MODEL PROFILES: AYMELINE VALADE

Born in France in 1985, Aymeline Valade signed with Women Management in February 2009, aged 24.

Her industry breakthrough came in October 2010, when she walked in the Spring / Summer show for Balenciaga. Also booking two editorials with Wonderland magazine, Aymeline’s early connections with fashion were strictly left-field.

In January 2011, Aymeline scored her first magazine cover, with an appearance for Turkish Vogue. Featured in a gold mini-dress, mirroring Turkey’s taste for opulent fashion, Valade was making an impact on an international stage.

Also modelling for the Pre-Fall shows (Alexander Wang and Balenciaga), she became the fact of the S/S Alexander Wang campaign in early 2011. A new-world, spirited take on street fashion, the dynamic shapes that Aymeline effortlessly pulls in front of the camera neatly matches the free-flow of Alexander's designs. It was one of those big win-or-lose moments: defying her level of experience, Aymeline’s performance in the campaign was that of a much more seasoned model.

Valade’s confident showing for the Alexander Wang advert led to a massive RTW season in February with appearances in over 30 shows. Not only that, Aymeline made a big splash with several opening and closing spots including Louis Vuitton, Rick Owens, Loewe and Chloe. Also walking for Chanel, Dolce & Gabbana, Gucci, Lanvin, Marc Jacobs and Versace, this was a well-rounded season with Aymeline there for all the big moments of the February 2011 catwalk, including Gucci’s 70’s glam-fest and Marc Jacobs’ new obsession: polka-dots. This was a good season to become fashion's latest IT girl.

Aymeline followed this success with editorials for W, Numero and German Vogue. Her appearance in the May issue of German Vogue was for the beauty editorial ‘Uber Sinnlich’. An avant-garde beauty shoot featuring Anais Pouliot and Julia Saner, Aymeline channelled Bardot, dishevelled glamour.

Valade’s editorial career went even further overseas with late-summer appearances for Chinese and American Vogue. The editorial for Chinese Vogue saw Aymeline wear classic, big-name labels such as Chanel, YSL and Celine – all with bags of Parisian heritage, and worn by a Parisian model. It made for a very easy sell to the Chinese fashion market.

All of this feverish activity led up to a September that saw Aymeline hit everyone’s radar. Firstly, she appeared on the cover of RUSSH, followed by a massive spread in US Harper’s Bazaar. Photographed by Karl Lagerfeld, the Downton Abbey / Brideshead Revisited theme of the editorial was sharply narrative – exactly the type of photography Lagerfeld excels at. He tells stories with his collections, and his photography is no different. It certainly explains Karl’s eagerness to embrace the concept of campaign videos. A making-of video accompanying Chanel’s latest print campaign with Saskia de Brauw and Joan Smalls has already reached 80,000 hits on YouTube.

Following this editorial, Aymeline also made her debut in September’s Italian Vogue, featuring in a spread photographed by Steven Klein. ‘A Point of View’ (featuring Crystal Renn, Catherine McNeil and Jamie Bochert) was shot from a deliberately low angle, inverting every principle of fashion photography. Awkward angles and obscured views make for a challenging take on how we view high-fashion. Even from this angle, the clothes still look good.

Aymeline then took to the catwalk, with an amazing 57-show season. Opening shows for Diane Von Furstenberg, Vera Wang, Carolina Herrera and Lanvin, this was Aymeline’s rain-maker season.

The good fortune continued with Valade securing 3 major campaigns: Kenzo, Just Cavalli and Etro. Kenzo had a particularly strong season, with the campaign featuring Aymeline styled in homage to the artist Frida Kahlo. With tons of ornate print and Spanish detailing, Aymeline was clearly adept at translating her look to other fashion cultures.

October saw Aymeline take to the pages of Japanese Vogue, and a month later, she was appearing in a major couture editorial for V. Named ‘Couture 2011’, the spread was a full review of the A/W haute couture season including Givenchy, Armani Prive and Valentino. Aymeline took on her couture dues, modelling alongside Zuzanna Bijoch and Emily Baker.

Finishing the year with another editorial for Italian Vogue (‘Clean and Graphic’), this was a strongly androgynous shoot with Paolo Roversi behind the lens. Aymeline joined forces with Saskia de Brauw who has made a career on her ability to transform. Aymeline performs on a par with de Brauw in a sleek, stylish editorial.

