spiral

^The proud mama.

Valentino Haute Couture, A/W 1995

Thanks for all the posts, Vogue Girl Valentino Haute Couture, A/W 1995

Valentino Haute Couture, A/W 1995

^A stunning resemblance to Brigitte Bardot in the last picture. Valentino Haute Couture, A/W 1995

Valentino Haute Couture, A/W 1995

Marisa Berenson by Carlotta Cogliati Model, actress, living legend. Not many people in their life could equal a legend as Marisa Berenson, beauty icon who marked an era. Ex-mannequin-like thin silhouette, emerald green eyes and charisma in spades. Marisa, historical face of fashion and successful actress, has known exactly how to get herself noticed, since ever. The young enfant prodige was born in New York in 1947, into a famous and wealthy family: her father Robert Berenson, American man of Lithuanian and Hebrew origins, worked with Onassis before he was appointed as Minister during Kennedy’s presidency, whilst her grandmother was the great designer Elsa Schiaparelli, who introduced her granddaughter to the world of fashion so early, to let her have Elle’s cover when she was only six. This way, after an eventful and not always happy childhood around European boarding schools away from her roots, little Marisa entered the fashion system, still dreaming of Audrey Hepburn’s films. Diana Vreeland, famous Vogue icon, launched her on the main fashion magazines’ covers, introducing her to a world she would then be the queen of. Berenson, photographed by greatest artists as Irving Penn and Avedon, is not only remembered as one of the main models, protagonists of the 70’s runways: she went down in history thanks to her nicknames as well, as The girl of the Seventies (coined by Yves Saint Laurent) and The Queen of the scene, because she could always be in the right place at the right time. She had great and rewarding success during those times (she herself said to the New York Times she was the best paid model in the world once) and her experience as a model allowed her to explore new boundaries. In 1971, famous director Luchino Visconti wanted her to her great surprise in his new film Death in Venice and she started her new and brilliant career as an actress. After Cabaret by Fosse, genius Stanley Kubrick wanted her in his eighteenth-century film Barry Lindon. In order not to let her give up the exhausting time she needed for her make up, he used to convince and encourage her telling her “No one will ever make you look so beautiful”. And he was right, because the sophisticated main character’s wife, Lady Lindon, has always been in the collective memory. But despite appearances, the ex Vogue cover girl’s life has not always been easy. Some sad events put a strain on her perseverance: a bad car accident in Brasil left a mark on her face, some stormy relationships, her almost same age sister Berry died, a victim of the attack against the Twin Towers on September 11th, 2001. These are just some of the hard times Berenson had to go through and she was not defeated by, thanks to her strong faith and her will to do. This way, after a short period away from the spotlight, she started acting again, directed by great masters as Clint Eastwood, and played important roles on Broadway (amongst her latest films, I am love and Weddings and other disasters). We can now read her story in the pages of her recent book Intimate Moments, where the actress-model reveals some of her secrets, running through her life since the very beginning, to the times she met legendary people as Andy Warhol, to the darkest moments of her life. As you read it, you can perceive Marisa Berenson’s charisma and spiritualism. She is still a beauty, style and class icon, one of those you can rarely meet. Because Marisa had the good fortune to belong to that fashion generation in which “we were models who made up on our own. I always had a big bag with me, full of hairpieces and knick-knacks”. Protagonist of a rebel and free fashion, just like her. source

