Model's Digest

Model Ruslana Korshunova spoke of feeling "lost" and "hurt" in the months before she plunged to her death from her ninth floor flat in New York.The 20-year-old, who had appeared on the covers of French Elle and Russian Vogue, poured out her heart in postings on social networking sites.The Kazakh beauty was found dead outside her Manhattan apartment block on Saturday after apparently leaping from her balcony.While friends said there had been no signs she had been suicidal, internet postings show swings between euphoria and despair in a series of postings on the theme of love. In one message three months ago she wrote: "I'm so lost. Will I ever find myself?"An earlier posting, quoted by the New York Daily News, she wrote: "It hurts, as if someone took a part of me, tore it out, mercilessly stomped all over and threw it out." One cryptic entry in March reads: "My dream is to fly. Oh, my rainbow it is too high."Other postings revealed anger. In March she wrote: "I'm a bitch. I'm a witch. I don't care what you say ... I know why my other relationships didn't work out, 'cause I'm unpredictable. "Her most recent posting, quoted by the New York Daily News, amounted to a virtual discourse on the theme of love."Love is the sun, desire ? only flash," she wrote."Desire dazzles, and the sun gives life.""Love does not take away from one in order to give to another,"

Police reported no sign of a struggle inside Miss Korshunova's apartment.But Kira Titeneva, a friend from Korshunova's hometown, said: "There's no way she would have killed herself. She loved life so much."Another friend said that Miss Korshunova, who was three days shy of her 21st birthday, was "one of the sweetest, nicest people you'll ever meet. "He went on: "I'm still in shock. The world lost a great person."He added she had just returned from a modelling job in Paris and seemed "on top of the world". "There were no signs. That's what's driving me crazy. I don't see one reason why she would do that. "The 5 ft 8 in, longhair model, would have earned around $5,000 for a catwalk show and had been sending money home to her family in the former Soviet Republic. Her death is the latest to rock the fashion world, an industry often criticised for the pressures and demands it can place on models. In February, the body of Katoucha Niane, the former supermodel muse of Yves Saint Laurent, was found in the Seine near Paris after an apparent suicide. Over the past two years, a number of South American models have died of suspected malnutrition, prompting international debate about eating disorders and "size zero" models. But industry observers urged caution in assuming Korshunova's job was to blame for her death. Zach Eichman, a spokesman for Korshunova's agency, IMG, which also handles Heidi Klum and Kate Moss, said "she was one of our very good working models. She did a lot of shows and successful campaigns." Everyone I have spoken to is very surprised and the feedback I am getting from people is that there was little indication that there was something troubling her and that she was always very happy." A former boyfriend, Artem Perchenok, 24, said he dropped Korshunova off at her apartment several hours before her death after they watched the Demi Moore film Ghost together.

Police are still investigating the death of a model who fell nine stories from her apartment in Lower Manhattan yesterday afternoon. Published reports identified the victim as 20-year-old Kazakh fashion model Ruslana Korshunova. They say she died around 2:30 yesterday afternoon after falling from her building on Water Street, and that her death appears to be a suicide. The Kazakhstan native was discovered in November 2003 when bookers for a modeling agency saw her in a flight magazine. She subsequently appeared in fashion shows in London and New York and modeled for Nina Ricci, Marc Jacobs and Cynthia Rowley.

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Though America stands poised for its first black president in history, the fashion world descending on Paris for this week's couture-show summit will be treated yet again to a "white-out" on the catwalks. After the emergence 30 years back of black faces on catwalks -- thanks largely to recently demised French couture giant Yves Saint Laurent -- fashion in the first decade of the 21st century has turned relentlessly white. "I asked the modelling agency for black girls for our next show but there simply aren't any," said Mario Lefranc, half of the Lefranc-Ferrant designer duo, one of 40-odd labels presenting couture collections in Paris over the coming week. "I'm sick of blonde Russian girls," he told AFP. "Clearly the trend now is all for blue-eyed blondes." And at Jean-Paul Gaultier's, a designer renowned for using models of all ages, sizes, and origins, one assistant said: "It's really very difficult at the moment. There are no black models on the market, the agencies have none." In the last few years, she added, "there's been an invasion of girls from Eastern Europe, of their type of beauty."
Former model Mounia, now 40-something and born on the French Caribbean island of Martinique, was one of the first top black models to hit high fashion those few decades ago, along with by Iman, Katousha, Naomi Campbell, Jourdan Dunn, Alek Wek and Pat Cleveland. An aspiring air hostess discovered by Hubert de Givenchy, then propelled onto the catwalk by Saint Laurent, she acted as the face of YSL for some 15 years from 1985 onwards. "He was inspired by the colour of my skin," Mounia told AFP. "I was his black model, his first black muse." "I've noticed there are many fewer black models on the catwalks today and I think it's a pity," she said. "Particularly when you look around at what is going on worldwide, at how society has evolved, at what is going on in America." Fashion has long been said to reflect changes in the air, and Barack Obama's rising star was one of the reasons behind a momentous decision in the rarefied world of style by Italian Vogue editor Franca Sozzani to make a statement against discrimination in its forthcoming issue.
Bound to make waves in the weeks and months to come, July's issue of Vogue Italia is to feature more than 100 pages, including the cover, of images of black women -- models as well as successful black women in arts and entertainment. The pictures were taken by influential US photographer Steven Meisel, known for his 1992 volume with Madonna. "Franca doesn't realise what she's done for people of colour," Campbell was quoted as saying of Vogue's "A Black Issue" in The New York Times. "It reminds me of Yves (Saint Laurent) using all the black models." And London's Daily Telegraph noted that "this will be an event to remember." As advertisers increasingly beam images of a multi-ethnic global society around the world, the whitewash on the catwalks appears absurdly out of touch with reality. So what ever happened since YSL, Paco Rabanne or Azzedine Alaïa put black models on the front pages? White domination on the catwalks in the 50s and early 60s, when racism and ostracism remained rife, reflected the times, said fashion historian Lydia Kamitsis. "Seeing black girls on covers and catwalks in the mid-60s caused a real scandal," she told AFP. "In the 80s there was an explosion of cultural and ethnic diversity, with models of all shapes and all cultures." "Then all this disappeared progressively to become this uniform whiteness of today." Kamitsis said she believed the white-out of black girls was because labels had become more important than creativity in contemporary fashion. "The product is what counts, the product is more important than the model's personality.
Today's style, in contrast with times when to be different was what counted, was "more uniform, more neutral" and designers themselves subjected to marketing strategies and zero-risk production diktats. "The market for fashion goods, emerging nations such as China, Russia, the Arab world, are countries that are not specially known for favouring social or cultural mixes," she said. "White models are without a doubt the easiest ways of attracting these clients." According to Renee Dujac-Cassou, who heads Paris' Crystal models agency, "blue-eyed blondes have always been the dream type. It's as simple as that." "A beautiful African woman is not the dream type, neither is a Tibetan or a Chinese princess." The number of non-white models parading on catwalks, she said, "will always be extremely limited." (AFP)

