Fashion Models and the Hottest Designer Trends

In the recent issue of Numéro, 25-year-old Itlian model Bianca Balti of IMG, stars in a religious yet seductive editorial entitled “Faith” shot by photographer Camilla Åkrans. Styled by Franck Benhamou, Bianca is shown in a church revealing her legs, praying by the windowsill, outside by the courtyard, with a been on her arm, and as a nun in designers such as Fendi, Chanel, Givenchy, Dice Kayek, Yves Saint Laurent, and Prada. I think this editorial is a great twist on a religion turned seductive with the white cross-like dress being my favorite look.

For the magazine’s monthly What’s Next spread, the March 2010 issue of Harper’s Bazaar US features 36-year-old Canadian supermodel Shalom Harlow of IMG in her gorgeous curly locks. Shot by photographer Glen Luchford in a ten-page layout, Stylist Melanie Ward showcases Shalom in this spring’s trends of denim, pattern, and neutrals by designers Givenchy by Riccardo Tisci, Ralph Lauren, Hermès, Versus, Alexander Wang, Yves Saint Laurent, Tommy Bahama, Chloé, Louis Vuitton, Moschino, Dior, Etro, Eres, and Roberto Cavalli. In this casual and classy layout, my favorite look is simply the pale green Chloé top and black Chloé shorts with a long, thin, silver Hermès necklace reflected in the mirror being very classic and glamorous.

Jumping into the Aussie surfing culture for the March 2010 issue of Vogue Australia is 22-year-old Australian model Abbey Lee Kershaw of Next Models, who was recently featured on the cover of Vogue Nippon by Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin, shot by photographer Max Doyle. Styled by Naomi Smith, Abbey Lee is shown in front of a white studio backdrop, the beach behind her and with many studdly young men in designs by Versace, Louis Vuitton, Jean Paul Gaultier, Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana, Emporio Armani, Prada, and Acne with my favorite looking being Abbey Lee sitting on a bench in a Louis Vuitton silk dress and pink Versace shoes.

31-year-old Pussycat Dolls star Nicole Scherzinger has recently signed a contract with celebrity modeling agency Wilhelmina International joining likes of Fergie, Beyoncé, Katherine Heigl, Leighton Meester, Ashlee Simpson-Wents, Ciara, and Brandy, who have all posed for the agency. To celebrate her new contract, Nicole threw a star-studded party in Hollywood. With this contract, she is set to work with beauties such as Kate Bosworth, Penelope Cruz, and Kellan Lutz. This new deal is a big step for Nicole who did not feel or believe she was beautiful until she joined the Pussycat Dolls.

Nicole said, “Growing up, I was incredibly shy. And awkward. And lanky! I always thought I was an ugly duckling. I guess it worked out OK in the end. Ultimately though, true beauty shines from within. I know joining the group helped me to find out who I am – and I love the message that any woman can be strong, confident and sexy.”

Shot by photographer Mario Testino is 26-year-old British cover girl Agyness Deyn of Viva Models, who recently appeared in an editorial for Vogue Italia by Steven Meisel, and 32-year-old Pirates of the Caribbean actor Orlando Bloom for Me & City’s spring 2010 campaign. In a simple campaign full of smiles, Agyness and Orlando are shown in usual life scenes of trimming the bushes, picking up dry cleaning, reading a book, eating at a restaurant, hanging out with their dogs, shopping up a storm, cooking in the kitchen, playing with fireworks, sitting at the trunk of a car, with a bundle of balloons, at the market, and even getting out of the car. Agyness and Orlando show a lot of chemistry in this positive campaign showing that models and celebrities live a normal life like us all.

With the goal of becoming a “designer hotel,” the boutique chain W Hotels, which operates 36 properties worldwide and a unit of Starwood Hotel & Resorts Worldwide Inc., has found stylist Amanda Ross after a grueling two-year search appointing her as fashion director to be announced on February 11th, the first day of New York Fashion Week.

The position of a fashion director are usually hired by retailers to keep them on the cutting edge of design, be on good terms with designers, and maintain a high profile. W Hotels has hired Amanda due to the fact that she has consulted for designers including Elie Tahari, Dennis Basso, Julien Macdonald, and has ties in the Hollywood world.

W Hotels’ Global Brand Leader Eva Ziegler said, “She will definitely help us be more credible in our outlook on fashion [and] associate us with the right designers.”

Amanda’s main duties with W Hotels include assisting with the designs of staff uniforms and special collections to be sold at the hotels and assist with styling the rooms, lobbies, and other common areas. Earlier this week Amanda said, “I’ve always wanted to work with a lifestyle brand.” With this opportunity, she is working to create a “fashion point of view” for their leading hotels and bring in designers to create exclusive collections inspired by the hotels.

After a couple years of speculation, American casual fashion retailer Abercrombie & Fitch has opened its doors in December for the first time in Tokyo, Japan. The store is 11-stories high in Tokyo’s upscale neighborhood Ginza just steps away from retailers Uniqlo and H&M.

On opening day, the store saw lines wrapping around the building and sales of about $550,000 without throwing an opening party or holding a press event. Although after the first day, hopes were high, but Abercrombie has not been able to win over Japanese fans.

Currently, the fashion industry in Japan is going through a low-boom with only chain retailers such as Uniqlo, Forever 21, H&M, and other cheap domestic labels in the Shibuya109 shopping building being profitable. Even with this fact, Abercrombie refuses to lower its prices and has charged Japanese consumers nearly double its American prices. According to a poll taken by Nikkei’s Marketing Journal on the first day Abercrombie & Fitch opened its doors, 61.7 percent of consumers found prices to be ‘a bit high’, 18.3 percent find prices to be ‘too high’, and less than one-fifth finding prices to be fair.

Along with the problem of cost, Abercrombie will not drive away from their American ways to better accommodate their Japanese consumers. For instance, they have not hired any staff members that customers would consider authentically Japanese, the staff greets customers in English, the staff fails to follow widely recognized principles of Japanese politeness singing and dancing in the store cramping up space on the sales floor, and the male staff exposes their chest, which does not translate to ‘sex appeal’ for Japanese consumers.

With issues not related to the staff, Japanese consumers are not too fond with cologne, which Abercrombie pipes through their ventilation, the lighting is so dim that customers cannot judge the colors of garments accurately, the elevator only goes to the 7th floor making the customer walk the last four flights, and most importantly, Japanese consumers are finding it difficult to incorporate pieces from Abercrombie’s collections into their own lives.

Being such a large company, it is strange to see them operate in this manner with no concerns of the industry around them. If they want to keep their doors open in Japan, Abercrombie & Fitch need to thoroughly revise their business ways to better accommodate their Japanese consumers.