^I've always loved that ad. Thanks F. Inès de la Fressange by Chiara Tomei Ines de la Fressange was born in 1957 in the French Rivera, she is the daughter of the Marquis de la Fressange and of Argentine model Cecilia Sanchez Cirez. Her parents don't take much care of her, she in fact grows up with her grandmother, Suzanne Lazard, rich and elegant French woman. She is the one that introduces Ines to haute couture, opening the doors of her wardrobe, full of dresses by Patou, Balmain and Nina Ricci. After moving to Paris, Ines graduated at the Ecole du Louvre with the intention of becoming a child psychiatrist or a lawyer: "modeling was not my goal let alone could it be a job," she says. At 17 she is not confident with her body, but precisely that year she began her career in fashion, presenting herself at the agency Pauline to make some money. In 1975 Ines appears for the first time on the magazine Elle, starring in a photo shoot created by Oliviero Toscani, who is immediately struck by how nonconventional she is, calling her a rising star. Despite the initial dissatisfaction, the career of the young Ines takes off, first stepping on the catwalk for Thierry Mugler, and Kenzo, Guy Laroche, Hermès to later reach full success as the face of Dior cosmetics. 180 cm tall, short hair and masculine, she is nicknamed "the model who speaks," while other models were forbidden to smile, she violates the rules of the catwalk, walking with ease and improvising gags that enhance her fame. In 1980 the fame of the model (who looks like Coco Chanel) hits Karl Lagerfeld, Chanel's new artistic director, who wants her as the face of the fashion house: she becomes the first model ever to sign an exclusive contract for haute couture. In addition to being the muse, she becomes the shoulder of the fashion designer by establishing a relationship of trust and mutual respect; Lagerfeld will leave her a lot of freedom, in fact, in the interpretation of the clothes. The partnership begins to crumble in 1989 when Ines decides to become the new bust of the Marianne (the symbol of France); Lagerfeld said he absolutely did not want to dress a historic monument, a symbol of provincialism and vulgarity,and after a legal battle in 1990, the contract with Chanel was closed. In the same year, Ines married the Italian businessman Luigi d'Urso. Nina was born in 1994, heir to the style and career of her mother, and in 1999 Violette was born. In 1990, Ines opens the society Ines de la Fressange, whose collections, displayed in the shop windows of the boutiques in Rue Montaigne, reflect her nonconventional mix & match style: classics items with a modern twist, in bright colors and special details. But the great initial success, opposes to the fast decline of the Parisian dream: in 1999 she was laid off from her own fashion house for illegal use of the name of her company and another long legal battle ended with negative results. Ines, however, continues to be appreciated by designers, in particular by Bruno Frisoni, she becomes the ambassador of the shoes and accessories by Roger Viver, she inspires the creation of five new scents and keeps on rogerviver.com a video diary filmed in Paris, where she gives style tips. Consultant and friend of Jean-Paul Gaultier, she returns on the catwalks for the S/S 09 collection, and returns after a reconciliation with Lagerfeld for the S/S 11 collection on the catwalk for Chanel. From her no to Botox, to the sophisticated and never ostentatious style, the secrets that allow Ines de la Fressange to still be an admired woman and a model on demand, are gathered in the autobiography "Profession: Mannequin" and in the guide to chic "Parisian". source

Linda Evangelista by Valentina Fidanzia “She’s like an instrument. She’s a kind of Stradivarius. You can play her like you can play no other instrument. She’s strong and at the same time flexible. She’s tough and very touching, and that’s the secret of her success.” The above comment by Karl Lagerfeld captures perfectly well Linda Evangelista’s chameleon-like and versatile personality. Born in Canada in 1965 from Italian parents, at 15 she took part in a beauty contest where she was scouted by an agent from Elite Model Management. Once finished her studies, at 18 she decided to pursue her dreams and moved to New York. Her first major campaign was for Opium perfume by Yves Saint Laurent followed by some covers and other campaigns, though the turning point came thanks to Peter Lindbergh’s advice. In 1988, the photographer encouraged her to have her hair cut and this marked her debut in the top model Olympian as well as transforming her from a model into a super model in a very short period. Her extraordinary ability to constantly reinvent herself teamed with her relentless determination helped her build a tremendous career that launched her as the symbol of an epoch-making change in the concept of beauty. At the beginning of the 1990’s, in New York as well as in Tokyo, London or Milan, the names of Linda, Naomi, Christy, Nadège, Helena, Claudia, Jasmine, Cindy and Nadia were synonymous with glamour and allure, a dream which many girls as well as actresses and singers who, until that moment had been reluctant to appear on the cover of magazines, aspired to. Risen to the status of authentic trend-setting icons, super models contributed to changing the perception of fashion and become powerful means of communication through the campaigns to which they lent their face and body. Communication in fashion ceased to be something purely short-lived and started developing a broader type of concept given that each model embodied a specific personality and had very recognizable traits and characteristics. Linda was undoubtedly one of the main protagonists of such transformation aided by the special relationship she had established throughout the years with some of the biggest names in photography, from Richard Avedon to Steven Meisel, from Paolo Roversi to Patrick Demarchelier, from Ellen Von Unwerth to Karl Lagerfeld who shot her several times for Chanel campaigns. Equally, she succeeded in establishing a special bond with several designers including Dolce&Gabbana and Gianni Versace for whom she was the muse and face for years. It’s truly impossible to list all the times she changed hair style, colour and cut throughout her career passing nonchalantly from a pin-up blond to a bold red, from a Louise Brooks-inspired brunette bob to an androgynous style, from a haughty 60’s diva hairdo to a sleek garçonne cut, from bon-ton to a Mediterranean bombshell. Nowadays, after endless transformations, numerous goals achieved during her twenty-five year career, ill-fated loves and a child from François-Henri Pinault, the chameleon Linda is still the star and a role-model for a generation who, not only admires in her the unquestionable beauty but also that unique and contrasting mix of vulnerability and strong personality. Her ability to constantly surprise and amaze by reinventing herself with each new shot, each runway show and campaign is that special trait and versatility that allowed, and still allow photographers and designers to always come up with a new image of Linda. source