By Zosia Bielski
I am 5 feet 3 inches tall, a woman most often described by her exes as "cute," despite an abundance of acne scars and a body almost entirely covered with stubborn, fine black hairs. So the prospect of covering a Ford Model search as an "embedded reporter" fills me with understandable dread but also vague curiosity. I have never seen a model up close, but will now spend two days alongside some of the country's finest specimens, six girls vying to represent Canada in the Ford Models Supermodel of the World finals in January. Models from Ford agencies in some 50 countries will compete for a contract worth $250,000 and an opportunity to work in New York City - plus, of course, get massive exposure. My assignment is to experience everything that the real models do - hair, makeup, the long strut down the catwalk. In other words, I will face the same physical scrutiny as those who make a living off their looks. A day before the assignment, I visit my local manicurist to get my ragged reporter's nails looking presentable - sanded down and covered with a toxic sheet of acrylic. I tell her to file the claws short and paint them pale: no porno nails for Ford.
Getting dressed the next morning, I go for safe: dark jeans and a plain black T-shirt. Will the models I meet today have the innate fashion sense of, say, Kate Moss and, if so, what will they make of my ratty Joe Fresh ballet flats? I arrive at the Redken Exchange, the Toronto training facility for the company's stylists (Ford employs Redken staff to do its models' hair). The girls are already holed up getting their hair prepped for the following day's fashion show and finale, and I join them at the sinks in an enormous white cube of a room. From the slew of stylists and PR people, I pick out the six girls, and I'm surprised to discover that's exactly what they are: Most are between 14 and 16 years old and some are studying for high school exams while they're getting their hair and makeup done. With their long, thin, muscle-free limbs and bored faces popping out from their hairdressers' smocks, the girls look like they could be on a school field trip. As their hair is dyed and straightened - in many cases, for the first time - it becomes apparent they have little previous experience in fashion. Few can name favourite designers or models, and although several have put on heels, most look like they've stepped out of an Abercrombie & Fitch ad in their short plaid shorts, tights, sneakers and bulky hoodies. Which is exactly what you would expect 14-year-old girls to wear.
There is tiny hockey-playing Ali, 14, and blond; horseback rider Arielle, 15, from Calgary; a confident brunette named Erin, 16, from Halifax; ballet-dancing Shelby, 15, from Toronto; a snowboarding Laetitia Casta-look-alike named Cassandra, 14; and the eldest, 20-year-old Nadia from Montreal. Diane Lang, Ford's Canadian co-director, requests that their last names be withheld for safety reasons, because the girls are so young. Jarrett Plyley, a Ford scout, says that all six girls approached Ford to compete in these finals, but that often he finds his best models by chance. He says he's had great luck on the Toronto subway and "by the side of the 400" - places like Barrie, Ont., and Canada's Wonderland. He also goes with his models to their school track-and-field meets in hopes of spotting other contenders. "These are wholesome, healthy Canadian girls, good homegrown ladies, the all-Canadian girl next door," says Redken vice-president Doriane Dalati, who flutters like a doting mom around the studio where the glamour music has just come on - remixed Fleetwood Mac, Daft Punk and other ageing club tracks.
It's my turn at the sink. Redken's director of education, Terry Ritcey, assures me I have "great hair," but too much of it - he "texturizes" half of it on to the floor, and streamlines my bangs so I can enjoy peripheral vision again. I'm also showing roots and an unintentional red sheen in my hair because of the ammonia from a previous dye job. Ritcey mixes what looks like raspberry jam for my colour. He's been doing hair for 25 years, most recently for Prada, Marc Jacobs and Donna Karan at New York's Fashion Week. The next day, he is to fly out to Calgary to style Ben Affleck's mop. Ritcey tells me that despite new stars like Agyness Deyn - the British model who arrived on the scene with shaved, bleached blond hair and thick black eyebrows, blithely crediting skinheads for her fashion sense - the Ford look is more about "classic beauty." Long hair that is one colour is the goal here, he says. "No one at Ford is encouraging the girls to cut their hair." While chiselled models with square jaw lines and plump lips - think Monika Schnarre - made it big in the 1980s, the look now, he says, is "balanced, refined and perfectly symmetrical." Just like Nadia, who takes a seat beside me. With her tiny white teeth, cupid-bow lips, a button nose pierced with a small stud, enormous doe eyes and flawless caramel skin, I find it hard to concentrate on what she is saying.
Now 20, she did her first year in biochemistry at the University of Montreal, but it was not to her liking. Now she is trying modelling in the hope that it will launch her into acting: "Modelling is a form of acting where you cannot speak," she says. I ask her who her favourite actress is: It's Charlotte Gainsbourg. Tomiko Fraser, the American model and one of the faces of Maybelline cosmetics, weaves between the sinks interviewing the girls. She is hosting a Citytv special on the girls (it ran earlier this month). She asks Nadia to name her favourite designer. Chanel, Nadia says. Fraser then asks her what her hair was like before she had it straightened. "I got an Afro," she says, laughing. And finally: Would she shave her head for Karl Lagerfeld? Yes, Nadia replies.
