January 5, 201114 yr more from Gucci S/S 2011 Ph: Mert & Marcus M: Karmen Pedaru, Joan Smalls & Hailey Clauson youkioske via Flashbang scanned by Northern Star/tfs
January 7, 201114 yr Joan Smalls this week, at Silvercup Studios in New York to film a new television commercial for Estee Lauder It's been quite a year for Joan Smalls. In the last twelve months, the five-foot-ten stunner from Hatillo, Puerto Rico, debuted as the exclusive model in Riccardo Tisci's Givenchy couture presentation, walked the runway of every major designer (a staggering 40 in her first season), has been shot by Steven Meisel and Mario Testino, starred in a Gucci campaign, and, as of this week, has been signed as the latest face of Estee Lauder.With the ink barely dry on her contract, Smalls filmed a television commercial with Lauder models Constance Jablonski and Liu Wen on Monday and Tuesday in New York, hopped a flight to London Wednesday (for a shoot with Nick Knight), and moments after stepping off the plane, picked up the phone to call Vogue. "Yeah, I've had a long day, but it's super-exciting," she said with the trademark blend of intelligence, enthusiasm, and charm that has turned so many heads in the fashion world. "Obviously she's beautiful," says Aerin Lauder, senior vice president and creative director for the brand, "but she's confident, happy, elegant, well-spoken, and grown-up - and it really comes through in her pictures. When we pick someone to represent the brand, it's about her personality, too. It's not just the face. You find yourself not being intimidated by her beauty, but drawn in by her warmth." "When I found out," says Smalls, "I was in my hotel room in Milan during Fashion Week. I started jumping on the bed like a little girl. The hardest part was keeping it secret - even from my parents." Of her fellow Lauder compatriots-France's Constance Jablonski, China's Liu Wen, Americans Carolyn Murphy, Hilary Rhoda, and Gwyneth Paltrow, and England's Elizabeth Hurley, Smalls says, "That's what I love-it's a diverse group of women who speak to all women." What she appreciates most about the newest faces, Constance and Liu Wen (who both signed in April), is that "we're all bilingual! We're different in our own ways, but we're similar, too. When we were shooting this week, I was telling the girls, "We're the new trio!" Last season, we'd always hang out backstage, so now, being part of Estee Lauder feels like a sisterhood." Her earliest impressions of the iconic American brand are "the ads with the beautiful woman playing with puppies"-the Pleasures fragrance ads, which Elizabeth, Gwyneth, Carolyn, and Hilary have starred in over the years-"and of that woman being so comfortable in her own skin. That's what beauty is to me." When asked about the possibility that the beautiful woman with the puppies may someday be her, she blanches. "It still hasn't hit me yet. It feels surreal." Her favorite Lauder product is one she's been using before ever dreaming of representing the company herself: "Advanced Night Repair Eye Recovery Complex," she says automatically. "The jar is so convenient to travel with. I use it religiously-even when it's not night." Vogue via tfs
January 13, 201114 yr Gucci Accessories Spring 2011 Campaign Photographer: Mert & Marcus Models: Karmen Pedaru & Joan Smalls fashiongonerogue
January 14, 201114 yr Whoa, that's incredible to see she also got Roberto Cavalli! Major! Heard, she also has Stella McCartney?
January 16, 201114 yr Jolie Joan Joan Smalls.Mario Sorrenti. A stunning Vogue Paris extravaganza; strong, sexy and strikingly bold. Get excited for this issue.
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.