Aymeline opened 2012 with another editorial, this time for American Vogue. ‘A Man for All Seasons’ was a tribute to the ongoing work of Marc Jacobs, and this big start to the year carried on for Valade as she took to her first couture runway in January. Opening the show for Armani Prive, and closing the Dior show, this was a particularly successful season, not least for Dior. Creative director Bill Gattyen went back through Dior’s back catalogue and pulled a confident, polished collection out of the bag. It was a modern interpretation of Dior’s ‘New Look’ and Aymeline could not have had a better introduction into the world of couture.

No longer operating on fashion’s sidelines, Aymeline is taking her time in the spotlight with another 3 campaigns this season, including a double-shoot for Lanvin. Working with models Aaron Vernon and Angus Low, Valade poses with real snakes, emphasising the sleek drapery of the Lanvin gowns. Adding another layer of fun in the campaign video with music from Maxine Ashley, Aymeline’s appearance for Lanvin is a career-changer with Valade poised to become another one of France’s style icons.

Every country has its icons, but where France excels is in the sheer diversity of the faces that have come to represent it: from Brigitte Bardot to Carla Bruni, to more recent faces such as Clemence Posey – French style has no one particular look – bombshell to beatnik all get a look in. Carla Bruni’s sophistication will inspire future First Ladies for many years to come, just as Brigitte Bardot’s heady combination of back-combed hair and eyeliner is still used today to communicate a rich, pouty sensuality. France is very good at creating images that have longevity.

The image of the groomed but worldly Parisian is just as timeless: Lanvin taps into that iconography in its latest campaign, knowing that we can join the dots ourselves. But what has been missing in recent years, however, is France’s stake on the modelling world. It’s clear that France understands and appreciates new faces – French Vogue famously championed Lara Stone and Isabeli Fontana, helping to propel both to fame. But after a brief peak in the 1990’s and early 2000’s with Audrey Marnay being on every designer’s wish-list, and Laetitia Casta taking her film-friendly looks to Hollywood, France’s contribution on the modelling front became noticeable by its absence.

However, it appears that a new generation of models are flying the Tricolour, ensuring that France is not just the epicentre of great design, but is now producing great faces to represent this key fashion heartland.

Aymeline joins faces such as Constance Jablonski, Charlotte di Calypso and newcomer Julia Frauche to build a new group of models that are proud to be different. Constance Jablonski, a regular with Estee Lauder, brings a fresh-faced, eager quality to the sometimes jaded world of high-fashion. Charlotte has been the face of Chanel’s Chance fragrance, and has translated her beauty on an international level, moving across the Atlantic to represent American super-label Ralph Lauren.

Aymeline, however, is France’s directional girl. Her first campaign was with Alexander Wang, and her latest work with Lanvin marries up her edgy qualities with the label’s distinct take on Parisian chic. Utterly at home on the runway, Valade brings with her an other-worldly quality, something that is always in high demand within the fashion industry. For a country that is so at home with producing ground-breaking, avant-garde design, France has found it difficult to come up with a model who, in quite literal terms, walks the walk. With Aymeline Valade, they have finally found their running mate – a model who makes light work of this country’s heritage.

A model could be forgiven for being daunted by France’s heavyweight standing in the fashion world – but Aymeline’s fearless, gutsy approach to not only runway, but campaigns, covers and editorials makes her the perfect icon for the country that has given us the tools to value and appreciate fashion, even at its most difficult. It may have taken a while for France to find its feet in the modelling world – but if Aymeline is any indication of what’s to come – it’s been worth the wait.

HELEN TOPE

MODEL PROFILES: HAILEY CLAUSON

Born on March 7^th 1995, Hailey Clauson signed with Ford Models in 2009. The same year, fourteen-year-old Hailey made the pages of Japanese Vogue as their ‘model of the month’ for the October issue. Hailey then cut her teeth on catalogue work, appearing for cult American store, Forever 21.

In September 2010, Clauson made her debut at Fashion Week, walking for Calvin Klein, Gucci, Versace, Dior, Louis Vuitton, Hermes, Miu Miu, Elie Saab and Lanvin. Hailey’s popularity with designers was immediate: her affiliation with the ‘money labels’ already marked her out as a possible campaign signing.

Hailey’s progress continued in October with an editorial for Italian Vogue. Now a rite of passage for every top model in training, appearing in the magazine is the surest sign that your career is only going to get bigger.

‘Short: The New Ease’, photographed by Craig McDean, sees Hailey featuring with Hanne Gaby Odiele, Hannah Holman and Patricia van der Vliet. Appearing in a set of fashion portraits, the models’ slouchy, contemporary poses are off-set by the retro styling. Deceptively simple, the editorial shows everything and everyone working together in absolute harmony. The editorial is somewhat unusual for Italian Vogue; quieter in tone, but it provided a storming debut for Hailey.