"That's the right answer," Fraser says. Nearly a decade ago, Fraser went from hostessing at a Manhattan restaurant, where she was discovered, to modelling couture for Chanel on a conveyor-belt runway in Paris. Lagerfeld called her "a little chocolate doll." She is now mentoring the girls for Ford. "They have no idea what they're getting into. It takes an empowered woman to get into this business. They probably don't even understand what empowered even means yet." For the shrewdest of the girls, the exposure that could come from this competition could very well be parlayed into a career spanning the next 40 years, Fraser says.
Makeup artist Shanon Stewart tells me she's toured with Avril Lavigne, and recently became enamoured of Sting while doing his makeup during the singer's Toronto pit stop at Downward Dog studio for some pre-show yoga. Now it's my turn. Stewart applies layer upon layer of foundation, several coats of blush, eyeliner, mascara and bright pink lipstick. I feel like I'm wearing a kabuki mask. Having taken a "before" shot in the morning, my photographer shoots me after my makeover. Directing my gaze up and down, left to right, he takes shot after shot.
"Demure!" he instructs. I realize I have no idea what demure looks like. The girls sit nearby but don't register my half-assed attempts to posture like a model. They're too busy playing a card game that involves snatching up objects they've pulled from their purses and laid out on a chair - a tube of mascara, lip balm, moisturizing cream and a hair elastic. I join their circle and suddenly experience the cliché of "radiant beauty": The girls literally glow. I lose two hands of the game twice and realize that behind the perfect smiles and Ford's absolute ban on cattiness, these girls are competitive. The next day is show time at Toronto's Distillery District. That morning, Jarrett Plyley, the scout, teaches the girls how to walk: Shoulders back and hips forward, he tells them. They teeter in three-inch heels, holding Plyley's hand. But by afternoon, the girls - who now have their makeup on and their hair in rollers - have perfected the runway turn.
I, too, am wearing three-inch heels, which I'd picked out at the Eaton Centre: cheap black pumps designed by JLO. I get my best friend, Sarah Jay, who is a stylist, to borrow them for me because, realistically, I will not be wearing three-inch heels again. She teases me about my conservative choice, and we tape off the bottoms so she can return them after my walk. For my walk, I wear another black T-shirt and a caboose-accentuating pencil skirt. Stewart's mascara is still shellacked to my eyes from the day before. Plyley gives the standard tutorial: Shoulders rolled back, hips forward, I feel like I'm horseback riding. Plyley says I'm "a natural" and the girls applaud. The runway turn proves more difficult. Something about kicking out one leg and turning in the direction you're heading befuddles me. I start to glaze over. I'm a reporter, not a model.
The ante is upped during dress rehearsal, when a commanding German man sporting a headset barks instructions at the girls as they slip and slide on the runway - it has been taped over with brown paper so it doesn't get scratched before the finale. "Walk in the centre of the runway. It's about you. Work it. Chin up. Relax your arms. Good girl," says Hans Koechling, the veteran show producer. Dance music booms and everyone eyes the models, including a small man who wears an ascot and winces through his spectacles, appraising the girls as if they were racehorses. What are their prospects realistically, I wonder. Plyley tells me that a "14-year-old girl working full-time internationally" is not realistic. However, now that these girls have been groomed, they could start working for local designers to develop their confidence. Two of the girls wear braces. Is that a problem? "They don't have to smile on the runway," Plyley responds. In the evening, the girls join more senior models on the catwalk. Their walks are still stiff, and their blasé expressions can't hide eyes that are terrified. After days of grooming and being fussed over, the end seems abrupt. Shelby is the winner. The 15-year-old had walked the runway with perfect posture, her face porcelain and focused above crimson lips. Trained as a ballet dancer, she is 5 feet 10 and still growing. After she learns that she is the model who will represent Canada, she makes her way down the catwalk again: Her braces gleam under the blinding runway lights as she smiles. The other girls seem stunned, maybe because they never saw Shelby as the winner, maybe because it's over so suddenly. Judge Aaron Newbill - head of scouting for Ford in North America - had looked on approvingly from the front row, and later explained why he picked Shelby. "There was something about Shelby that seemed to convey more confidence in her beauty, and that's very important for any new girl. We thought we were seeing a really classic beauty, but with a bit of a twist. The career that she'll have is basically up to her." But, he added, Shelby's success will probably bubble slowly, after the braces come off: "She's a young girl. It's just about growing into her beauty. She should just take it as it comes: Finish school, do the things that a young girl does, look forward to the contest and then be available full-time." Modelling was not what Sandra, a Toronto-based life coach, had in mind for her daughter but admits she was impressed when Shelby walked the catwalk: "It almost feels like I wasn't watching my daughter but someone already in a great authority of herself." Now her only question is whether Shelby will go to summer camp like other 15-year-olds or stay home and prepare for a shot at being the next supermodel of the world.

