Following her success in the very best of editorial and runway, Drazan took her career to the next logical step this autumn with a campaign signing. However, as typical of the rest of her career, Mackenzie did not start small. She was booked for the Louis Vuitton Autumn / Winter campaign. An opinion divider, the Louis Vuitton campaign goes for broke with the amount of modelling talent on display. Working both in small teams and as part of a larger narrative, the models had their work cut out for them. The challenge was to perform as individuals but to impress as a collective. With something going on in every corner of the frame, each image created by campaign photographer Steven Meisel, is fascinating. Whether you liked the collection or not, the campaign demands you take a second look.

As Drazan moves in ever more impressive circles, her success is down to the fact that she is an American model with major cross-continent appeal. Her looks, old-school beauty with a touch of the modern, make her a natural ‘fit’ for most editorials, runways and covers. 

Drazan’s success is also down to timing: during the 1980’s, American models were historically locked into the commercial arena of the fashion industry. Blockbuster names like Cindy Crawford were as well known by the public as fashion insiders. The wide-ranging appeal of those faces hard-wired that look into our minds: to be American was to, by extension, be commercial. 

This continued long into the Nineties and it wasn’t until recently that we learned to appreciate a whole new kind of American beauty. Faces like Karlie Kloss, Charlotte Free, Chanel Iman and Lindsey Wixson have tackled, head-on, the perception that Americans can’t do hard-core editorial. Wixson, with her unusual features, has radically challenged the idea that American models are commercial by definition. Wixson, currently the face of Mulberry and Chanel, is spiky, bold and adaptable, covering cute and whimsical through to ultra high-fashion.

Where Mackenzie fits is somewhere between Wixson’s edginess and Karlie Kloss’ all-rounder appeal. Drazan’s success on the catwalk most closely aligns her with Kloss – a model that rose to the top by clocking up a serious amount of runway hours. Kloss succeeded by being visible, and this strategy appears to be working for Drazan too.

But whereas Kloss has re-defined the term ‘all-American’, Drazan differs by offering something more elusive. She may be a California girl, but looking at Mackenzie, you can imagine her being a native of almost anywhere.  Her lack of definability is what has propelled Mackenzie to the top of the industry at break-neck speed, explaining why she is as comfortable in Valentino Couture as Balenciaga’s ready-to-wear. There is a phrase that to be a jack of all trades is to be master of none, but this is certainly not true of modelling: a face that can lend itself to any look is one that will undoubtedly prosper. 

Already a favourite with fashion’s most influential designers, Mackenzie Drazan is set to become America’s most exciting modelling prospect in years. Once again challenging us to re-shape our ideas of what an American model looks like, Drazan is the next stage in America’s endeavour to become world-class at sourcing the best editorial talent. With Drazan already on the rise, this may be a case of mission accomplished.

HELEN TOPE

MODEL PROFILES: ERJONA ALA

Born on 12^th July 1995, Norwegian model Erjona Ala made her debut in the modelling industry at the age of 15. Competing in the International Elite Model Look contest in 2010, she narrowly missed out on first place, coming in as the runner-up. However, Erjona still caught the attention of the industry, signing with Ford Models the following year. 

She made her catwalk debut in March 2011, walking in the Balenciaga show as an exclusive – an incredible honour for a newcomer. Her spot in the Balenciaga show made her an automatic standout: www.models.com featured Ala as their ‘model of the week’ as a result.

In June, Erjona modelled in resort shows for Marc Jacobs, Alexander Wang, Louis Vuitton and Proenza Schouler. She made her couture debut the following month, walking in the Autumn / Winter show for Alaia Couture. But her big runway moment came in September, when she appeared in a mammoth 65 shows. She opened shows for Monique Lhuillier, Cynthia Rowley, Clements Riberio, Margaret Howell, Marios Schwab, Temperley and Haider Ackermann. She also scored closing spots with Sonia Rykiel and Thakoon.

For a model just months into her career, a season of this magnitude is still a rarity in an industry where a reputation can take years to build. Not only did Erjona walk in some of the biggest shows of the season, she was selected to open and close several high-prestige shows. Erjona’s look proved a winner on the runway circuit, neither leaning too strongly in either direction of editorial edge or mainstream glamour. It helps explain why Erjona would appeal to designers with aesthetic viewpoints as different as Monique Lhuillier and Marios Schwab. When a model’s look ‘connects’ with designers on this level, the effect tends to be incendiary. Like her peers Lara Mullen and Romee Strijd, Erjona has made her reputation, not through covers or campaigns, but the catwalk. Even in an increasingly digital age, the continuing importance of the catwalk should not be overlooked. 

