18-07-08
How do you say... another lyrical skid
Kasia @ Next (Paris)
If we know Kasia... Our first answer was no. We didn't see the pictures at that precise moment, just heard the name then finally realised that we should improve our Polish pronounciation. From this brand new point of view, for sure we know Kasia. We know and we love. We clearly know we use and abuse of all kind of musical comparisons when it comes to describe models but once again it was hard to resist. Couldn't help. Seeing her polaroids makes us think about these unforgettable songs (unforgettable melody) where a little melancholic, unjustified and unexpected sound (just one) changes everything. And you can't get it out of your head. Same with Kasia, there is probably a detail (a little expression in her eyes ?) that makes her impossible to overlook. And ensures she will never fade away. Sometimes a quartet of bikini shots tells you much longer than anything else. Sometimes we talk too much just to describe. Writing too much, throwing the ink all over the topic. Maybe we shouldn't waste some more lines as we have no crusty rumour about campaigns, editorials or whatever. Maybe we should just have written... have asked how to say potential in Polish.
17-07-08
Unexpected origami
Lenka Bozikova @ Ford (Paris)
Sometimes you need a funny story to notice a model. Sometimes. It doesn't mean Lenka wouldn't have been able to stand out by herself, we have memories of her as soon as we got her card in hand (well, we have memories since long before but this story starts with the compcard...) and she would have hit her target this way as well. But it seems things went differently and a little fold can be considered as the beginning of a deeper interest in her book. Our week in Paris was all in a rush and we're not sure we stopped running for more than a few seconds, from one place to another packing all the compcards in the handbag. At the end of the day, Lenka's card was the only one folded... Once again, it would have been important if she wasn't great herself. And even we don't really believed in signs we wanted to believe in that one: some random little thing brought our attention to a beautiful blonde with delicate freckles. We needed to dedicate an article to the underrated Slovakian (from Exit Models also mother agency of Zuzana Gregorova and Next NY's Rebeka Zuborova). Hopefully this will not be the last one as she has shot for one of our favorite magazines. As every year, we're just counting the days remaining until september. Lenka's next chapter will be this september. If she's not making some more edgy origamis in between.
Meet Nastya !
Nastya Sladkova @ Avant (Russia)
We had eleven pictures of Nastya. Usually that means we'll pick our four or six favorites but Nastya is so unusually eye-catching we finally picked ten of the initial eleven to make our feature. We would have put them all if we didn't need to pair them two by two. They're all good, all great, all worth a look and another look. She works the tomboy-ish outfits as brilliantly as the most girly looks, from straps to the orange glasses plus hood combo. Models are here to tell us stories yet some turn into fortunetellers rather than storytellers. Nastya's tests are already placing them among the latters but we won't say more, her ten pictures are worth ten thousands letters.
The article was almost ready to be released when we received a few more pictures of the stunning 18-years-old from Ulyanovsk. We could have added many others but thought that first, four ones in four moods were a wonderful bonus-track and then, we still can keep a few unreleased ones for some further updates on Nastya. So, here she goes again. Sitting down and standing up. And very hairy one, just the perfect way to close the post.
Fragile frimousse
Laura Halm @ Elite (NY)
Laura's appeal is somewhere between some cartoonesque features and an overall look that remains almost poised and closer to some more classic paintings. Halfway. The only obvious thing is she's more artistic than aristocratic and whatever the century or decade, she might be (and would have been) an inspiration for any kind of aesthetes. The combination of a sleek, thin and very definite jawline adding some extra sharpness to one of the most refined face of the moment and some unexpectedly cute ears, of this precious mix and vivid, expressive eyes that might make her so special. No wonder she did wonderfully well in her tests by James Mahon, no wonder she's taking some of the most intriguing, thrilling, captivating digitals. And we don't mind a little smile on the antepenultimate snap. Oh... we're not sure there is a proper translation for the french word "frimousse" in English. Would be something like "sweet little face". So appropriated.
Meet Vika !
Vika Safonova @ Avant (Russia)
We're a little bit focused on "classic beauties with a twist" these days. We love the idea or may we say the concept. It's growing on us, little by little, step by step. Day after day, face after face. When we saw Vika for the first time we felt this vibe yet it was just an impression, just a feeling based on a couple of polaroids. Now we picked four pictures, each one with its very own atmosphere, each with a different pose from a different angle. Even four different lightings. Meet Vika in every possible ways because there are many. And we think still many to come...
15-07-08
Yes Yes Yes
Edna Iordache @ Women (Milan)
Nobody can say no. She's an absolute yes. And yes, we're having another Romanian Rendez-vous today and we won't miss it. As we say no one could say no to Edna (from Yes Models, yes this makes three yes) and we obviously didn't since we saw her for the first time only a few times ago. Seems that she's completely blossoming these days and making some good material for her book in Milan. Worth another yes. Endless yes, actually.
14-07-08
Photomaton with Irina
Irina Mastikhina @ Women (Milan), Women (Paris)
Who wears a Mickey Mouse tee like she does ? Who ? You might tell us because for now no one beats Irina. Actually she wouldn't have had to wear to get noticed, it's just a little bonus to add to our Mastikhina frenzy. She's always been a polaroid queen and knows how to handle some very different atmosphere in her shots. We used to think of her as the cutest girl from Avant Models (Moscow) and we quickly changed our mind. She's not only cute, she's super cute and she's not only super cute, she's also amazing, surprising, astonishing. A real backstage darling and one of those girls that totally rocked the rooster-mohawk hairdo at Zucca f/w 08-09. Worth a Photomaton.
13-07-08
Shimmer and shine
Nina Reijnders @ Joy (Milan)
New cool cat ? New cool kid ? New girl with a dark bob for sure and maybe the last one these days able to make it works. And she works. After creating a buzz when she signed with Next in NY, she's also doing well in Milan. Coming from Ulla Models in The Netherlands (check out Danielle, Phylicia and of course another Joy girl, Nicole who should make her way at Next Paris soon). Nina's got the freckles and the attitude. Is there something she doesn't have, after all ?
Una, the one and only
Una Barkovic @ Angels (Paris)
She's finally in Paris and is with Angel. Following her career since we've noticed her from Talia Models in Croatia, we don't really need to tell how glad we are to see her in town and getting some work. Una might be even busier than us and we love a busy redhead. This is maybe going to turned into a beautiful story for this summer (we're just waiting for news and new material now) and we still have some campari left in the kitchen if we have to throw a little party when her first print works from Paris will be out. Well, we still have to wait a little before... and enjoy some polas before.
Dionisiaque
Dioni Tabbers @ Women (Milan)
Typo on purpose. Dionysiaque usually takes a Y yet this article being especially for Dioni we thought she's worth having her own I in it. If only she needs words to describe her, which is not a sure thing. From her very beginnings (we remember her in 10 magazine) to her current trip in Milan, we've always been in love with the sweetness of the dutch cutie (with Micha Models in Amsterdam) and we must say impressed by the way she looks expressive on her pictures. Honestly, much more than we would have expected first. We love good suprises, we love these polas. Just the way we love to see her, after all.