Victoria's Secret model Karolina Kurkova is being attacked by the Brazilian media for appearing too fat on the runway. Kurkova was slammed in the country for appearing in a bikini with what critics called "back fat, love handles and cellulite" at the Cia Maritima show during Sao Paulo Fashion Week. Kurkova, 24, is best known for being a Victoria's Secret Angel. The New York Website TheImproper.com has a set of photos of the model from the show in question and reports the model made $5 million dollars last year as one of the top 10 models in the world. Kurkova is a 5' 11" Czech native. She reportedly lives in TriBeCa with her long-time boyfriend.

So much of what goes on in the fashion world, including the fashion modeling world - is about what's in. And now, to a certain extent, black models are in again. But as much as it delights me to glimpse the gorgeous pics in Italian Vogue and peep the gorgeous men in the Dsquared show, collectively, these efforts at diversity seem to be more like a passing fad instead of something that will actually change the industry. Sort of "Let?s do all black guys this time! It will be fabulous!" Having all-black magazine issues and all-black fashion shows isn't going to solve any problems. When there's a concerted effort to really add diversity - to runway shows and magazines on a regular basis, and not just a handful of gimicky all-or-nothing, publicity-grabbing shows and mag issues, then we'll know that things have changed. For now, let?s check back and see what designers have in store for fashion week. How do you think the trend will play out?

When it comes to modeling, many people have the notion that they either have to live in California or in New York or Toronto. After all, that?s where most of the big modeling agencies are. Granted, if you lived in Los Angeles, California or New York City, you'd probably have an easier time getting into the modeling industry. When it comes to modeling, many people have the notion that they either have to live in California or in New York or Toronto. After all, that's where most of the big modeling agencies are. Granted, if you lived in Los Angeles, California or New York City, you'd probably have an easier time getting into the modeling industry. But what if you can't just pack your things and move to California or New York? What then? Up until now, there was nothing the "new model" could do.

The following tips will get you on your way into the modeling industry quickly and easily:

1. Take Pictures, specifically Head Shots - keep them simple. Wear neat and clean clothing. Don't worry about wearing the latest fashion or style. Ladies, keep your make up simple. In fact, it would be best if you had several pictures of you without any make up. The same goes for hairstyles. Clear your face of any hair so that your face is fully visible. Keep your hair neat, clean and simple. If you can't afford a professional photographer, then use a basic camera. Make sure you have good lighting.

2. You will need a resume of yourself. In your resume, include your Modeling Experience, hobbies, interests, and vital stats such as height, and weight. This is called a portfolio that what agencies will review.

3. Research the addresses of modeling agents and agencies in your area. You can look this up in your local phone book, public library or on the internet. There are literally thousands of agencies across Canada and the United States to contact.

4. After sending out your portfolio, do a follow up phone call or email every 2 weeks afterwards. Remember, these agencies may be getting hundreds of portfolios sent to them each week. What will get their attention? Make follow up phone calls - lots of them.

5. Utilize as many communications tools as possible. This includes calling them on the phone, emailing, sending letters through direct mail, and leverage the web. The best thing is to use a combination of all of the aforementioned.

6. Develop your modeling skills. Look for local modeling schools or classes in or near your area. If there are none, then research your public library for books or videos. If you still have no luck, then you can go online to places such as Amazon.com and other booksellers that will have modeling videos and books.

Britain's Missing Top Model is a new BBC Three series starting on Tuesday, in which eight women with disabilities compete over the course of three weeks to prove to a panel of industry experts that they have what it takes to be a mainstream fashion model. Controller of BBC Three, Danny Cohen, says: "This series aims to challenge the artificial boundaries that seem to exist in the beauty and fashion industries. "It would be great if, in the future, we began to see more disabled models gracing the covers of the world's magazines." This original, five-part series is made by Love Productions for BBC Three. Eight women have been chosen to move into an apartment in London, where they will eat, sleep and breathe the fashion industry over a three-week period. Three industry experts will train them in every aspect of modelling ? from posing for photo shoots to location work and catwalks. During the intensive training period they will be set challenges by the expert judges to see if they have what it takes to become a model. If they impress the judges in these challenges, the girls will be allowed to continue in the competition. Ultimately, the judges will select one winner and her prize is a high-fashion photo shoot with one of the world's foremost fashion photographers ? to feature in a spread in a top women's glossy magazine. With this training and experience, the aspiration is to give the winner a foot in the door of the fashion industry. Richard McKerrow, Creative Director, Love Productions, says: "Our intention is to empower both the women featured in the project and thousands of others, who shouldn't be invisible to the fashion industry just because they are Disabled people. "We're also looking to challenge preconceived notions of beauty."
The series will be supported by Ouch, the BBC's award-winning disability website. Ouch will provide a forum for debate about the many issues raised by the series, as well as exclusive video clips and blogs. The site will also host a campaign run by BBC Learning that will bring the rarely-discussed topic of disability within the beauty and fashion industry into the spotlight, and challenge the audience's understanding of what it means to be a disabled person. A spokesperson of Disability Action, in Islington, says: "Any programme which raises awareness of the barriers that society places in the path disabled people wanting to pursue their chosen career, that has the ability to challenge negative stereotypes and encourage inclusion, is a positive thing."

Lingerie giant Wonderbra is launching a nationwide search for real women in Britain to model its new range in an upcoming advertising campaign, reports reveal. Wonderbra is looking for 100 women to show off their bras in an attempt to create the world's largest underwear photo shoot. On June 28th the brand is holding an open casting in London for women of all sizes, to promote the launch of its new line of D-G cup bras. Spokesperson Julia Nolan commented: "Our new range of D-G Wonderbras means now every girl out there can enjoy our famous confidence enhancing cleavage. "To celebrate, we look forward to meeting women of all sizes at the open event for a complimentary glamorous makeover, Wonderbra fitting and fab photoshoot." Supermodel Eva Herzigova became a global icon after featuring in the brand's Hello Boys campaign back in 1994. The internationally renowned model went on to appear in catalogues and campaigns for Victoria's Secret.