Hailey finished off 2010 with an editorial for Dazed and Confused. Clauson appears in a set of black and white portraits, but unlike the gentleness of the Italian Vogue shoot, this editorial is deliberately dark and deliberately edgy. Clauson carries it off with aplomb. Her hiring for this piece was undoubtedly influenced by her earlier work for Italian Vogue. The tone of the shoots differs a great deal, but the stillness and concentration required for both is something Hailey has clearly mastered. One of the more difficult areas of editorial modelling is generating a ‘still’ image that has life behind the eyes; intent, a story. It’s all too easy to turn ‘contemplative’ into ‘flat-lining’.

Clauson’s career, in timescale still in its infancy, is fast developing and making her a contender, especially when it comes to competing against more established faces. To prove the point, 2011 started with the news that Hailey would be joining Karmen Pedaru and Joan Smalls to become the face of Gucci.

In the Gucci campaign, Hailey gets to channel and play up her sexpot features, in a campaign that celebrates sun-soaked sensuality. There are few occasions in high-fashion where you get to play the siren, but working for Gucci is definitely one of them.

Hailey also appeared in campaigns for Jill Stuart and Italian design duo, Dsquared. In February, she had her best show season to date appearing in a total of 31 shows. Walking for Gucci, Jason Wu, Marc Jacobs, Prada, Reed Krakoff, Versus, and YSL among others, Hailey got to feature in some of the best shows of the season.

Her runway credits got a major boost when she also flew to Paris to appear in couture shows for Elie Saab, Azzedine Alaia and Giambattista Valli. Both Alaia and Valli are two new houses recently credited with couture status, vying for a slice of the lucrative luxury market.

The new customer bases in China, Russia and Japan are giving haute couture a new lease of life. Haute couture’s future in 2008 was far from certain, but in 2011, couture is now reclaiming its position as taste-maker, informing the shapes, colours and fabrics that will go into making the clothes we buy and wear. Even with Dior currently in flux, the couture industry is going from strength to strength.

In March, Clauson went back to editorial work, appearing in shoots for W and Vogue China. Her shoot for Chinese Vogue, ‘A Child in Time’, is a bold aesthetic, once again utilising Hailey’s ability to take a great ‘still’ shot. Being still – and confident – in front of the camera is a game of nerve. Hailey’s gaze is unflinching, but she is visibly at ease.

Hailey also got to flex her muscles for W, appearing in a narrative editorial for Frida Gustavsson and Caroline Brasch Nielsen. ‘Against Nature’, photographed by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott, is a dark, atmospheric shoot. Featuring neons against a flat landscape, the results are compelling, and even a little disturbing.

Hailey went on to appear for Numero in May, shooting ‘Memory Motel’ with Greg Kadel. It sees Clauson take on a solo editorial. Fully in control, Hailey delivers a performance that is assured and cool-headed. ‘Memory Motel’ references Seventies glam-rock but the narrative of the shoot owes more to the Coen Brothers than David Bowie. A difficult balance of traditional Americana with Seventies style, Clauson delivers a message that is anything but mixed.

June saw Hailey take on another solo editorial, again for Numero. ‘Tribal’, photographed by Sebastian Kim, is a sepia-toned epic. Woman meets Nature in couture-like detail. Modelling through ultra-high fashion styling with an ethnic twist, the demands of this shoot would be asking a lot of a more experienced model, but Hailey played it note-perfect, making the resulting editorial a triumph.

Clauson is choosing to end the year as she began – with highly prolific campaigns. For Autumn / Winter, she will be appearing in the Topshop campaign with British model Nyasha Matanhodze.

The store is leading the way in creating campaigns that rival labels with a much higher price-tag. Self-billed as one of the UK’s favourite fashion destinations for the under-25’s, Topshop understands that to sell fashion successfully, it must be sold as an aspirational object, no matter what the cost.

You can attribute it to the couture effect: the confidence borne from continuing success in Paris is trickling down and creating a sophistication that is spreading across every level of the fashion industry. Topshop has learnt this lesson particularly well, because nothing in this campaign feels (or looks) cheap.

Hailey forms part of a new wave of American models that are showing the industry that they can compete on the fringes of high-fashion. Highly regarded for their editorial and runway work, the American girls (including Charlotte Free, Ruby Aldridge, Ashley Smith and Arizona Muse) are going head-to head with the Russian / Eastern European stable of talent that has dominated fashion in its dark, minor key.