With fashion undergoing a virtual reset every six months, a successful show creates its own momentum: the fabulous Gucci collection for Autumn / Winter 2012 created a huge stir on its debut in February, and its profile has been steadily growing over the past few months, culminating in an amazing cover spread for Italian Vogue. The catwalk still sets the pace: with campaigns, editorials and blogs relying on what comes down the runway. The magic of seeing a great collection coming down a runway in real time hasn’t lost its appeal. 

Erjona’s career then bridged out into editorial work, with a major spread in W magazine’s October issue. ‘Sects and the City’, photographed by Craig McDean, was a series of group shots featuring different fashion ‘sects’. Erjona modelled with Milou van Groesen, Ming Xi, Jess Gold and Cole Mohr in Twenties-style glamour, pre-empting the launch of Baz Luhrmann’s film The Great Gatsby’ (due for release next year). Erjona becomes a dead ringer for screen siren Louise Brooks, in a severe bob, floor-length gown and pearls. 

In March 2012, Erjona scooped the cover of British magazine ‘Dazed & Confused’. Photographed by Roe Ethridge, the ‘2012: if it’s not exciting, you’re not doing it properly’ issue, featured Erjona surrounded by banks of flowers, channelling 1980’s androgyny in washed denim. Erjona also appeared in their Spring / Summer season preview. Modelling luxury sportswear, Erjona worked the trend that, after two summers spent on the sidelines, is now feeling the love. With Team GB grabbing the golds, sportswear feels less niche and more on-trend. Erjona proved ahead of the curve, giving the sportswear a sleek sophistication; moving it away from its track and field associations to a more urban, fashion-led look. 

Erjona went ultra high-fashion in June with a spread for Bon magazine. Photographed by Marcus Ohlsson, ‘Television / Night Vision’, is right at fashion’s sharp end, establishing Erjona’s ability to work a complex shoot where themes are densely-layered and the model’s performance has to respond in kind. Erjona proved a brilliant choice for this shoot, with her looks easily lending themselves to such a premise. It often takes years for a model to be able to perform at this level – Erjona coolly handled the pressure, proving she could even take on fashion’s toughest assignments.

Her CV of edgy editorial and catwalk bookings paid off in June when it was announced that she would form part of the Autumn / Winter Louis Vuitton campaign. Photographed by Steven Meisel, Erjona joined Elena Bartels, Hedvig Palm, Julia Nobis, Marie Piovesan and Ros Georgiou. Posing in a train carriage, the models manage the blend of retro and modern that sums up the look of Vuitton.

Moving on from his blockbuster Spring / Summer collection, Vuitton creative director Marc Jacobs returns to his quirky roots this winter with clothes trimmed in burgundy, with models clutching leopard-print totes. They are classic colours and prints, but given the Jacobs treatment: everything is fringed, furred or otherwise embellished. The idea of excess is at the centre of the Autumn / Winter season. Taking on a more-is-more approach, designers are adopting decadent fabrics such as velvet, fur and brocade to suggest wealth and a feeling of plenty. While some commentators have given the Louis Vuitton collection (and campaign) mixed reviews, this ad represents the core values for the coming season. The collection may be divisive, but in terms of what it says about fashion for the rest of 2012, it is impossible to ignore. For Erjona, the booking was nothing less than a stunning coup.

The most recent booking on Erjona’s CV rivals the Vuitton ad in terms of covetability, with Ala appearing on the July cover of Italian Vogue. If this wasn't enough of a score, the July issue also features a first look at the international collections - and Erjona was invited to the party. 

How Italian Vogue presents the collections for the upcoming season sets the bar for the rest of the fashion industry: much imitated, but never bettered, Italian Vogue still remains the benchmark in terms of editorial: it is an important and highly prized booking for any model to get. Photographed again by Steven Meisel, Erjona takes to the cover with Julia Nobis, Lida Fox, Mackenzie Drazan and Vanessa Axente. All dressed in dark chiffon gowns from Gucci, this fold-out cover has a supernatural, gothic theme at its heart. Italian Vogue’s message is clear: embellishment and luxury may be the focus, but they are not the same animals they were five years ago. This time, the playground of luxury has a macabre feel: the models are ‘at play’: on swings, on bikes, but the effect is anything but playful. Here, luxury is not something easy-going and uncomplicated: the right to continue making this kind of fashion has been hard-won. Fashion has come through the eye of a financial storm, but emerges as a different industry. The ideas are back, but our notions of decadence and glamour have changed and matured. Gucci’s darkly seductive collection is glamour with a twist, and has made a major impact, both in terms of editorial and appearances on the red-carpet. But Gucci is not this season’s lone wolf: every designer this season has contributed to the new breed of glamour – still beautiful, just a little older and a little wiser. 