She' been labelled a bully and chastised over her weight, but Australia's Next Top Model finalist Demelza Reveley says she's confident of winning - because her competitor is too old. Reveley, 16, will fight it out against 21-year-old Alex Girdwood in the final of the reality TV show next Tuesday and believes she's in the better position. "I guess I'd be a little more concerned if I was her," Reveley said. "I mean, she's 21 now, so she's kind of running out of time to do this and to make it in this industry. "There is a short shelf-life being a model and that's just the way it is.
"I'd feel worried if I was in her shoes." Reveley, a self-described "Bitch-keteer", has been one of the most controversial figures on the show. She bullied a fellow contestant by water-bombing her and tipping water over her head. Now apologetic for the incident, Reveley doesn't think it should affect her chances of winning. "It's not the search to find the best person ever - it's the search to find Australia's next top model," Reveley says. "I'm hoping that it comes down to our ability to work in the industry rather than the way we've made mistakes and handled ourselves.
"I've proven on the show that I can handle the situations that we're put under and I am quite mature."
Reveley has also received much publicity for her weight on the show. The Wollongong teenager was told by industry experts that she had to trim down from her size 10 figure if she wanted to make it as a top model. Since filming wrapped up two months ago she's lost 10cm off her hips, sparking a debate that it sends a bad message. Reveley says she understands why people are upset about it, but adds it's only going to make her more competitive. "It's the way this industry is and it's not going to change any time soon," Reveley said. "So, I can't really do much about it and I really want to be part of the industry so it's what I have to do." Fellow finalist Girdwood also weighed into the debate about Reveley's figure. "It's something she's going to have to work on continuously while she's wanting to be a model," Girdwood said. "Unfortunately, for her she's not naturally svelte like the other girls. But that's her decision (to lose the weight) but congratulations to her for having the determination to lose the weight." Girdwood, from Sydney says she handled the bitchiness on the show because she had the "brains to back myself up" and was also confident of winning. The finale of Australia's Next Top Model airs on pay-TV channel Fox8 on Tuesday.

Demelza Reveley on Fox's 8 blog.

Actress Brooke Shields has vowed to support her kids if they choose to pursue a career in the spotlight - because she would be a hypocrite to stand in their way. Shields has two daughters - Rowan Frances, five, and Grier Hammond, two - with her TV-writer husband Chris Henchy. And she admits she won't deny her children their dreams of superstardom, since her own career as a model began as an infant - but insists they must make time for their studies. She says, "I'm going to try to protect them. I also can't be such a hypocrite. Both their parents are in the entertainment industry, so I can't completely deny them... If they want to do it, I can't deny them. They just have to have an education." Shields was the youngest fashion model to appear on the cover of fashion magazine Vogue at the age of 14 in 1980. Later that year, she rocked the media with controversy over her infamous sexually-charged print and TV ads for Calvin Klein jeans.

Anina is an international model with a passion for technology. Her most recent work is visible in DEdiCate magazine, shot by Andrea Giacobbe, and Russian Harper's Bazaar, shot by Iris Brosch. She has just returned from New York City, where PBS has filmed a documentary about her during the New York Fashion Week. She is the one of the first mobile artists, producing mulitimedia art content with cellular technology. Upon landing in Paris in November 2004, she has completed 6 art exhibitions two of which were titled, A new kind of Supermodel and Every human is a Work of Art. Anina is the founder of the 360Fashion Network.
360Fashion professionals are hand trained by anina.net in mobile media reporting, and have 24/7 support and 99% uptime and has been in motion since it's launch in Paris, together with Nokia France on OCT. 3rd, 2005. 360Fashion's most recent work has been in the top shows during New York Fashion Week, Amsterdam Fashion Week, and XmediaLab in Singapore orchestrating teams of 5, 360Fashion mobile reporters front stage and backstage creating live content for www.360fashion.tv in addition to www.360fashion.net. The website wishes to give a global visibilty to local fashion econnomies in order to make the wheel of fashion spin! Anina wishes to use her image and voice to encourage all women of the world to embrace technology so they will have the possibility to compete in the new digital markets that are emerging globally.

Anina's speech at the Digital Lifestyle Day 2006. It's at the end of the video.

Iran-born fashion model Masha, who has modelled for top Indian designers like Rocky S. and Neeta Lulla, will be moving base from Dubai to Mumbai where she expects better opportunities. "I've never felt somewhere was home like I do in Mumbai," the 25-year-old, who has been living in Dubai since she was nine, told The National newspaper. "For my career, it is so much better than it is to be here in the Middle East," she added. According to Masha, who has worked for two years in fashion capitals of the world like London and Paris, the Indian market was much more exciting."I will be doing bigger campaigns and in India, career progression is much quicker and opportunities are more diverse," she was quoted as saying. "Instead of just doing one-off catwalk shows, you can do proper campaigns, billboards and TV, which are more international than regional, which it is here in Dubai." During the course of her career, she has modelled for some of the world?s top brands like Pepsi, Sony and Panasonic. Last year, she was the face of the United Arab Emirates? leading telecom operator Etisalat. Recently, during a three-month stay in Mumbai, she did photo-shoots for Louis Vuitton, Vogue India and Hermes. Masha, who has a background in pharmaceuticals, feels that she can look Indian too because of her looks. "I can look quite north Indian so they like me. When they want an Indian look, I work for them and if they want a more Iranian or Middle Eastern look, they use that too," she said.