Marpessa by Rossella Locatelli Among the 80s and 90s top models, the Dutch model Marpessa plays a particular role, thanks to her extrovert personality and her unusual beauty If it is true that the name of a person holds part of his destiny, then to be called Marpessa, like the nymph disputed between the god Apollo and the warrior Idas, or like the Afro-American actress turned by Marcel Camus into the carioca Eurydice of the Black Orpheus, means having an aura of beauty that is almost mythic. This is the case of Marpessa Hennink, which entered the Olympus of the top models between the middle 80s and the early 90s. She was born in Amsterdam from Dutch parents, and her father had origins from Suriname; at 16 years old she decided to begin her career as a model. Her strong will and her daredevil personality, that mirrored her unique way of walking, don’t let her give up when Eileen Ford, pioneer of the model management that passed by the Dutch city for some castings, rejects her. On the contrary, she is much more convinced that her winner hands-down actually are her atypical beauty, those exotic traits and that perfect body, almost a Mediterranean body, although she has no origins and no explosive shapes that are typical of some of its stereotypes. She arrives in Milan during the early 80s, during the real golden age of the Italian prêt-à-porter, and agencies notice her straight away. Her audacious and fun walk, with a well balanced dose of sensuality, becomes her distinctive feature. From then on, she starts posing for some masters of photography and to walk the runaway for the big names of fashion, both Italian and foreigner ones: Chanel, Christian Dior, Valentino, Gianfranco Ferré, Calvin Klein, Gianni Versace and Dolce & Gabbana, just to name a few. She is connected to Gianni Versace by a great esteem, and the awareness that walking the runaway for him in the early 90s inevitably coincides with her consecration as a top model. For Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, Marpessa is more than a model; she is a muse and a friend. They met in 1985 and they together give rise to a little piece of history of the fashion photography. The advertisement campaign Dolce & Gabbana for the 1987/88 autumn/winter collection shows Marpessa shot by the Sicilian photographer Ferdinando Scianna, the only Italian photographer working for the Magnum agency, which works for the first time on a fashion shooting. The result is memorable; the narrating content of those images is so “recognizable” because it is based on the neo-realistic cinema and on the references to the Italian-style comedy that finds in this Dutch girl a perfect protagonist role. After so many successes, Marpessa today lives with her daughter in Ibiza. She shows up for news stories only in a few, selected occasions, when the closest friends call her. She is very present in the social media, and always lives up to her reputation of a clever and helpful woman, by giving her support to some social engagement campaigns, such as the fight against homophobia and every other type of discrimination, and the project supporting safe motherhood, called Every Mother Counts, and founded by her friend Christy Turlington. Her intentional absence from the runaways allowed her to study more photography and interior design, her two passions that she turned into profession with time. source

Happy birthday to the ultimate supermodel. :Dinah: :dance: I never knew she shares a birthday with Bono, Miuccia Prada, and the late Sid Vicious & Fred Astaire.

Very nice. The man with her is Julien d'Ys -- the legendary hairstylist (and longtime friend of Linda) who gave her her famous short haircut in 1988.