Gucci deftly taps into the zeitgeist this season, and for a model, there’s no better collection to hitch your wagon to. Erjona’s association with Gucci – and the cover of Italian Vogue – has cemented her reputation as one of fashion’s rising stars. A choice booking for both catwalk and editorial, Erjona’s star is not just on the ascent, superstardom is within touching distance. In the space of just two years, Erjona has gone from runner-up to fashion’s front runner. 

HELEN TOPE

MODEL PROFILES: NYASHA MATONHODZE

Born on the 31^st July 1994, British model Nyasha Matonhodze is a home-grown talent making an impact on an international stage.

Raised in Northampton, Nyasha entered the Elite Model Look contest in 2009, ending up as a finalist in the World Final after winning the British heat. The Elite Model contest has an excellent track record: its alumni include Gisele, Cindy Crawford and Helena Christensen.

Readily compared to Naomi Campbell, Nyasha had big expectations placed on her at the age of 15. She signed up with Elite Models the same year, making her catwalk debut in September 2010.

She had her first major ready-to-wear season in February 2011, with a mass of bookings including Erdem, Lela Rose, Marc by Marc Jacobs. Mary Katrantzou, Rachel Roy, Sass & Bide. Following this a month later with editorials in Harper’s Bazaar and Teen Vogue, Nyasha was already building a career most models would envy.

Her appearance for Teen Vogue was a particularly good signing, as they featured Nyasha as a name to watch just a month later. The magazine has a history of spotting future stars including Karlie Kloss and Lindsey Wixson. Teen Vogue acts as a perfect launch pad for new models by giving editorial opportunities to up-and-comers. A crucial building block in a model's career, Teen Vogue represents an important step in getting those editorial bookings. The magazine, though targeted at teenagers, has become increasingly influential in the mainstream press as it schools a new generation in the how, where and why of high-fashion. Appear in Teen Vogue, and other bookings will follow.

Nyasha’s star soared with her first magazine cover. Photographed by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott for the Spring issue of Love, Nyasha channelled fashion gothic in a self-titled ‘Supernatural’ issue. Her confidence in front of the camera prepared her for her biggest break so far. In Autumn 2011, Nyasha was hired to appear in the latest campaign for Louis Vuitton.

Photographed by Steven Meisel, Louis Vuitton became a lone star in an Autumn / Winter season chiefly concerned with soft textures and cocoon shapes. A collection based on military chic stood out, and this played to Nyasha’s advantage as the images went global, both in print and online. Modelling with names such as Anais Pouliot, Nyasha’s performance was remarkable for its cool confidence. In these images, she looks every inch the supermodel-in-waiting, not allowing herself to be intimated by the enormity of the situation. A Vuitton campaign, photographed by one of the most famous fashion photographers in the world, would be enough to throw even an experienced model. Nyasha looks calm, assured and utterly at home. It was a debut not only promising a great deal, but delivering it too.

In her second campaign booking of the season, Nyasha got the chance to represent Britain in a campaign series for Topshop. In high-street terms, this is as good as it gets. Featuring Nyasha with Kate King and Hailey Clauson, Topshop has mastered the art of making high-street as covetable as high-fashion. Topshop, a uniquely British success story, excels because it refuses to pander to its audience. It sets high standards in terms of following and translating trends fit for retail, creating pieces as keenly valued as the high-fashion original. Topshop even starts micro-trends, from dalmatian print to skater dresses. It is a store with a strong sense of its own identity – and power. Topshop’s campaigns are notable for using the latest faces and Nyasha joins Kate and Hailey in a campaign that’s sleek as it is sophisticated.

Nyasha became even more in demand, with a 47—show season in September. Working the closing spot in the Balenciaga show, Nyasha’s other highlights included Givenchy, Elie Saab, Givenchy, Oscar de la Renta, Marchesa, Prabal Gurung, Tory Burch and YSL. This was the season of a model not just on the rise, but with very real potential to become a big star.

With consecutive editorials in W, American Vogue and Numero, Nyasha rounded out her clutch of editorial bookings with a spot for Japanese Vogue in November. The feature, named ‘Movement and Shape’, was a dynamic solo shoot for Matonhodze, seeing Nyasha work epic fashion from the likes of Alexander McQueen.

Ending 2011 with an elegant mini-shoot for American Vogue, Nyasha began 2012 with another spread for the iconic magazine. ‘A Man for All Seasons’ was a tribute to the work of Marc Jacobs. With models standing on a scaffold wearing his most prolific designs, the editorial ably demonstrated how large an impact Jacobs has had on the fashion industry. If there’s been any trend that’s sparked your imagination, chances are Jacobs started it first. Polka dots, midi-hems and grunge-luxe have all had an image reload on Jacobs’ watch.Even the classic items in your wardrobe got a high-fashion nod two years ago in a famously game-changing collection.