And so it seems the era of women of a certain age is upon us. Hallelujah says the majority of the population. After the transformation of the French cabinet courtesy of Sarkozy?' babes and the transformation of the Spanish cabinet courtesy of Zapatero's babes comes the transformation of the fashion magazine courtesy of the supermodel babes ? the original supermodel babes, to be specific: Linda Evangelista, Christy Turlington, Naomi Campbell, Stephanie Seymour et al. Reports have it that when the autumn/winter glossies hit the streets in a few weeks (like fashion in general, magazines have a singular calendar, and most issues are published almost a full month before their titular period), such 1980s catwalk stars will be smouldering out in new advertising campaigns from Prada (Evangelista), Escada (Turlington), and Loewe (Seymour); caressing Vuitton bags (Eva Herzigova) and swathed in Chanel (Claudia Schiffer) ? in all their late thirty-and-early-fortysomething glory. The talking heads are worked up.
"Actresses are out!" they cry. LV has given up on J Lo! The celebrity spokesmodel has finally been exposed as a fashion pretender, and the real models have returned. But why? Not, apparently, because ? of Sharon Stone ? companies have realised the dangers of employing celebrities but, rather, because "being the original in any field" ? including supermodeldom ? "gives you a very special and enduring cachet," or so non-super-user Donatella Versace told Women?s Wear Daily recently (given that Ms Versace?s brother Gianni was credited with creating the phenomenon in the first place, she has a certain perspective on the matter). Call it the theory of "Femogeniture". Still, there are others.
Some observers, for example, have posited more of a dialectic kind of a thing, a backlash against the ubiquity of actresses and skinny eastern European automatons, in the hemlines go up/hemlines go down sort of way. Then there are the proponents of the Carla Bruni effect, which states that the elevation of ex-model to role model has had a knock-on effect on her former colleagues. Personally, however, I think it?s more calculated and corporate than that. I think it has to do with purchasing power. Despite high fashion?s reluctance to admit to any recession effects on their businesses, despite the insistence that the type of very rich person who can happily drop a few thousand on a handbag each season is the type of person who is immune to economic downturns, despite the claims that it is the aspirational high-street shopper who changes their consumption patterns, there?s little doubt that unease is in the air, and such an atmosphere has a tendency to make even those with secure bank balances think twice about purchases. There's psychological fall-out for everyone. And when faced with that, the smart fashion brands start thinking about communication, and who their customers really are.
I'll tell you one thing: most of them are not giraffe-like 18-year-olds with Slavic cheekbones. Some may be ? second or fifth wives or heiresses or the like ? but chances are the biggest chunk of them are, rather, middle-aged women who?ve had the time to accrue a nest egg of their own. Women who may have grown up, or begun their careers, when the supermodels were actually becoming supermodels, and who may feel an odd sort of kinship with them. Not transference, exactly (no one who saw Christy Turlington ever thought they could be her), but a sort of friendly nostalgia, which easily segues into friendly associations. Hey: if this brand works for her, maybe it would work for me too. Plus there's the weight thing.
None of these women are, by any definition, big. Most of them are notably thin. But they are a lot bigger than the teenagers they share magazine space with; seeing them in clothes it is easier to see how the clothes might work on a "real" woman, even taking into account airbrushing. Also, they look grown-up, as opposed to like adolescents who have raided their mothers? closets, and they make the clothes they are wearing look right for grown-ups. They give a sort of market integrity to their brands, allowing them to drop the pretence of showing on children while selling to adults. Indeed, the older supermodels have a certain integrity, full stop, that actresses never had: they are clothes hangers pure and simple, and their appearance in an ad is a clear business transaction. By contrast, the use of a thespian model always seemed to include an endorsement subtext that also seemed vaguely suspect, as though said endorser was being paid to give her seal of approval. Whether she truly loved the product or not ? who knew? Models are supposed to be promiscuous in their style choices; actresses are supposed to be dependable in all their choices. Besides, for a supermodel to have survived this long, to have been up and been down, to have been out and been in and to be having a renaissance ? well, isn?t that even more aspirational than skin that?s barely seen two decades? Vive l'expérience! Olé.

Ten years ago, Eva Herzigova caused controversy and car crashes with her iconic Wonderbra advert. Now, it seems, if you want to flog underwear, it's all about saying hello to baps, jugs, bangers and melons.Whatever shape or size, 1,000 women are being asked to take part in what could be Britain's biggest lingerie photo shoot. They are being recruited using a cheeky ad, which celebrates female 'diversity' by flashing pictures of, among others, coconuts, fried eggs, milk jugs and puppies. "Advertising has changed since the 'Hello Boys' campaign. Today, it is not about talking at your market, it is about involving them in the creation of the marketing," said a spokeswoman for advertising group Iris. "We have created a campaign that culminates in the biggest collection of cleavages in Britain."
Volunteers are being asked to audition on June 28.For more information see www.wonderbra.co.uk/world

