MODEL PROFILES: DARIA STROKOUS

Born in Russia on the 25^th of September 1990, Daria Strokous signed with IMG in 2007. She made her catwalk debut the same year, appearing in shows for Prada and Marni.

Joining names such as Natasha Poly and Natalia Vodianova, Daria became the latest in a group of Eastern-European models who were taking the fashion industry by storm. Dubbed by www.models.com as one of the ‘IMG Power Generation’, this modelling cartel emerged at the same time as new pockets of wealth began to appear across the globe. Including Daria’s native Russia, while others talked of recession, the new leagues of super-rich were consuming high-fashion in seriously high numbers.

This new group of fashion consumers would not only prove important in years to come, but downright crucial in maintaining high-fashion’s survival. Daria, by association, saw her star begin to rise.

Appearing for Prada Sport in 2008, Strokous began what would become a long-standing relationship with the label Jil Sander when she closed their Autumn / Winter show in February.

In March 2008, she landed on the cover of Russian Harper’s Bazaar. Appearing with other Russian models, the cover celebrated what was already an established phenomenon. Its effect is felt even now, with groups of models still making it big: France, Holland, America and Australia have all seen their home-grown talent succeed on the international stage.

Daria began carving a multi-platform career, with her first couture show in July. Walking for Givenchy, it was a perfect first move into the world of haute couture, and within a year, she was able to add Elie Saab, Armani Prive and Valentino to her CV.

Leaving IMG in 2009 and signing with Women Management, Strokous moved into the next phase of her career with a huge ready-to-wear season that September. Closing the Spring / Summer Marni show, she also walked for Bottega Veneta, Louise Goldin, Nina Ricci and Versus. Appearing in shows for several new designers, Strokous made important – and lasting – connections.

Her runway success translated into campaign bookings, and in early 2010, Strokous was announced as one of the faces of D&G. Daria also appeared in her first editorial for Italian Vogue, appearing in the now-famous Steven Meisel shoot, ‘Runway’. Featuring every model of note, Strokous worked alongside established faces, echoing Meisel’s philosophy of giving new talents extraordinary opportunities to excel.

The Italian Vogue effect showed in Daria’s next RTW season, which added Gareth Pugh, Fendi, Jason Wu, Marc Jacobs and Prabal Gurung to Strokous’ list of credits. Mixing the classic labels with the avant-garde, Strokous had clearly staked her claim to be noticed.

May 2010 saw Daria take to the cover of Italian Vogue. Sharing the honours with Kirsi Pyrhonen, the cover, ‘Top Glam’, was a show-stopper. Choosing to frame the models off-centre and in profile, photographer Steven Meisel broke the cardinal rules of magazine covers, but the result was visually arresting. Quite literally a sideways glance at how high-fashion interprets glamour, this cover put Daria in a different league.

Sure enough, in Autumn 2010, Daria became one of the faces of the latest Prada campaign. If ever there was a good time to become a Prada girl, this was it. The headline-grabbing collection was designed for (and required) a whole new kind of woman. The retro look, with curve-enhancing dresses and cats-eye glasses, got everyone’s attention. For a label that does sensuality in a minor key, this look threw the fashion world a serious curveball. If you thought you knew Prada, this collection challenged you on every point.

Following the campaigns with a slew of editorial work, 2011 began on a high for Daria as she became the face for Jil Sander. The Spring / Summer campaign was quintessential Jil Sander: bright, modern and clean. Strokous proved perfect for this campaign, as this fashion requires a studied calm which Daria visibly masters. The skill in mastering this fashion genre is in recognising that even simple designs have large intent. High fashion trades on big ideas and in minimalist fashion, what’s left out is just as important as what remains. For the model that has to take this look and pique our interest, the crucial factor is in realising that on the page, lack of action does not mean lack of energy.

Opening the A/W show for Jil Sander in February, Daria had one of her busiest seasons to date with over 50 shows. Her status as one of fashion’s brightest was confirmed in August when she took the cover of Russian Vogue. Daria modelled the feathered Prada coat from the latest collection, showing Russia’s undiluted taste for glamour was as buoyant as ever, even in the face of economic freefall.

