Archive for July 11th, 2008
Meet Jourdan Dunn, a British model who is quickly climbing her way up to being one of the world’s top models. Appearing in Vogue’s ground breaking all black issue, and landing a huge advertising campaign for Topshop, this beauty has made a name for herself as a catwalk queen in no time. See her biography, photos and video here.
Jourdan Dunn is a gorgeous woman, who was discovered while shopping with a friend at Primark at the young age of 16. Now, only two years later she has done 75 catwalk shows, and has appeared on the covers of American and Italian Vogue.
source: celebrity.rightpundits.com
Jourdan Dunn is a 19-year-old model with exotic looks. She idolizes Naomi Campbell and hopes to follow in her footsteps. She was still in high school and had never left the U.K. when she was discovered while shopping for sunglasses. Now, a little over two years later, Jourdan regularly flies to London, New York, and Milan for photo shoots and fashion shows.
Since the beginning of her fast growing career, Jourdan Dunn has been forthright about matters of ethnic inequality in the fashion world. But this beauty is not all talk. Jourdan was among the many black women to fill the pages of Vogue’s all black issue, which was done in hopes of encouraging others in the fashion industry to follow suit. She also was the first black model in ten years to grace the catwalk for a Prada fashion show.
Jourdan Dunn is no stranger to the runway. She has done couture shows for Carolina Herrera, Christian Dior, and Chanel, and has also been the face of Gap and Benetton. She is now one of the most demanded models in the world and it seems as though nothing will stop her.
See more photos and video of Jourdan Dunn after the jump.
July 11th, 2008
With exams over and the summer stretching ahead of her, Pixie Geldof took the opportunity to really let her hair down with model pal Alice Dellal.
The 17-year-old student and A-lister on London’s party scene attended the Nokia Skate Almighty launch in central London last night with 20-year-old Dellal, who is fronting the campaign.
And it’s lucky the model was there to help Pixie find her feet.
Taking a tumble, Pixie fell into peels of laughter at the roller-skating event while giggling Alice picked her up.
It’s no surprise the pair were in such good spirits.
While Pixie appeared this month as the cover girl of society bible Tatler, Alice usurped Kate Moss as the face of Agent Provocateur - a change confirmed last month.
And both looked the part as emerging fashion icons.
Wearing a cropped white vest top and tight, studded indigo jeans Pixie was every inch the roller girl.
Alice went for a racier look with fishnet tights and a sheer printed cardigan.
Nokia Skate Almighty is a free music and roller-skating festival that opens nationwide today.
And if Alice and Pixie’s fun last night is anything to go by, it may be worth giving it a look.
source: dailymail.co.uk
July 11th, 2008
She’s conquered the runway and the airwaves, but the most ambitious thing Heidi Klum’s ever done doesn’t involve fashion.
“I jumped into the water with 45 sharks without a cage in the Bahamas for a Discovery Channel show,” the supermodel tells Parade.com. “That was a really good experience.”
Not to mention fearless — splashing around with sharks proved to be an epiphany for the 35-year-old.
“I’m not saying that everyone should swim with sharks, but sometimes you have to jump over your own shadow in order to learn something that you will never forget for the rest of your life,” she says. “Then you know you can conquer your fears.”
Meanwhile, 16 new contestants must conquer the runway under Heidi’s watchful eye next week. The fifth season of Project Runway premieres Wednesday and the German-born babe is looking forward to telling people who’s in and who’s out — even if it means breaking some hearts.
“It’s tough not to be a winner,” she says. “I always think back to when I won my first modeling competition in Germany. I was 18 and I just had to get out there and try hard. You’ve got to keep going and not give up. That’s what I advise the designers who are on the show.”
Still, an auf-ing shouldn’t be taken personally.
“But I don’t think that I’m mean to the contestants or do things to cause them any pain. I value honesty and I think they do too.”
source: okmagazine.com
July 11th, 2008
THE 12-year-old model who caused an outrage when she became the face of the Gold Coast Fashion Week last year has been signed by a top New York modelling agency, at just 13.
