ANV

The shot in the Givenchy dress for the White Ball is a bit scary <_<

Thank you for the HQs from the party - her skin is amazing, so dewy and fresh, and I simply do not see any pigmentation no matter how much I try as on the "untouched" editorial. She must employ a really good foundation that looks incredibly natural.

via ANV

The NY Times is saying that the marriage has effectively ended.

"STYLE

Putting Fairy Tales and Fashion in Play

By SUZYMENKES

Published: June 6, 2011

LONDON — Natalia Vodianova’s life is not quite the fairy tale that fashion myth suggests.

The Russian model was not spotted by a scout while selling vegetables at a stall in her home city of Nizhni Novgorod. She was picked out at a casting in Moscow after joining an agency.

The reality of her life from age 11 was lugging boxes of apples or pears (‘They were the heaviest ,’ the model said.), between running back to the impoverished family apartment to check on her disabled half-sister, who has cerebral palsy.

‘I was responsible since I was six,’ said Ms. Vodianova, 29, lowering her glacier-blue eyes as she described the ‘humiliation’ of coping with her sister’s ‘pee, pooh and dribble,’ her wanton trashing of Natalia’s school books, and the endless walking through the mean neighborhood, the only concrete space with monkey bars and bench hijacked by beer-drinking teenagers.

‘A playground would have been a dream for me — I didn’t have anywhere to take my sister,’ she said, explaining the origins of her Naked Heart Foundation (www.nakedheart.org), which has built 60 play parks in 44 Russian cities.

Life has been bittersweet for the young woman who has reached the summit of modeling but seen her marriage to the British aristocrat Justin Portman end in separation.

Yet Ms. Vodianova, with a steely character behind the sweet face and child-like body, still believes in Russian fairy tales and fables, with their complex dragons and firebirds.

To mirror that magical reality, the model asked 40 designers to each create a dress for the White Fairy Tale Love Ball, a Russian-inspired fund-raiser that will take place near Paris during the July haute couture season at the Wideville chateau of Valentino and his partner, Giancarlo Giammetti.

Forty one-of-a-kind dresses, all inspired by fairy tales, will be auctioned for the charity by Christie’s and a limited edition book will show Ms. Vodianova in the dresses, photographed by Paolo Roversi.

‘Being still a Russian little girl inside, I wanted to create something around my love of fairy tales,’ said Ms. Vodianova, who called on her fashion choreographer friend Alex de Betak to design a winter’s tale set.

‘The idea is to create a Doctor Zhivago version of a beautiful and glamorous, but quite a childlike, fairy tale,’ said Mr. de Betak, who has worked on the project for two years.

‘The power of Natalia’s charm is that you can put her in front of anyone and she has the intelligence of asking the right thing to the right people,’ he added.

Mr. Giammetti, who will unveil at Wideville a virtual museum Web tour of Valentino’s fashion history — a first for any designer — underlines the core strength of the Russian supermodel:

‘Natalia is the sweet person that you see — kind and beautiful — then behind you discover the iron lady that really knows how to run a business. As you can imagine, I love both these Natalias equally. Her devotion to her charity work is profound and conducted with impeccable grace. But in her mind she has a perfectly focused plan de bataille.’

Ms. Vodianova is hoping the proceeds can beat the $1.4 million that she raised at an event in Moscow, even though she finds Russians mired in a Soviet concept that the state should provide. She still feels rage that special-needs children should be institutionalized, rather than allotted adequate money to provide care within the family.

Her determination to relive a lost childhood is far more political than establishing a ‘Neverland’ paradise, even if her three children — Lucas, Neva and Viktor — have an idyllic playground by a moat in the family mill house in Sussex, England.

‘I feel hopeful — we’ve done a very good job,’ said Ms. Vodianova of the Naked Heart Foundation. ‘We established it as a charity in Russia. Now I am really hoping to develop our progress with local support. What is really important is that Russian people are ready to be generous.’

She describes her vision as ‘a helicopter view of Russia,’ which she thinks has changed little outside of Moscow and St. Petersburg, despite the growth of a middle class.

‘I think the events that happened to me in my childhood are driving me,’ Ms. Vodianova said as she talked movingly about a situation that was ‘tough, really tough,’ citing her ‘brave and courageous’ mother’s depression so deep that her hair fell out and her ‘horrible stepfather — I can’t even tell you.’

‘He was an alcoholic and with that comes many demons,’ she said. ‘When I made money, the first thing I did was to hire big bouncers to have him removed from the flat and sent back to the Ukraine.’

Her childhood was divided between the chaos at home and the calm of her grandparents’ home, where a fresh nightdress, impeccable tablecloths and a disciplined life was introduced by her grandmother. This parental figure ‘with red lips and a chignon’ and an artistic ability as a seamstress to ‘paint with a needle’ would run in the park, swim in the frozen lake, take her granddaughter to the ballet and host family gatherings.

From her harsh background, Ms. Vodianova, dubbed ‘supernova,’ has developed super skills.

‘Why should I give my money to children from Russia, where one or two oligarchs can change the destiny of a thousand lives with a blink of an eye?’ Mr. Giammetti said.

‘It’s simply that they won’t do it unless Natalia enters their lives like a whirlwind and convinces them to open their wallets,’ he added. ‘She is a modern Robin Hood who gets money from the rich and gives it to the poor. The difference is that after your encounter, you feel better than before.’