In September, Daria undertook her biggest season to date with a mammoth 62 shows. Opening and closing the show for Jil Sander and appearing for many of the world’s most recognisable labels, Daria had now evolved into the modern definition of a top model.

The following month, Strokous appeared in the magazine ‘Interview’. Paying homage to the high-voltage A/W collection from Dolce & Gabbana, the featured pieces paid reverence to glamour, even referring to D&G’s roots in the process. Interview’s editorial, however, asked you to look closer. Even the famous emerald shift dress, packed with sequins, has an element of restraint (the long sleeves, the high neck) that hints at a new perspective on glamour. Everything is designed with a softness and subtlety: the colour offsets the sequins (in previous seasons almost exclusively shown in black), and texture balances luxurious finishes – feathers replacing fur. Dolce & Gabbana wasn’t alone in their pursuit of a softer elegance: Prada’s densely-feathered coat worn by Daria on the cover of Russian Vogue shouldn’t have read as luxe fashion – but it did. Even at Marc Jacobs, the skirts covered in huge pailettes are about celebrating design, not wealth. When Dolce & Gabbana rewrite their rules on glamour, larger forces are at work.

Daria moved into 2012 on a strong footing, with her second cover of Italian Vogue. Working again with Steven Meisel, the cover used shopping channel QVC as its inspiration. Playing off the slow-burn craftsmanship of couture against the rapid, eager consumption of fashion trends, the cover (and accompanying editorial) is a supremely witty take on fashion’s nose-to-tail attitude. This type of bold, satirical work could be well be the future for 2012 with Meisel displaying an impressive talent for pastiche.

Daria’s career in 2012 continues to see her at the forefront of high-fashion, with not one but three major campaigns for Spring. Appearing for Louis Vuitton, Jil Sander and Alberta Ferretti, Strokous moves deftly from the curiously noir-ish feel of the Jil Sander campaign to the gorgeous, pastel-infused confection of Louis Vuitton. An integral part of S/S 12 and within touching distance of the Top 10 in www.models.com list of Top 50 Women, Daria is finally having her moment. A workhorse on the runway, she has steadily built an armoury of credits that make her not only well-respected, but unique.

Daria’s strength is her very modern versatility. Her latest run of campaigns allude to just how completely Strokous is able to transform. The Jil Sander and Louis Vuitton adverts couldn’t be more different, but she stars in both. A blue-eyed blonde that doesn’t fit the mould is always interesting; Daria is neither athletic amazon nor downright glamourpuss – but she has worked for Prada Sport and Russian Vogue. Her work with Juicy Couture shows that she isn’t strictly editorial either. With a substantial pedigree in couture, Strokous manages to be a fashion all-rounder, but still firmly individual.

Daria’s fluidity makes her a true asset in today’s industry where no-one quite knows what to expect next. The transition from urban warrior to sugar and space at Louis Vuitton has been fast enough to make your head spin. As times have got tougher, fashion has got sweeter: an outcome no-one was expecting.

Daria in theory should have joined the likes of Natasha Poly and Natalia Vodianova: Slavic icons that ooze glamour and sophistication. In every group of models that has come to dominate the industry, there has always been one that doesn’t quite fit. Alice Burdeu’s Pre-Raphaelite beauty looks out of place when compared to her sunkissed Australian peers; Charlotte Free is the odd-one-out in the group of young, clean-cut American models taking over the catwalk.

It’s Daria’s outsider quality that has finally brought her to the attention of fashion’s inner circle. There were some – like Jil Sander – who always knew it, but finally Strokous has clicked.

Models like Daria are becoming more visible, because they are able to work without being defined. Geography is always important but it does not have the last word. Minus the neat packaging, fashion has to rely on what a model has to offer beyond their place of birth: Daria is a prime example of what happens when a model is taken not on her proximity to greatness, but on the merits she achieves herself. The fashion industry is finally coming round to the idea of talents that may not be media heavyweights, but can pack a punch on the runway.

As ostentation in fashion gives way to something more meaningful, the transition from fevered accumulation to considered appreciation goes right across the board: leaving fashion with models that are not examples of exotica, but genuine rare finds.

HELEN TOPE

MODEL PROFILES: NATALIA VODIANOVA

Born in Russia on February 28^th 1982, Natalia Vodianova is one of modelling’s most popular faces.