Perhaps more so than any other recent model from the U.S, Hailey bridges edgy contemporary style with retro glamour. She is a model who could very easily go for the big beauty campaigns and runway slots for Victoria’s Secret and get them. Her runway CV shows she can ably represent the biggest labels in the world without missing a beat. But the exciting thing about Hailey is her tendency to go for the road less travelled.

She has appeared in Italian Vogue, but has also worked for Dazed & Confused, Numero and W. Vogue has the world on a string, but these magazines offer alternative viewpoints that make the fashion feast that much richer. When it comes to getting a handle on fashion, seeing it from every possible angle is fundamental in getting the whole picture.

Hailey’s work with Numero in particular, deftly illustrates the type of model she is likely to become. Off-kilter shoots, loaded with references to film, photography, even anthropology, give Hailey an opportunity to build a library of skills.

Interpretation takes insight, and Hailey’s clear-headed approach to potentially difficult bookings, shows a model totally on-game, but also with a highly evolved sense of what it takes to create great fashion moments. Working against the grain often produces the best work. It takes some models years to get that, but Hailey already has the advantage.

What this generation are bringing to the industry is a type of fearlessness, exhibited by models such as Freja Beha, Jamie Bochert and Saskia de Brauw. Every model owes a debt to the previous generation, but what is happening now is that the back catalogue of talent is so impressive, it gives newbies the confidence to make choices that are smart and unexpected, building a new layer of history, with faces that are free to reject the mould, and that sense of freedom can’t be anything but good.

The fashion world excels at learning from its own past, the key editorials, those memorable runway shows, to filter through and learn what failed, what worked and most importantly, why. Fashion isn’t about rehashing old ideas, but finding different ways to express the concepts that fashion is built around: self-expression, confidence, elegance and beauty. Even when they’re being inverted (usually by Prada), these are the ideas that keep the fashion world turning.

Economic crisis has shown the fashion world that no matter what, a good idea will always sell. The means of survival are very clear: bigger, better and brighter ways of selling those ideas. With models like Hailey leading the way, the road less travelled has never looked so good.

HELEN TOPE

MODEL PROFILES: ANNA JAGODZINSKA

Born September 12th 1987, Anna Jagodzinska signed with Next Model Management in 2003, moving to New York that same year to pursue a career in modelling.

The Polish model had her breakthrough season in February 2004 with appearances for Alexander McQueen, Burberry, Chanel, Derek Lam, Louis Vuitton, Marni, Miu Miu, Nina Ricci, Prada, Sonia Rykiel and Zac Posen.

Editorials with W, i-D and Italian Vogue followed, and in 2005 Anna landed her first fragrance campaign with Moschino. Signing with the Italian brand gave Anna’s budding career a boost, with a highly successful runway season in February, including appearances for Celine, Marc Jacobs and Diane Von Furstenberg and an editorial for British Vogue, shot by legend Patrick Demarchelier. Her notability rose further still in August when she got her first Vogue cover, appearing for Australian Vogue.

As the fashion industry began to get a handle on Anna’s unique blend of quirky appeal and old-school beauty, her bookings started to match her strengths. Her runway season in February 2006 was a mixture of quirky talent such as Betsey Johnson with cutting-edge designers Lanvin, Jonathan Saunders and Preen, plus ultra-girly labels Temperley and Isabel Marant.

In March, Anna got the cover of German Vogue, photographed again by Demarchelier. The year ended with an editorial for Italian Vogue, and Anna then took a 2-year break to finish her education. Just like her modelling peer Iselin Steiro, Anna returned in 2008 to find the fashion world had moved on, but it had not left her behind.

Anna’s return to the runway featured appearances for some of the most in-demand labels of the moment, including Balenciaga, Chanel, Balmain, Stella McCartney, Givenchy and Viktor & Rolf. She shot an editorial with French Vogue in June, walked the couture runways for Chanel and Givenchy in July and landed two major campaigns with one major photographer. Anna got contracts for Alberta Ferretti and Calvin Klein Jeans, both of which were photographed by Steven Meisel.

Anna’s absence had made the fashion world’s heart grow fonder. In September, she appeared in editorials for Harper’s Bazaar, British, Italian, American and Japanese Vogue. Anna’s revival neatly coincided with fashion’s love affair with models from Eastern Europe. Sasha Pivovarova was already making a name for herself, and new model Natasha Poly had just received accolades from French Vogue, with her native Russian Vogue devoting a whole issue to the Poly phenomenon. Anna’s Slavic glamour slotted in perfectly and made her one of the most requested runway models of the season, walking for 58 shows in total.

