Models to Outnumber Celebs in New Fashion Campaigns
By Denise Grayson April 30, 2010
Lindsey Wixson for Miu Miu. Photographed by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott
It seems it was only a passing trend, albeit one that lasted through many seasons. Models are finally greatly outnumbering celebrities – specifically Hollywood actresses whose time in the fashion spotlight may now be likened to the enduring dropped crotch trousers fad - as the stars of current and next season’s campaigns. The fashion houses have had their fill of overexposed faces and tabloid headline names and are returning to the professionals to front their mainline campaigns.
“What I need to focus on is an attitude, and this comes from a great, experienced model,” designer Stefano Pilati told WWD as he was preparing to shoot top model Daria Werbowy for Yves Saint Laurent’s latest campaign. Anyone would agree with Pilati’s methods for infusing a bit of edge into the image; a famous face might create a buzz and a curiosity but tends to lend a somewhat soft touch to the final product.
A flip through your favourite fashion bible during the past few years would give a clue as to who was considered a bankable celebrity face – Eva Mendes for Calvin Klein; Diane Kruger, Madonna and Scarlett Johansson for Louis Vuitton; Lily Allen for Chanel and Emma Watson for Burberry, to name but a few of the past and recent. But not all were a match made in publicity heaven and sometimes the strategy backfired.
American luxury brand St. John cancelled their contract with Angelina Jolie earlier this year because she was too famous. She “overshadowed the brand,” the label’s chief executive officer Glenn McMahon told WWD. “We wanted to make a clean break from actresses and steer away from blondes and cleanse the palette.” Her replacement was veteran British model Karen Elsen who fit the bill with her flame red hair and high fashion look.
If famous faces aren’t translating into sales it may have a little something to do with the fact that fashion is about fantasy, and it’s tough to buy into it when we know all the minutia of a celeb’s life. We see Uma Thurman for Givenchy and think ‘Didn’t she just break up with that hotel/financier guy again?’ If our mind is on the gossip we’re not thinking about perfume.
Even Miu Miu, Prada’s ‘little sister’ label – now hardly the lower-priced alternative to the mainline it promised to be when it launched – has come back to model as muse after consecutively using some curious actresses. Kirsten Dunst, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Lindsay Lohan and Katie Holmes each caused a stir but maybe not for the right reasons, with Vanessa Paradis, the French actress, singer, sometime model and partner of Johnny Depp being more a fit than a novelty. It was rumoured that Miu Miu’s original choice for the Lindsay Lohan ads was Jessica Simpson, which seemed hugely incongruent for such a fashion forward brand and downright gimmicky; Lohan was only a little less so. Lindsey Wixson on the other hand, a 15 year-old American who is new on the scene and the model of the moment, features in Miu Miu’s A/W 201o campaign and is doing the brand proud with her exaggerated bow mouth, huge, innocent eyes and proper high fashion look – and she’s free of preconceptions. The result? The Miu Miu girl is beautiful and other-worldly, the clothes look incredible and we want to have them so we can look like her – the fantasy is in full-effect. Katie Holmes, not so much. Lohan? Not for all the fancy rehabs in the world.
Magazine covers are a different story – especially that most influentual one, US Vogue. Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour’s love affair with American actresses – she takes Charlize Theron along to watch tennis at the US Open – means that we can expect to see an actress on the cover each month. In fact, it makes blog news if a model is granted that most coveted spot. Celebs sell magazines so we likely won’t see a shift in publishing for quite some time, especially if an email I saw yesterday from Vogue is any indication. “Subscribe now and get the May issue featuring Sarah Jessica Parker guaranteed!” is what it shouted to me in caps and bolded fonts, suggesting I should be excited about this proposition. It’s a tie-in to the new Sex and the City movie and serves to further bolster the public’s fascination with fashionable actresses, even when it’s a bit of a stretch – does Reese Witherspoon get your style mojo running? How about Rachel McAdams? Even April’s cover with Gisele Bündchen – the annual ‘shape’ issue – appeared to be more about her celebrity as a new mother and wife of football hero Tom Brady than her cachet as a supermodel. The lead-in to her article reads: “New mom Gisele Bündchen is saving forests and rivers and empowering troubled teens with her natural beauty line. Joan Juliet Buck talks to the übermodel about her eco interests and life with Tom Brady.”
Is it wrong to wish for a beautiful shell in beautiful clothes who isn’t trying to save the world while burping her genetically endowed newborn? If so, I’m guilty.
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Submitted on April 30, 2010 in Industry News.
Denise is a Canadian living in England who is fascinated by the fusing of fashion and art. Her obsession with the details and an insatiable urge to share beautiful discoveries drives her Paris-loving blog, www.TheSwelleLife.com, and recently she opened Swelle Boutique at www.swelleboutique.com which offers exclusive one-off and limited edition dresses and accessories.
Denise Grayson has contributed 59 articles to Models & Moguls.