A campaign regular for Calvin Klein and Stella McCartney, Vodianova was first discovered at the age of 16 working on a market stall. That same year, Natalia moved to Paris and signed with Viva Management. After a flurry of early modelling bookings, Natalia took a year out after giving birth to her first son, Lucas, returning with a bang in 2002.

Natalia signed a fragrance contract with Gucci and in March opened the Autumn / Winter show for YSL in Paris. She also booked a campaign with Louis Vuitton and closed 2002 with the cover of Italian Vogue, photographed by Steven Meisel. Natalia’s success continued into 2003 and 2004 with a 49-show runway season and a slew of international Vogue covers.

Signing with Calvin Klein in 2005, Vodianova’s career went into overdrive. A bond that continues to this day, Natalia’s mix of edgy beauty and classic appeal made her an ideal fit for the American super-brand. The signing made Natalia a visible presence on an international level.

Nabbing her second Italian Vogue cover in May, Vodianova renewed her contract with Calvin Klein in 2006, including additional duties representing the label’s newest fragrance, ‘Euphoria’.

Calvin Klein has led the market in making the link between high-fashion and fragrance. A ubiquitous presence in the 80’s and 90’s with ‘Eternity’ and ‘Obsession’, Calvin Klein has succeeded where others have failed because of their ability to identify their customer-base. Every fragrance developed by the brand is individually targeted at a particular group of consumers, from the design of the bottle to the faces hired to carry the campaign. The brand’s clarity in focusing on who they’re selling to has made them one of the most successful perfume-makers in the world.

For Natalia, to not only scoop the initial campaign, but to still be representing the fragrance six years on, puts her in a highly select group of models. Clothing campaigns come and go, but there is something compelling about a good fragrance campaign. When the chemistry is right, the bond between the model and the fragrance can last a lifetime. Natalia’s long-standing affiliation with the scent has turned ‘Euphoria’ into a modern classic.

2007 saw Natalia return to the catwalk in February, opening the A/W show for Calvin Klein. Renewing her contract with the American label, her star-power was in evidence when she appeared on the cover of American Vogue. 2007 was clearly a year for cover-sharing, with Natalia being the only model to have a solo US Vogue cover that year. That charisma translated into serious cash, with Natalia being ranked by Forbes magazine as the 5^th highest-paid model in the world, earning an estimated $4.5 million in 2006.

As one of fashion’s biggest names, Natalie got to work on some incredible projects. In January 2008, Natalia was asked to both open and close Valentino’s final couture show in Paris. A true fashion event, the designer behind the Valentino label retired in 2008 with one final, glorious triumph.

The show was a love-letter to glamour, and the ending of the show saw every model take to the catwalk in identical Valentino-red gowns. From a career that started with dressing Jackie Kennedy in the Sixties, to transforming red-carpet dressing, Valentino remains shorthand for sophisticated, Italian glamour. Natalia’s role was pivotal as a long-time favourite of the designer, and she was able to pay tribute to a life’s work that continues to have a huge impact on fashion.

Natalia’s place within the fashion industry was confirmed with an editorial in May 2009’s edition of American Vogue. Titled ‘The Godfather’, US Vogue paid homage to the extraordinary career of Steven Meisel.

The photographer’s star-finding abilities were proudly celebrated, collating every top model that Meisel ever backed. It is fair to say that without Meisel’s unique eye for new talent, the landscape of the modelling world would look very different. Vodianova’s first Italian Vogue cover in 2002 was with Meisel and her ability to command top-dollar comes from those early positive experiences that gave her the confidence to take on those big-money assignments.

Natalia worked with Meisel again, collaborating on the December ’09 issue of Italian Vogue. The cover, ‘Meisel Pic’, and the accompanying editorial, ‘Following’, are a Twitter-esque parody, featuring a ‘friends list’ of some of the world’s best-known models. Gisele, Lara Stone and Christy Turlington all got their pose on, creating faux-profile pictures.

The result was a witty appraisal of the boom in self-portraiture featured on social media websites. Putting the spotlight on these technological developments which are continuing to evolve the way we consume and enjoy fashion, re-affirmed Meisel’s ability to examine the new and the next.