Maddison Gabriel has been signed up by one of the world’s most prestigious agencies, Elite Model Management, which has driven the careers of top models including Naomi Campbell and Cindy Crawford.
The teenager’s coup occurred after her Brisbane modelling agency Tamblyn Models, with whom she signed in January, met with Elite last month.
“They thought she was a lovely fresh-looking girl,” said Tamblyn Models general manager Sallie Tamblyn.
“They are looking at bringing her over in January during the school holiday period,” she said.
The Gold Coast teenager, currently on holiday in France with her family, made headlines from Australia to the US last September when, aged 12, she was selected as the face of Gold Coast Fashion Week, with then prime minister John Howard and US talk show hosts commenting on the case.
Tamblyn said she believed there was no danger to her entering the industry at such a young age.
“I really don’t think its detrimental and her age isn’t an issue,” Tamblyn said.
“Maddison has only ever done age appropriate jobs, which is teenage parades.
“She hasn’t done anything that is going to make her into any form of sex object or anything.”
According to Tamblyn, premier Sydney modelling agency Chadwick also expressed interest in her.
But Chadwick general manager Martin Walsh said yesterday that a final decision had not been made on whether she would be represented by the agency.
Gabriel’s rise into the modelling big time has concerned childhood protection lobby groups.
Australian Childhood Foundation chief executive officer Joe Tucci said he believed the fashion and modelling industry had to re-examine the practise of pushing girls into the industry.
He said children were accepting roles which were beyond their ability to understand.
source: news.com.au
July 11th, 2008
The Chinese aversion to releasing official information has made the tragedy of B.C. model Diana O’Brien’s killing a full-fledged mystery here.
Despite the fact dozens, maybe hundreds of people near where she lived in the Changning District in central Shanghai knew she was murdered and media in Canada was reporting the story across the country, Chinese police refused for nearly 60 hours even to confirm her death.
When they did issue a statement near midday Wednesday, it was short in length and so short on information as to be ludicrous.
It did not, for instance, even give the model’s last name. It identified her only as a Canadian named Diana.
Consider how many parents in Canada that might have terrified if O’Brien’s death had not already been revealed.
Since then, repeated requests to the police for just the basic facts of the investigation have been stonewalled.
It’s led to confusion about many aspects of the case.
Did her roommate, B.C. model Charlotte Wood, find the body?
Or was it the cleaning lady at their Ging Sen Apartments, which seems to make more sense, given she was discovered in a stairwell around 5:30 a.m.
The other thing adding to the mystery of this case is why Jh Model Agency, which employed both O’Brien and Wood, has gone underground.
No one answers its phones, its website has gone black and despite numerous attempts no one can find its offices. They are certainly not at the address found on the website - when it was still operative.
Moreover, the previously listed addresses for Jh Model Agency were all in rundown old apartment buildings. None looked like the premises of a thriving business that is able to attract overseas fashion models.
A male model who worked for Jh has come forward with harsh criticisms of the company.
Michael Seifert, 20, was a model at the agency until January, he said in an e-mail from Bangkok. He called its management “untruthful, disorganized and manipulative.
“Jh is one agency I would never recommend going with in Shanghai,” he said. “The apartments are nice, but the management is just disorganized.”
Seifert, who’s from the Philippines, said the agency would try to push him to do car shows, which he didn’t think was suitable for his career. He said his male roommates felt the agency lied to them, forcing them to wear bathing suits for a four-day car show, after promising it be for one day.
Still, the Canadian agency that employed O’Brien said it was a reputable firm and they had a good working relationship with the owners. The Barbara Coultish Agency’s statement said: “Our agency has maintained an excellent rapport with the owner and bookers at Jh Model.”
Johnny Zhen, director of ESEE Model Management, a large agency in Shanghai, was less certain of the agency’s credentials.
He said in an interview Thursday he had heard about Jh, but never run into anyone from it professionally.
“It’s only a small company, not even in our list of competitors,” he said. “We never meet their models on jobs.”
The fact that Jh Model has now gone off the radar obviously doesn’t mean it had anything to do with O’Brien’s death, but it has added a new layer of mystery to an already tangled story.
source: canada.com
July 11th, 2008