FACE FORWARD A new wave of models is challenging the old norms of beauty.
A new wave of models is challenging the old norms of beauty in a blaze of diversity and individuality. By Emily Sheffield. Styled by Sally Lyndley. Photographed by Emma Summerton.
Inside the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris in March, Nicolas Ghesquière presented his 10th catwalk collection for Louis Vuitton. The models strode out into a lost Atlantis, between columns decorated with glittering mirrored shards. While your eye was drawn to the alluring diversity of the clothes – sporty, sensual, luxurious and street combined – it was also the striking diversity of the 54 models that held your attention. Here was Ghesquière’s interpretation of modern beauty, his woman of the future. And she flew the flag of global heterogeneity. Not just because of her origin or skin colour, but also her facial characteristics (although body shape was still overwhelmingly thin); it was a shout-out to nonconformity, a splintering of the status quo, a celebration of individuality.
First out strutted Natalie Westling, the crested wave of her auburn curls crashing over her luminous freckled skin, followed by Luisana Gonzalez from the Dominican Republic, head also framed by a mass of untamed frizz. Scottish serenity came in the form of aristocratic beauty Jean Campbell. And then, in sharp contrast again, Russian model Masha Skokova, with her angular, angry profile, and Fernanda Ly, born in Australia to Chinese parents, instantly recognisable from her waist-length pink hair. It used to be that models in a show were presented as identikit, hair and make-up slicked into a uniform message, but here the natural differences were celebrated; their dark lips were in sync but hairstyles highlighted uniqueness. It felt much more modern and believable.
“WHO CAN BE CALLED A MODEL IS BEING STRETCHED QUITE WIDE”
A few days before, the influential France-based design collective Vetements confidently presented their view of modern beauty, a blurring of gender and a focus on the quirky and the characterful. Head designer Demna Gvasalia’s inspiration is grounded in the post-Soviet counterculture he grew up with; it was a vision of humanity as far from the homogeneity of a Victoria’s Secret show as you could get. Led by the brand’s stylist and collaborator Lotta Volkova, shoulders pulled up high under her chin by the clever manipulation of her jacket, out stomped men and women linked only by the strength of their idiosyncrasies. “I’m interested in looking at something that we aren’t necessarily used to considering beautiful, and showing what I find real,” Volkova said at the time. Most of her catwalk companions were fellow creatives, artists or models cast by the Belgian agency Rebel Management, which, to quote its website, specialises in the “subversive”.
Rikki Keene, Vogue Australia’s photography and casting director, has noticed local talent like the striking Ruby Campbell and Ghanian-Australian Lucy Blay gaining traction, and girls such as indigenous model Charlee Fraser and flame-haired Madison Stubbington consistently picking up work overseas. “The industry is moving away from having a static beauty ideal,” she says. “These girls with a unique look are standing out and getting repeat bookings with the top brands, designers and photographers. Internationally, look at models like Molly Bair and Harleth Kuusik: it’s now about celebrating the individual, as opposed to one type.”
“Casting is a crazy jigsaw puzzle, and Instagram can put numbers on it,” says UK Vogue contributing fashion editor Francesca Burns. Christopher Michael, executive agent at Society Management in New York, adds: “We are in an era where models belong as much to the people as to fashion.” He represents the whole arc in terms of talent, from Kendall Jenner and her mass appeal to the approachability of Lottie Moss (he represents her in America) and the kooky cool of Natalie Westling and Ruth Bell. “Right now the number-one driving force is diversity,” he continues. “Brands are looking to global culture.” Keene agrees: “The top commissioners are not only drawn to the girls whose personality shines through, but they also recognise the commercial value of their social reach.”
Models have always reflected the push and pull of sociopolitical forces. In the last few years the fashion industry has entered into a highly charged state of flux. There is the disruption of the see-now, buy-now business model challenging the more traditional show seasons; there are the challenges of gaining traction in expanding global markets, with currency fluctuations playing havoc with share prices, sending out ripples of panic; never mind the disruptive nature of social media and the rise of native advertising in video. And with so many brands competing for attention in a saturated market, designers have to work even harder to capture our loyalty.