Natalia’s status continued to soar when she got an entire issue of Vogue to herself in May 2010. Featuring throughout Chinese Vogue, Natalia appeared in a range of editorials photographed by Paolo Roversi, Peter Lindbergh and Patrick Demarchelier. Comparable to Natasha Poly’s solo issue for Russian Vogue, this rare honour is only offered to the truly great models.

Natalia proved her worth again in July 2010, shooting an extensive editorial for American Vogue. Shot by Peter Lindbergh, Natalia was partnered with actor Ewan McGregor. In a spread that combined Hitchcock with domestic drama, it illustrated the type of narrative modelling that Natalia excels at.

In late 2010, Natalia joined Karen Elson and Christy Turlington in shooting one of the top campaigns of the season. Appearing for Louis Vuitton, this was one of the most striking images of the fashion year. Natalia, Christy and Karen showed off their fashion prowess in designs that were unapologetically feminine. From the cutting table to the pages of Vogue, this collection was a winner on every front.

Finishing the year with an opening slot in Roberto Cavalli’s 40^th anniversary show in Milan, Natalia began 2011 with more editorial work, including British Vogue’s bridal edition.

Released to coincide with the Royal Wedding, the multi-cover special featured Natalia in couture bridal-wear. With every aspect of bridal fashion covered as only Vogue can, it was a resounding counter to anyone who assumed that the British can’t do romance.

More editorial work followed, with a spread for US Vogue photographed by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott. ‘My Generation’ was a retro-styled shoot with references to the novel ‘Brighton Rock’ to give it some bite. It was stylish, coded rebellion, making the editorial look and feel absolutely authentic.

With over ten years in the business, Vodianova continues to book some of fashion’s most-coveted jobs. Scoring a place on the A/W Givenchy campaign with Mariacarla Boscono, Naomi Campbell and Kristen McMenamy, Givenchy went with bold casting choices, choosing experienced models all at the top of their game, proving that as far as high-fashion is concerned; age really is just a number.

Vodianova’s longevity is about more than sheer beauty. Having a face capable of producing looks from chocolate-box prettiness to haute couture complexity, Natalia has utilised her natural gifts to carve out a unique place in fashion history.

Being the prettiest girl in the room isn’t a guarantee of success, and Vodianova has achieved greatness by using that face with purpose. Natalia’s genius is in generating intention behind every shot. Whether it’s conveying dramatic tension or wistful yearning, she is one of the best in the business.

Story-telling is at the heart of great fashion, whether that’s on the runway or in a blockbuster campaign. Drawing the consumer into the story is central to the high-fashion experience. Design and tailoring may make the clothes, but in order to sell them, you need a little magic. Our primitive need to create stories is what makes print work crucial to the success of the fashion industry, even when so much of the fashion experience is now online. If we identify with the story, the label can’t fail to make it big.

The A/W 2010 campaign for Louis Vuitton is a brilliant example of how this strategy works. The genius of this campaign was in persuading us that fashion had become a friendlier place for curves, with most of the pieces needing extra shape to fill them out correctly. The idea that high-fashion was just to be enjoyed in its abstract form was transformed overnight. The gap between ‘us’ and ‘them’ got narrower.

The fear that consumer power would stifle creativity hasn’t been realised. The latest A/W collections are eminently wearable but the touches of daring design are still present from Prada’s fur-covered trenches to Marc Jacobs’ bold, magnified touches of luxury. Persuading us to take these sartorial leaps of faith are models like Natalia who make us want to get involved. Fashion should never be a spectator sport; Vodianova’s ability to sell us not only the dream of high-fashion, but the actual day-to-day experience of wearing it, is what has kept her in such demand.

Her latest campaigns with Stella McCartney and Givenchy illustrate how fashion is learning to mould itself to its core customers. McCartney’s slip dress of the Nineties has given way to sophisticated nostalgia. On Natalia, Eighties polka-dots and sheer panels are not a hard sell.

As Natalia heads towards her thirties, she is becoming the poster-girl for a generation that is determined to grow up gracefully. The same group who were caught between grunge and girlie abandon are pushing the fashion industry into a new era where fashion literacy and high-expectations are the norm.

Natalia’s generation have grown up knowing not only the big-name labels, but the smaller, niche brands. Catering to this crowd requires an intelligent approach, making fashion that’s real-life applicable but audaciously creative. These consumers are prepared to give difficult clothes a go, even when other age-groups shy away from them, and that makes them one of the most-valued demographics in fashion today.