Allyson Ertel's collar bone and shoulder blade jut sharply as her eyes stare out from a head disproportionately large for such a slender frame. It is a shocking pose that will, undoubtedly, divide opinion. Is she the epitome of beauty or an evocation of the horrors of Bergen-Belsen? To Elite Model Management, the US-based agency that calls itself the world's most prestigious modelling network, she is the former: one of the latest young fillies in their 'development' stable, possessed of the ultimate attributes and destined for the catwalk. But to those outside the pressurised world of haute couture she is, surely, damning evidence that the fashion industry, for all its postulations and protestations, is no nearer to tackling the controversial issue of size zero. Stick-thin, it seems, is shamelessly back.
Ertel, whose age is unknown, has received star billing on Elite's New York website just two years after the deaths of two Latin American models from eating disorders - one after collapsing on the catwalk. The attendant bad publicity from the deaths of these girls, who were not Elite models, resulted in public pledges from agencies that the health of their young charges would come first. There were admissions of responsibility for the huge influence they wield over teenage girls battling with adolescent body image problems. Initiatives such as Britain's Model Health Inquiry, chaired by Baroness Kingsmill, made common-sense recommendations which appeared to be eagerly embraced by an industry tarnished not just by the spectre of starvation deaths, but also by allegations of drug abuse. But, ultimately, fashion seems intent on pursuing what powers it: human coat-hangers for creations that barely acknowledge the true female form but, rather, generate excitement, acres of column inches and lucrative sales at the world's leading shows. Bodies are designed to fit clothes, rather than the other way round.
Even some fashion insiders admit they are horrified at the images of Ertel, and of another featured Elite 'development' model, Abbie Gortsema. "They are truly shocking. We would never book a model who appeared so obviously underweight," said Alison Edmond, UK fashion director of the magazine Harper's Bazaar. "Of course, there are girls who are slim but completely healthy as that is their natural body shape and weight. However, if a girl turns up to a casting in an unhealthy state then we would not even think of booking her, but would recommend to her agency that some intervention was immediately necessary." The problem is that, given their young age, girls such as Ertel - 5ft 11ins and 32-23-35 - are probably technically healthy for the moment. But that does not lessen their impact on impressionable teenagers scouring magazines and websites for their own identities and images of perfection. "Everyone talks about pro-anorexic websites and the dangers they pose to young women. These pictures look no different to the ones you see on those websites," said Susan Ringwood, chief executive of Beat, the beating eating disorders campaign group. "The so-called 'Thinspiration' that people find, that encouragement for people to think that eating disorders are a lifestyle choice - well, you can get that from looking at these pictures. In particular, those awful shoulders. Your body does not look like that unless your muscles are completely wasted. That's one of the signs a doctor looks out for to diagnose emaciation, that skeletal look around the shoulders. It's a sign of being really severely underweight. You can only see that degree of bone structure beneath the flesh if you have hardly any body fat. It shows how far we still have to go to take this seriously. The industry has been too slow and too reluctant in addressing model health. And this, well, it shows a very retrograde step. There are aspects of the industry that are fantastic - aspiration, helping us feel good about ourselves. And there are aspects that are truly toxic. And they are not really doing anything about the toxic, I don't think."
The photographs drawing such criticism appear now to have been taken down from Elite's website and the agency failed to respond to calls or emails. But others of the girls remain and there have been similiar striking examples of the industry reverting to size zero as the optimum. Ali Michael, now 18, was the 'model du jour' in Paris last year, but was turned away in February this year by all but one casting director after gaining 7lb. At 5ft 9in and weighing just 7st 7lb, she was told her legs were 'too plump'. She has now turned whistleblower. In interviews this month she describes how, after three years of modelling, her wake-up call happened on a plane from Paris to Texas, where she comes from. "I ran my fingers through my hair and when I took my hand away, there was a dry, brittle clump of hair," she said.
She had started her modelling career at 15 and weighing 9st 2lb. But at each show she attended the message was the same: she needed to lose a few pounds. Finally she starved herself down to 7st 2lb and found that designers loved her. "It didn't help matters that as I got tinier, my career took off. By the time I entered my second season of shows last September, all I was eating was oatmeal with water for breakfast, a banana and a few grapes for lunch and plain lettuce for dinner, maybe with a bit of fish," she tells this month's Teen Vogue magazine. "I stopped getting my period, which should have been a red flag." She confides how she was sitting with four other girls at a show in Paris last year when she mentioned she had not had a period for over a year, "and one by one, each of them said, 'me too'". These were girls in their late teens, early twenties. Having been dragged to a doctor and nutritionist by her worried mother, she began eating healthily and her menstrual cycle returned to normal, but her catwalk career appears over. American casting director Douglas Perrett commented on his blog that Michael's fate was because "the fashion reality is that a new batch of girls are in town, younger and hungrier".

Supermodel and actress Gisele Bundchen takes it all off - strategically - for the cameras in the new issue of GQ, on newsstands June 24. "This is exactly how I would describe my work: I get there, I put on the clothes, I leave it on the hangar, and I go home," says the matter-of-fact model. "And that's what I do." In her revealing Q&A, the Brazilian beauty and former "Victoria's Secret" body opens up about everything from pro football boyfriend Tom Brady ("He really, genuinely doesn't have a bad bone in his body") to the craziest rumors about ex Leonardo di Caprio that she's ever heard (as in, reports of her despondently cutting off all her hair after her break-up with the 'Titanic' star are "ridiculous"). As for the dog-eat-dog modeling industry, she comments, "When you are out there with the wolves, you have to play with the wolves, you know?"

Supermodels Naomi Campbell and Gisele Bundchen are scheduled to headline Latin America's foremost fashion event, Sao Paulo Fashion Week, which sashays onto the runway this week. The British and Brazilian beauties are to put celebrity punch into the June 17-23 event, which has been growing in importance and size every year since it began in 1996. They have been contracted to appear next weekend, on different days and in different shows, Brazilian media said. But while Bundchen is sure to do her turn in front of the flashbulbs next Sunday, Campbell's appearance next Saturday is less certain. The 38-year-old is due to appear in court on Friday on charges relating to her alleged assault April 3 on a police officer at London's Heathrow airport, when she reportedly flew into a rage after learning one of her bags was missing from her Los Angeles-bound British Airways flight.
She is charged with five offences -- three counts of assaulting a constable, one of disorderly conduct likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress and one of using threatening or abusive words or behavior to cabin crew. Her London lawyer, Simon Nicholls, has said Campbell "hopes this matter is dealt with expeditiously." The supermodel, who is a regular visitor to Brazil, has been in trouble with the law before over her tantrums. Last year, she was ordered to spend a week mopping floors at a New York City warehouse for hitting her maid with a mobile phone. If Campbell makes her flight to Sao Paulo without problem, she will be showing summer outfits by the Brazilian brand Rosa Cha. Bundchen, 27, will be on the catwalk for another national marque, Colcci. The model, much in demand worldwide, only rarely turns up for the Sao Paulo Fashion Week. The last time was six years ago. In all, 50 brands will be displaying their latest clothes during the event. The themes this year is Japanese immigration, coinciding with celebrations underway in Brazil marking the centenary of Japanese making their way to the country to start new lives. Brazil now has the biggest community of Japanese descendants in the world outside of Japan itself, estimated at 1.5 million people. Reinforcing that theme -- and adding to the climbing profile of the Sao Paulo show -- Kenzo designer Kenzo Takada will be attending. (AFP)

Until recently, a fashion model and a carton of skim milk had a lot in common -- not enough fat and a short shelf life. The average model's career typically expired at the age of 25. And, really, did anyone cry over such gorgeous spoiled milk? But a funny thing happened on the way to the model retirement home. Laugh lines became commodities. "The market for older models has exploded," says Ginni Conquest, co-director of the sophisticated women's division at Wilhelmina Models in New York. (Models who are 25 and older are often referred to as "classic" or "sophisticated.") "It's our fastest-growing area, and it's a first for the industry."
Companies didn't suddenly become smitten with stretch marks. The trend is driven by the $2-trillion spending power of baby boomers -- born between 1946 and 1964 -- who make up 26% of the population. After all, what middle-aged woman wants to buy moisturizer from a model who's too young to order a martini? Or a cashmere cardigan from a coed? In September, J.Crew will introduce an online section within its Web catalog that features 58-year-old Los Angeles model Pia Gronning, left. The sundresses will be the same, but the styling will be more age-appropriate and sophisticated.