Today it is about a 360-degree profile – newly scouted girls are automatically tested by agencies on how they move on camera. And their social-media handles are added to their modelling cards, so brands can engage with their personal lives; it’s not just about having huge numbers.
“You really want a girl who has a story to sell,” agrees Michael. “We don’t want to be presented with an army of faceless girls scouted in eastern Europe.” That an onus on individuality became so urgent was down, he says, to “branded content being an epic failure. With the arrival of the digital arena, marketing had to be more organic, less blatant. Some brands break boundaries more than others.”
“Who can be called a model is being stretched quite wide,” says Anne Nelson, senior manager of IMG Models – they now range from bloggers to artists (photographer Petra Collins is a new favourite at Gucci) to cool girls who circulate in fresh cultural environments; quirky individuals doing their own thing. Over the past few decades, we saw 80s supermodels replaced by Kate Moss and waif style, as part of the 90s grunge movement. Next we were seduced by the va-va-voom glamour of the Brazilians, epitomised by Gisele Bündchen, before a wave of Eastern-bloc beauties glared hypnotically from catwalks and fashion campaigns (think Natalia Vodianova and Sasha Pivovarova). As brands expanded deep into Asia, naturally so too rose Asian beauties. Then Cara Delevingne broke the mould again.
The revolving door of designers, each seeking to stamp their own identity on revered fashion houses, has also led to a desire for new talent. They don’t want models associated with other brands. At Gucci, Alessandro Michele views his creations through a prism of Renaissance Europe; his Gucci woman is a cultural explorer, with her highly decorated uniform of bookish chic, like Sydney-based newcomer Franny Cowap, who recently debuted as a Gucci exclusive. He prefers to render the model’s individuality invisible beneath the decoration. Casting director Barbara Nicoli worked on Michele’s recent shows: “He only chooses the girls that suit his collection. His creative direction is leading the way.”
Ashley Brokaw, one of the fashion industry’s leading casting agents, with clients including Nicolas Ghesquière, Miuccia Prada and Jonathan Anderson, has had a huge influence over the past decade. She was the first to cast female models in a menswear collection (Prada autumn/winter ’10/’11) – now dual-gender catwalks are the norm. With Ghesquière at Balenciaga, she put Gisele Bündchen in a sea of new, unknown talent. Back then nobody did that; it is commonplace now. “A catwalk show is also a very old-fashioned construct,” she adds, “and dramatic, clever casting helps it feel modern and relevant.” It explains the rapid shifts we have seen in the past few years: Instagram girls, transgender models, the sweep of androgyny, then everyone wanting a girl with a shaved head. There is also an ongoing drift to grown women, not just teenage girls. “But a model with a shaved head is more of a moment,” she says, “usually associated with one brand. It will not on its own parlay into longevity.”
What next after this current swing towards diversity and individuality? Fashion is always on the move, and so its future crushes are hard to predict. Even less so when you consider that the power is not just in the hands of traditional decision-makers. As Keene explains: “Social media has created a two-way conversation between brands and their consumers. The industry is responding and realising there is a responsibility to more accurately reflect what people want to see in the real world.”
What will stay constant is that true iconoclasts of the modelling world have an intangible quality that keeps us wanting more. “It’s hard to explain why we fall in love with a girl,” says Burns. “It’s about a woman who can make the ordinary seem extraordinary. Westling has this flame-red hair, she looks like an avatar, and then she’s also openly gay, she’s a skater, she’s intelligent …”
“At the top level you have got to be inspiring,” insists Natalie Hand, director of Viva Model Management London. “There are so many girls out there; you have to be a muse to designers and photographers, you have got to feed back, not just be a blank canvas. You also need to be versatile. Stella Tennant has the ability to do everything; she’s never allowed herself to be pigeonholed.”