Selling to this age group requires a face they can trust. As their peer, Vodianova’s modelling style registers as cool, collected and seductive, but most of all, honest. Natalia’s charm is in her ability to quietly challenge our fashion perspectives, our most firmly-held sartorial beliefs.

Making light of fashion’s hardest task, Natalia’s soft approach to the hard-sell has made us powerless to resist. A gifted and subtle story-teller, Natalia’s way changes us by degrees. A quiet revolutionary, and still continuing to challenge the perceived wisdom, Natalia’s gentle persuasion has made her one of modelling’s truest pioneers.

HELEN TOPE

MODEL PROFILES: NATASHA POLY

Natasha Poly is modelling’s newest superstar. In an age where the word ‘supermodel’ is strictly off limits, Natasha is raising the bar for a whole new generation of modelling talent.

Born in Russia on July 12 1985, Natasha’s success was far from overnight. She began modelling in 2000, but it wasn’t until February 2004 that she experienced a breakthrough.

Working across Europe, Poly got booked for the Autumn / Winter show season. Signing up for 54 shows, Poly’s big moment included appearances for Balenciaga, Chloe, Gucci, Peter Som, Sonia Rykiel and Vera Wang. Her strongly-defined features wowed the industry: Natalia Vodianova and Daria Werbowy were already making waves, and Poly would soon find herself joined by Sasha Pivovarova. The fashion world couldn’t get enough of what Eastern-Europe had to offer.

In May 2004, Poly landed the cover of French Vogue and another in June. In December, she scored her third Vogue cover of the year, this time doing cover-try duty for Australian Vogue. Poly may have been the epitome of Slavic chic, but her blonde-with-attitude beauty had no problem translating to other continents. 2004 was a whirlwind of a year, but there was no doubt about it - Natasha was a hit.

In 2005, Poly featured alongside other Eastern-European models for a Vanity Fair spread called ‘Slavs of Fashion: The New Beauties’. The overwhelming popularity of girls like Poly represented a new modelling phenomenon, mixing the familiar (tall, blonde and gorgeous) with a hint of old-world exoticism.

November brought Poly another cover of French Vogue and her first appearance in the Victoria’s Secret show. At this point, Natasha was very much a high-fashion lynchpin, but her Slavic look easily crossed over into the more commercial arena of lingerie modelling. Poly’s ability to shift from couture to lingerie (even when it’s televised and broadcast to millions) marked her out as a fashion multi-tasker. Everyone loves a versatile model, but with Poly, the transition was seamless.

The New Year started off well for Natasha. Landing a campaign for Ralph Lauren with fellow Russian Valentina Zelyaeva, Poly had a brilliant S/S show season, doing runway for Balmain, Givenchy, Lanvin, Luella, Proenza Schouler, Valentino and Zac Posen. In March, she scored another cover of French Vogue and an editorial in Numero magazine, photographed by Camilla Akrans.

2007 presented Poly with another career high, when she signed a fragrance contract with Gucci. The fragrance, also called ‘Gucci’, had a TV advert directed by David Lynch. Poly, in a floor-length, gold lame gown, danced to the Blondie hit ‘Heart of Glass’. The advert was hedonistic charm at its best. The antithesis to the clean, minimalist fragrances flooding the market, ‘Gucci’ stood out and the shot of Poly curled up with an enormous bottle of the stuff made the perfume an international hit. Poly was not just fashion’s it-girl; she was connecting with the public too. Natasha’s iconic Gucci-girl image became a byword for modern glamour. Gucci agreed too, renewing her contract in 2008.

January 2008 began with news that Natasha would appear in the next Pirelli calendar, to be shot by Mario Sorrenti. Poly returned to her high-fashion roots in February, with a stellar season. She opened shows for designers such as Derek Lam, Belstaff, Gucci, Moschino and Isabel Marant, and closed shows for Herve Leger, Temperley, Balmain and Dries van Noten. The girl from Russia had gone well and truly global.

In April 2008, French Vogue paid homage to their favourite Russian by dubbing her a ‘top model’. Poly’s successes continued to pour in with a Russian Vogue in July dedicated entirely to her, and in August she scored a second consecutive cover of Russian Vogue, photographed by Terry Richardson.