In October, Anna received the ultimate nod of approval when she appeared on the cover of Italian Vogue. In January 2009, she got her second Italian Vogue cover, this time appearing with models Viktoriya Sasonkina and Anna Selezneva.

However, in terms of modelling success, it is campaign work that moves a great fashion model onto the next level, and Anna was destined to become more than just a familiar face on the runway: in 2009 she became the most requested model for campaign work, landing contracts with Balenciaga, Calvin Klein Jeans, Calvin Klein cosmetics, Chloe, Donna Karan and Prada.
February saw Anna perform editorial duty twice in one issue for American Vogue, and open the Autumn / Winter shows for Derek Lam, Dolce & Gabbana and Zac Posen. Also appearing for Balenciaga, Chanel, Dior, Fendi, Gucci, Lanvin, Rag & Bone, Ralph Lauren, Valentino and Versace, Anna’s moment had finally arrived.

The months that followed saw Anna rack up editorial and cover credits, including editorial work for American, British and French Vogue, plus the May cover of American Vogue, shot by Steven Meisel.

In late 2009, Anna took her campaign career one stage further, with heritage brands Oscar de la Renta and Bottega Veneta vying for her attention. She signed with both, and in September, got her 3rd cover of Italian Vogue.

But her year ended on a high note with three incredible campaign signings. She was asked to take part in the new ad for the Prada fragrance, L’Eau Ambree, with models Toni Garrn and Viktoriya Sasonkina, and was signed on to be the face of Tom Ford’s newest launch, Black Orchid and Stella McCartney’s latest addition to her stable of perfumes, Stella Nude.

All three fragrances were high-stakes signings, and Anna delivered every time. Her shoot for Prada was groomed and stylishly off-beat. The Stella fragrance shoot was simplicity itself; with Anna shot in profile. For Black Orchid, Anna became the quintessential Film Noir heroine, and her siren-with-a-secret angle was pitch-perfect, making the perfume one of the early success stories of 2010.

With campaigns of this standard, clothes, body language and camera angle all play their part, but it’s the face doing the lion’s share of the selling, and fragrance is notoriously hard to sell.
With a handbag, we see it in the advert, and if we want it, we buy it. But with fragrance you have to take the campaign at its word. If the feel of the shoot is light and airy, you will only be disappointed if you are met at the fragrance counter with a brooding musky perfume. That’s why so much effort goes into casting these campaigns: like the fragrance itself, the campaign has to linger in the mind if we’re to go out and buy it. Without that lure, it doesn’t matter if you’ve created the most beautiful perfume in the world. If the campaign isn’t spot on, no-one’s buying it.

Why Anna is in such high-demand is because she understands that for one-dimensional ads for cosmetics or fragrance, you need to build an image that appeals to all the senses. Despite what’s happening elsewhere in the fashion industry, fragrance remains one of the most financially buoyant areas because certain scents can trigger long-forgotten memories. If a floral note in a perfume reminds you of a particularly memorable holiday, the chances are you’ll stay loyal to that brand for a very long time.

A model that can turn out a great beauty shot is not hard to find, but a model that can turn a beauty shot into an image that has depth and meaning remains a rarity. It’s why Anna’s CV features so much beauty work: she gets that to make an image truly beautiful, it’s got to be more than skin-deep.

With seven Vogue covers to date, Anna’s strength is undeniably the close-up. Beauty shots and campaign work are often underestimated, with people assuming that a high-fashion editorial is the tougher call. But with beauty campaigns, there’s nowhere to hide. The model’s job isn’t just to evoke the notes of a perfume’s personality, but to create a connection with the person looking at the advert. Perfume ads should provoke a response in you – whether that is ‘love it’ or ‘hate it’ – but if it leaves you cold, something has gone very wrong.

Anna’s career has been the success it has because she brings a tailored approach to every assignment. Her shots for Prada, Tom Ford and Stella McCartney are indicative of a model that looks at the bigger picture, and then gives the client what they want, by paying attention to the detail. Models are fashion’s sales-girls, but what makes their job even harder is that the best campaigns only work when they apply the soft-sell; look at any successful perfume campaign and it’s all about what isn’t being said. As with acting, the best modelling happens when it’s made to look deceptively easy.

Anna’s return to the industry was about more than good timing or a lucky break: whatever fashion asks of its models, the beauty industry’s requirements remain the same. A made-for-beauty face helps, but knowing what to do with it is a whole other story. Knowing what to do with it whilst maintaining your credibility? That’s the calling card of a truly great model.

HELEN TOPE