The legendary House of Chanel often opts for fragile beauties to front their campaigns. The last two choices were Kate Moss and Keira Knightley. Both model and actress are decidedly fragile-looking but live very independent lives. Moss is the former model who ran off with bad boys and indulged in cocaine. She was replaced by Keira Knightley the outspoken and determined actress. Now there is a new face on the block. Emma Watson, the actress who starred in the Harry Potter films as Hermione Granger, will be the new face of Chanel. It has been reported that Watson, who is eighteen, has a three million pound contract with Chanel that will last for two years. The young actress will promote Chanel?s latest fragrance named Coco Mademoiselle. After she was made famous in the Harry Potter films she signed up with a model agency. It is believed that Storm negotiated the Chanel contract for Watson. Keira Knightley is still the official face of Coco Mademoiselle but her contract expires in the summer. It is believed that when Watson takes over that Knightley will be used for some other Chanel campaign. In the latest ad, Knightley is seen dressed in just a ?bowler hat? for cover. This more risqué pose is thought to be directing Knightley into a different look for a future Chanel campaign. Meanwhile, Watson has also undergone some grooming. For the past few months, Chanel has been responsible for dressing Watson for public events. They have been aware that she is developing into the kind of beauty that epitomizes the House of Chanel. Their new face will be publicly announced next month.

Former Miss Universe Jennifer Hawkins is to host a new reality show that will feature Australia's hottest unknown male and female models. Make Me A Supermodel is a search for 14 of Australia's hottest male and female models who will live together in a deluxe compound as they compete for a contract with Chadwicks Model Agency in Australia and an international deal. Hawkins, 24, will guide viewers through the male and female contestants' tumultuous journey towards their dream of being an international model.?I'm so excited to be hosting Make Me A Supermodel. I'm already a big fan of the overseas versions of the show but I'm sure the Aussie one will blow them out of the water,? Hawkins said. Hawkins hopes she can use her experiences as the face of major brands Myer, Lovable and Covergirl, travelling the world as Miss Universe and her extensive TV work to help out the Make Me A Supermodel hopefuls. I've had a great run with my career so far, I couldn't ask for more, so it's going to be amazing to watch these guys chase their dream,? she said. ?And if I can use my experience to help them out on the way, that would be a great bonus.?The Perth audition for Make Me A Supermodel will be held at the Claremont Showground, Graylands Road, on June 26.

What do fashion models and computer whizzes have in common? It's usually not their looks. If they aren't U.S. citizens, they share the same work visa class, the H-1B. Rep. Anthony Weiner thinks this is a problem because it means that models have more difficulty getting into the country. After all, computer geniuses tend to be a priority over human clothes hangers. Weiner has proposed legislation that would move foreign models' visa class to the easier-to-obtain P visa, which is reserved for entertainers and athletes. His argument is not to expand his dating pool, as the Post jokes. (Weiner is dating Hillary Clinton's "hottie" aide Huma Abedin.) Weiner says that since fashion is such a big industry in New York, the more in-demand foreign models need to be allowed into the country to keep the city competitive on the world stage.
The next logical question is, "Why can't they just use American models?" The reason is simple: the "look" that's in right now tends to be Eastern European (think Karolina Kurkova) or Brazilian (Gisele Bundchen is the world's highest-paid model). Americans lag far behind. According to the Daily News, Bundchen earned $33 million last year. Carolyn Murphy, the highest-paid U.S. model, made $5 million in the same timeframe. Supermodel and tabloid fixture Janice Dickinson sees this as an opportunity for American models to make their mark and opposes the legislation.

If you ever fancied yourself as the next Aggy or Kate now is your chance. Today sees the launch of Topshop's in store collaboration with the Helmut Newton Foundation, featuring the reknowned photographer's 'Newton Machine'. Famed for his erotic fashion photography, the late Helmut Newton developed the Machine in the early 1970's, fed up with a new breed of photographers who showed more interest in models than taking good pictures. Designed to 'keep the model on her toes and keep her excited', the Machine features a motor driven camera hooked up to a timing device which allows the model to take her own pictures at her own pace. Topshop have recreated the Machine in their very own photographic studio in the London flagship store (Oxford Street). Style yourself up and pop down from today to strike a pose and your picture will be displayed in an in store gallery for all to see, as well as being uploaded to Topshop.com. At the very least you'll get yourself a fabulous new Facebook picture.

Although young, fresh IT models rule the fashion scene, autumn and winter campaigns show that designers' pets are immortal supermodels from the 1990s. Miuccia Prada chose Linda Evangelista for her upcoming season, while Claudia Schiffer will appear for Chanel and Ferragamo. Fashion home Yves Saint Laurent has chosen Naomi Campbell, irresistible Eva Herzigova will pose for Louis Vuitton and Escada has hired Christy Turlington. Thus, Donna Karan again cast Kate Moss as her muse, after her spring campaign. The skinny model who has been filling newspapers with her cocaine scandal, was photographed by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott, awakening the glamour of the Orient Express. "There's a romantic classicism, a little darkness, an Eastern European kind of decadence. She was on a train . . . on the go, but feels intimate and sexy at the same time", Karan said. But, Kate Moss was not travelling in the Orient Express. The photos were taken at the Union Station in Los Angeles, showing several pieces from Donna's new handbag line. "It?s about the woman on the go. We wanted the shots to be more about the woman and how the bag is working with her", US designer Donna Karan told Model's Digest.