In September, Russian Vogue also hailed her as a top model, and as if to prove this point, Natasha had one of her best show seasons. Walking in 54 shows, Poly headlined for Matthew Williamson, Preen, Blumarine, Roberto Cavalli and Stella McCartney. The year closed with the cover of i-D, photographed by Emma Summerton, and 2009 began with an Italian Vogue – Steven Meisel editorial with fellow model Sessilee Lopez.

2009 was a good campaign year for Poly, continuing her affiliation with Gucci, plus ads for Blumarine, Missoni and Calvin Klein Jeans. With a strong RTW and couture season behind her, Natasha did editorials for French and Russian Vogue in August. But her greatest moment came in September, when Muse magazine dedicated their entire issue to the Poly phenomenon.

With contributors such as Ricardo Tisci, Jeff Koons and Terry Richardson, it was a timely nod to Natasha’s extraordinary influence on the fashion industry. Doing everything from haute couture to beachwear, at a time where the term ‘supermodel’ seemed self-indulgent and outdated, Poly was reinventing it for the next generation.

In December ’09, Poly appeared with several other top models in a Twitter-inspired editorial photographed by Steven Meisel. A witty take on the growing role networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook have in our day-to-day lives, it was the most literal indication yet of fashion’s emerging relationship with technology.

2010 marks ten years in the business for Poly, and as we move into a new decade, the career of someone as prolific as Natasha Poly serves as comment on how we see the term ‘supermodel’. If Poly had been working 20 years ago, she would have easily joined the ranks of Evangelista and Campbell. Her body of work, astonishing as it is, is still not enough to warrant that label today. It has not just fallen out of favour; the phrase has become a piece of fashion history, perhaps never to be revived. After all, if Poly can’t do it, it begs the question: who can?

Kate Moss is probably the last model who can legitimately refer to herself as a supermodel, and the birth of her career, the early 1990’s, is the last time we see models being treated as celebrities.

As the cult of celebrity accelerated during the Nineties, models were sidelined into runway and editorial work, while the pulling power of names like Aniston carried magazine sales. How did this happen? Well, if models could be celebrities, what was to stop celebrities becoming models? However noteworthy an up-and-coming model, she simply couldn’t compete with the star power of Hollywood’s A-list.

So the modelling industry had to get creative. They went to their strengths: editorial, editorial, editorial. The modelling world reminded designers and editors that when it comes to selling high-fashion, the tricky stuff, there are some assignments best left to the professionals.

As a result, the landscape of the modelling industry now looks very different. The faces can be just as familiar, but the names are not so easy to place. The basic terms of what constitutes a supermodel remain the same: high visibility, presence and punch. But that high-octane celebrity attached to names like Evangelista and Crawford has gone for good. What’s left is a raft of models like Poly, including Rocha, Rubik, Deyn and Kloss who are mastering the runways, campaigns and editorials.

Poly’s appearance in the famous ‘Twitter’ Italian Vogue editorial in December 2009 is a prime example of how we see models differently. A model’s contact with the public used to be a series of carefully-orchestrated, PR-driven appearances. This has now given way to round-the-clock Tweets on your laptop. We can now get glimpses of models – Jessica Stam and Chanel Iman are two particularly avid Twitterers – that are gloriously unedited and unsupervised. We feel that we ‘know’ today’s supermodels better, because that personal connection is more immediate: it feels more real.

It’s hard to see a future where fashion returns to the rarefied, exclusive realm it inhabited before the recession. The front row experience is no longer reserved for editors and celebrities and bloggers can freely comment on a runway show or red carpet as it happens. When everyone has a voice, it doesn’t always make for balanced debate, but this equality potentially means the most radical shake-up in decades, and the fashion world definitely seems to have got the memo that a more inclusive industry is a richer one, both aesthetically and economically.

So what we have lost is nothing to what we have gained. In losing the model-as-celebrity, we’ve now gained a generation of girls like Natasha Poly who are the faces of a fashion revolution. A new breed of top model that represents the latest – and bravest – fashion age: it’s fashion minus the ego, and it hasn’t come a moment too soon.

HELEN TOPE