Jacobs, along with Miuccia Prada and Karl Lagerfeld, is one of fashion’s great sartorial rebels. His collections rarely bear any resemblance to what else is going on that season. His designs always tend to be one step ahead, but his best collections always feature individual pieces that are perfect for now. American Vogue’s tribute to Jacobs could not be more aptly named: whatever else is going on in fashion, you can rely on Marc to be a man for all seasons. It’s rare to find a designer equally strong in both S/S and A/W collections – they often have a preference, whether that’s personal choice or the label's tendency to lean towards one season over the other. Matthew Williamson’s gift at mixing bright colours makes him an automatic stand-out for S/S where YSL’s austerely Parisian take on tailoring finds its natural home in the A/W collections.

But Jacobs never feels like a designer we can pin down: his intoxicating, 70’s-inspired collection last year was just as talked-about as his bold, jazz-style riff on 40’s silhouettes. If Jacobs does have a preference, he keeps it well hidden.

Nyasha returned to Love magazine again this Spring with another show-stopping performance. ‘A Chorus Line’ photographed by Solve Sundsbo, Love explores fashion’s current love affair with all things vintage. Featuring Ajak Deng, Kati Nescher and Josephine Skriver, this is a tribute to the choreography seen in 1940’s Hollywood musicals. The military precision of the models pays homage to the steely eye of choreographer Busby Berkeley. Responsible for some of the most breathtaking dance sequences ever laid down on film, Sundsbo expertly mimics the razor-sharp lines of Berkeley’s famous chorus line. It is at once totally modern and wonderfully old-fashioned.

Nyasha returned to the runway in February, adding Zac Posen, Burberry, Rodarte and Richard Chai to her list of credits. Adding another major campaign to her CV this Spring, Nyasha took part in the resort campaign video for Balenciaga with Miranda Kerr, Milou van Groesen and Jamie Bochert.

The campaign video has gone from fashion curiosity to an established means of promoting a label in a very short space of time. It acts as a companion piece to the 2D campaign we’re more used to seeing, but more importantly, it provides a third dimension to the high-fashion experience. A 2D campaign can tell us how a collection looks, but the genius of the video is that it can give you a very good idea of how fashion fits, moves and feels. The latest must-see video from Prada’s S/S 12 collection is a masterclass in how to show off fashion to its best advantage. The swishing of the pleated skirts and the twinkle of the brocaded duster coats – they are all compelling arguments for the campaign video. Available to watch on YouTube well beyond the season they hail from, the video extends the life of a campaign, building a library of images that come together to form a richer, more detailed picture of a label’s history. It’s not just about fashion nostalgia but providing a label with the means of making a solid and formidable presence online. A glossy ad in the latest copy of Vogue is good, but no longer enough – success is now also measured by the number of hits your video gets. Success on the internet is a ripple effect: if one person shares your video with five friends, and they share it with five of theirs – the word about your label spreads remarkably quickly.

The internet has transformed the way we buy fashion, but now it is changing how we engage with fashion on an intellectual level. A label has not only got to win our hearts, but our minds as well. The video that makes a connection with both pays for itself several times over. If we like the video, we remember the label, and in a crowded marketplace, brand memory can be fickle. A stunning campaign video can hardwire itself into your memory and that’s exactly where every label wants to be. The campaign video is no longer a novelty, but a marketing tool of devastating effectiveness.

In reviewing Nyasha’s rise to the top, the question of whether fashion has learned to love diversity is one that can, for the moment, be put to rest. The Top 50 list on www.models.com features models from Japan, Holland, Australia, Brazil and Croatia, and these are all models working at the very highest levels of their industry. Just like the growth in new technology, diversity is also no longer a novelty, but a given. Nyasha has the good fortune to be entering the fashion world at a point where it is actively embracing every kind of beauty. Even just ten years ago, the face of modelling looked very different. Models from different backgrounds were present and working, but in numbers nowhere near comparable to today.

Unlikely as it seems, the source of this transformation can be located in fashion’s biggest challenge: the global recession. The pockets of fashion consumers didn’t, as predicted, dwindle into extinction – they just moved. The new high-rollers, keeping RTW and couture afloat, came from further afield, and the transfer of wealth spurred an appetite for not only new faces, but faces able to translate and sell fashion to a truly global audience.

This all places Nyasha in a strong position for the next five years of her career. Matonhodze is already working at an international level, and being an international model has never been more vital than it is right now. One of the first models to work in a climate where technology, diversity and globalisation are radically altering the way we buy, view and think about fashion, the girl from Northampton is becoming the standard for a new modelling age: smart, confident and boldly eclectic.

HELEN TOPE