Judge signs off on Evangelista, Pinault child support agreement By LAURA ITALIANO Last Updated: 3:20 PM, May 8, 2012 Linda Evangelista today. Supermodel Linda Evangelista made what she hopes will be her last trip to Manhattan Family Court this afternoon, looking on in a trim, black dress suit -- and wearing leopard-patterned Louboutins -- as a judge signed off on the child support agreement she has struck with her billionaire French baby daddy. The not-so-doting papa, Francois-Henri Pinault, chose not to attend the non-mandatory signing. Both sides have insisted they are happy with the undisclosed and now sealed settlement, and have lobbied, through anonymous sources, to describe it as a victory -- and as "close" or "not close at all" to what Evangelista had originally demanded, depending on who's talking. Either way, the settlement was safely presumed to be snuggly in the five figures per month. When Evangelista first dragged Pinault to Family Court last summer, she had presented him with a tally of $46,000-a-month in expenses she had been paying, alone, for the fruit of their whirlwind 2005 romance -- five-year-old Augustin, or "Augie." The tally included some $16,000 a month for a tag team of gun-toting, former NYPD-detective chauffeurs -- nearly all of which she herself was deducting as a business expense. Then there was the $80,000-a-year cost of a round-the-clock nanny. "He has gone a long way toward meeting those original demands," a source close to the negotiation said yesterday of Pinault. "Not close at all," countered a contrary source who also knew the figure. Pinault is the CEO of the Paris-based luxury conglomerate that owns Gucci and Yves St. Laurent. He is raising a four-year-old daughter, Valentina, with his glamorous wife, movie star Salma Hayek, who he met four months after ditching Evangelista in January, 2006 -- right after learning the cat walker was pregnant. Evangelista is worth a cool $8 million herself, according to statements made by Pinault lawyer David Aronson at hearings last year. She took the stand briefly on Friday, telling Support Magistrate Paul Ryneski that she is a spokesmodel for Chanel and still asks for -- and receives -- $100,000 for the occasional stroll down the runway. In previous court hearings, Evangelista's lawyer, William Beslow, has complained that while Pinault lavishes wealth on Valentina, he paid virtually nothing to support Augie prior to a temporary court order last year. Today, all parties left court without commenting on the settlement -- though Evangelista allowed herself a slight smile as she left court, her lawyer at her side.. nypost.com

Linda Evangelista Settles Child-Support Case By Mike Fleeman Update Monday May 07, 2012 08:30 PM EDT Linda Evangelista and Francois-Henri Pinault (inset) With Linda Evangelista about to take the stand Monday for the second day, lawyers reached a settlement in the nasty child-support case between the supermodel and French billionaire Francois-Henri Pinault, who's now married to Salma Hayek. The terms of the surprise deal were not immediately known, according to the New York Post, which first reported the settlement. Outside the courthouse Monday, Francois-Henri Pinault's lawyer, David Aronson told reporters, "Everybody's glad for the sake and the benefit of the child that it's done." A rep for Evangelista had no comment. After court Evangelista and Pinault, who had barely made eye contact during the trial, were seen talking to each other. The model, 46, had been seeking $46,000 in monthly child-support payments for her 5-year-old son Augie with former flame Pinault. The case in a Manhattan family courtroom had grown increasingly contentious, with a lawyer for Evangelista claiming that Pinault had "suggested she terminate the pregnancy." His attorney strongly denied that Pinault ever said that and a source criticized Evengelista's camp for making statements that could hurt the child. It was revealed last year that Pinault, who has been married since 2009 to Hayek, had fathered a child with Evangelista. The French businessman has two other children from a previous marriage, which ended in divorce in 2004, and a 4-year-old daughter, Valentina, with Hayek.

Yes, I know. I was just referring to the "other board", that's all. No offense intended.

Valentino Haute Couture, S/S 1995

Valentino Haute Couture, S/S 1995 Claudia was the bride in this show

Valentino Haute Couture, S/S 1995

Valentino Haute Couture, S/S 1995

Valentino Haute Couture, S/S 1995

^Thanks Valentino Haute Couture, S/S 1995

Valentino Haute Couture, S/S 1995

Valentino Haute Couture, S/S 1995