Girls on Film

***Updated 8th November - Video launched today!

 

Five of the original supermodels — (from left to right) Cindy Crawford, Helena Christensen, Naomi Campbell, Eva Herzigova and Yasmin Le Bon have teamed up with Yasmin's hubby Simon LeBon's band Duran Duran to star in the video for their new single, 'Girl Panic'. 
This shoot is chronicled in US Harper's Bazaar's December issue, which also features a slamming shot of the girls bedecked in Dolce and Gabbana on the cover. 

 

I was obsessed with Duran Duran and these supermodel growing up.  Now in their 40's, they still look unbelievable! Duran Duran's keyboardist Nick Rhodes (played by Eva) says "Harper's had approached us about collaborating with the magazine on something really special when the new album came out. I’d had this crazy idea for a video for the song 'Girl Panic!', that looked fantastic on paper, but that I thought in reality would be impossible to pull off. The idea was to re-create a day in the life of the band, with five of the world’s greatest supermodels playing all of us. Lucy Yeomans (editor of Harper's Bazaar UK) loved the idea of doing a cover shoot within the video itself — and so it all began." Even in the behind the scenes pics the girls look fantastic. 

 

 

Helena

 

 

Eva

 

  Cindy

 

 

 

 

 Yasmin

 

 

Naomi

 

The girls cumulatively have quite the pedigree in hanging with the band. Eva was married to Tico Torres from Bon Jovi, Naomi was engaged to Adam Clayton from U2, Helena dated Michael Hutchence and Cindy reportedly dated Jon Bon Jovi. Cindy, Naomi and Helena also appeared together in the famous 'Too Funky' video by George Michael (along with Christy Turlington and Tatjana Patitz).  

 Simon Le Bon and Yasmin, then & now

Eva and Tico Torres

 Helena and Michael

 

Naomi and Adam 

 

 Cindy  C and John Bon Jovi

Duran Duran were THE coolest band in the 80's. They always wore the best clothes and were extremely easy on the eye. 

 

 

John in elevator with Cindy and Yasmin.

Check out Duran Duran in The Reflex video here - this song used to send me into a frenzy of Simon LeBon worship. I aspired to be one of their back-up singers, all pouty in a poured-in black Herve Leger 80's Robert Palmer video-vixen style get-up. Most nonsensical lyrics ever and love the 'CGI' at the end. At the time, it was quite amazing.

Model vs Actress - Who is 'on Vogue'?

Niki Taylor (below, in full 90's mode) has spoken out about the increasing numbers of fashion contracts & covers being swooped up be celebrities - mainly, actresses. When asked the question What changes in consciousness would you like to see in the fashion industry?", Niki replied to FutureClaw mag "Put models back on covers of magazines and in campaigns and let the movie stars do movies."

Niki was one of the supers back in the 90's. My favourite Niki Taylor shot is from UK Vogue (top of post). I had it on my wall circa 1992, she's wearing a Vivienne Westwood bustier outfit and is looking very Cindy C - people used to confuse the two of them. It's also great to see Cindy Crawford in the same mag! And to see the 90's supers featuring in the fashion glossies again - Amber Valetta, Kristin McMenamy, Naomi Campbell - and Kate Moss never left!

Niki sometimes modeled with her pretty younger sister, Krissy. Tragically, Krissy died in 1995, from an acute asthma attack stemming from cardiac arrhythmia.

6 Years later, Niki was involved a horrific car crash in 2001, resulting a coma for 6 weeks with injuries to her back, lungs and liver. It took 56 doctors to operate on her spine. This FutureClaw image is a nod to that surgery.
I can see where Niki's coming from - heavyweight fashions mags such as W, US Vogue and ELLE especially have been putting actresses on their covers for a long time now, and UK Vogue and ELLE has started to features actresses a lot more often, with Lily Allen, Demi Moore, Keira Knightly, Jennifer Aniston, Angelina Jolie, Carey Mulligan, Kate Hudson some of the latest, off the top of my head. And lately, it seems labels and fashion House campaigns feature actresses more often than not - Julianne Moore for Bulgari, Madonna and Scarlet Johannson for Dolce & Gabbana, Victoria Beckham and Sofia Coppola for Marc Jacobs, January Jones for Versace, Lily Allen for Chanel, Leighton Meester for Missoni...it goes on. Let actresses promote other products - like Scarlet's cool campaign for Moet & Chandon, below.

Personally, give me a model any day - we all know that 99% of actresses don't even choose their outfits, yet are lauded as fashion icons. It's duplicitous. At least, for the most part, models actually live and breath fashion, they have access to the best of the best and they innately style themselves to suit. Granted, they have the access to all of the labels - but they still don't need to pay a stylist to dress them in the morning. Look no further than at one of the most admired, imitated fashion icons of our generation for proof - Kate Moss. You can just see her pulling out a fur gilet and her Westwood boots after a night on the booze with the band.

Case in point - the Vogue UK edition with Emma Watson on the cover. A very wishy-washy, drab cover, yet inside is an A-Mazing Testino shoot, Star Girls- 'A Decade of Supermodels' - this Thread from The Fashionspot concurs. One of the model shots should have been the cover. I mean, just take a butcher's at these:

I understand that fashion houses think that getting celeb to front a line will bring in big bucks. But personally, I think let the models do their thing - actresses, stick to your own media!

Kate Moss and Lea T in LOVE

Yay, my fave mag's latest issue is out! the Theme 'This is Hard Core' aligns several of my favourite things - Kate Moss, Mert & Marcus, and Pulp! The song 'This is Hardcore' by Pulp, one of my favourites, is featured in the promo.
Kate Moss on the cover - great to see her back in an edgy shoot, with amazing styling from the faux-hawk to her clear, freckled skin. She looks beautiful. Kate is photographed by Mert & Marcus with Lea T, a trans gender model who is in the process of a sex-change. Lea - born Leonardo - was discovered by Givenchy Creative Director Ricardo Tisci.
LOVE Ed Katie Grand saw Lea (above, second from right) at the Copacabana Pool Hotel, clad Givenchy: "At first I didn’t notice her gender, just that she was wearing Givenchy couture and looked amazing!'"
Riccardo Tisci insists that, despite the impact of the decision, casting a trans gender model in his latest campaign is not intended purely to raise fashion eyebrows. The model, Lea T, is his long-time personal assistant and former fit model - and Tisci insists she perfectly embodies the collection. "She's always been very feminine: superfragile, very aristocratic. She's part of the family," Tisci told WWD, adding that including a trans gender person in the campaign exemplifies the masculine-feminine dichotomy that has become one of his design signatures." Vogue.com. French Vogue features a nude Lea T in this confronting image. The fashion industry may discriminate against larger models, but it is admirable that more often than not don't discriminate against gay, trans sexual or trans gender people.
"When you are a transsexual, you look for your future, and you can't see it," Lea told the New York Times. "I thought this would be a nice message for another tranny: 'Look, we can be the same as other girls and boys.' It's small, but it makes you feel like you have a little chance. Maybe a transsexual will open a magazine and think: 'That's cool. We can be whatever we want.' That's why I did the Givenchy campaign." Vogue.com

More power to you Lea!

Here's 'This is Hardcore.' xox