A version of this article appeared in print on June 7, 2011, in The International Herald Tribune with the headline: Putting Fairy Tales and Fashion in Play."

Source: TheNewYorkTimes

We know that there is a separation, that is obvious.

But I think it must be Natalia who confirm or disprove their sentimental situation.

Media speculation, and I hope soon there is an answer, it's been so long and still not confirmed anything.

We know that there is a separation, that is obvious.

But I think it must be Natalia who confirm or disprove their sentimental situation.

Media speculation, and I hope soon there is an answer, it's been so long and still not confirmed anything.

I don't know, thedarknv. This is the NY Times and an interview. I have the feeling she sanctioned that paragraph. It's a way of telling the news without having to answer a direct question. The separation is obvious, but to my mind she's confirming, in a subtle way, what we already know. It doesn't read like gossip to me.

We know that there is a separation, that is obvious.

But I think it must be Natalia who confirm or disprove their sentimental situation.

Media speculation, and I hope soon there is an answer, it's been so long and still not confirmed anything.

I don't know, thedarknv. This is the NY Times and an interview. I have the feeling she sanctioned that paragraph. It's a way of telling the news without having to answer a direct question. The separation is obvious, but to my mind she's confirming, in a subtle way, what we already know. It doesn't read like gossip to me.

NYTimes is as formal and official as you can get. One of the most reliable sources in America.

We know that there is a separation, that is obvious.

But I think it must be Natalia who confirm or disprove their sentimental situation.

Media speculation, and I hope soon there is an answer, it's been so long and still not confirmed anything.

I don't know, thedarknv. This is the NY Times and an interview. I have the feeling she sanctioned that paragraph. It's a way of telling the news without having to answer a direct question. The separation is obvious, but to my mind she's confirming, in a subtle way, what we already know. It doesn't read like gossip to me.

NYTimes is as formal and official as you can get. One of the most reliable sources in America.

Exactly.

We know that there is a separation, that is obvious.

But I think it must be Natalia who confirm or disprove their sentimental situation.

Media speculation, and I hope soon there is an answer, it's been so long and still not confirmed anything.

I don't know, thedarknv. This is the NY Times and an interview. I have the feeling she sanctioned that paragraph. It's a way of telling the news without having to answer a direct question. The separation is obvious, but to my mind she's confirming, in a subtle way, what we already know. It doesn't read like gossip to me.

NYTimes is as formal and official as you can get. One of the most reliable sources in America.

Exactly.

I did not say that NYTime has lied, the separation is obvious, but I would like to listen to the own Natalia to say it.

In some moment, she will have to say and speak about it.

I did not say that NYTime has lied, the separation is obvious, but I would like to listen to the own Natalia to say it.

In some moment, she will have to say and speak about it.

Sorry, I thought you had said it was media speculation again, so I responded to that. That's what I meant, that it's not speculation anymore and that Natalia herself must have sanctioned that paragraph, because I don't think the New York Times would publish it out of the blue. That was an interview with her. Unless she downright denies it, she's confirming it, there's no other way to understand it.

The point, thedarknv, is that I don't think she wanted to say that her marriage is over by answering a direct question. The way the paper breaks the news of the separation is very well crafted. They give you the fact and she gracefully skips the part where she would have to say anything about it. Natalia moves on to talk about her charity, shifting the focus of the attention.

I'm not saying she won't eventually talk about the separation, she will. I just think Natalia had to find a subtle, elegant way of saying for the first time that the marriage is over after having either denied it or not confirmed it in the last year and a half, and she did.

Thank you for all the pics and the article

I think that, even without the NY times, we all had understood they were anyway separated....it was a bit obvious.

Now I can't help being curious and wondering the reasons why they separated......I know it's not my business but I'm asking myself so much, as if I knew Natalia as a friend, and because everything seemed to work out so well for them, for so many years....I don't understand and I would like to know. I guess it's impossible. Justin and Natalia are not of this type...they will be always discreet concerning their privacy with medias.

Thank you for all the pics and the article

I think that, even without the NY times, we all had understood they were anyway separated....it was a bit obvious.

You're absolutely right, eos, but this is not the point I made. The thing is, this NYTimes piece is not about what we already know, but what Natalia let us know, albeit obliquely. I think this is the first time she comes to acknowledge the separation, even if she doesn't say the actual words. It was a clever, elegant move to break the news in her own way, after having dispelled divorce rumors in the past. That's what I find relevant about it. You can't dismiss the article as mere gossip or speculation. Because it's an interview, and because the NYTimes is such a reliable, responsible source, unless she issues a statement denying it, it's the official confirmation we never had.

And why do I find it important? Well, my best guess is, Natalia and Justin will formalize legal proceedings in the nearest future, or have already done so. My other guess is, she might also be dating this Sasha Pesko, and wants to do it in the open. If she's separated, and doesn't expect to get back to Justin, it's natural that she moves on. There's no reason why she should hide, as if she were doing something wrong behind her husband's back.

Thank you for all the pics and the article

I think that, even without the NY times, we all had understood they were anyway separated....it was a bit obvious.

You're absolutely right, eos, but this is not the point I made. The thing is, this NYTimes piece is not about what we already know, but what Natalia let us know, albeit obliquely. I think this is the first time she comes to acknowledge the separation, even if she doesn't say the actual words. It was a clever, elegant move to break the news in her own way, after having dispelled divorce rumors in the past. That's what I find relevant about it. You can't dismiss the article as mere gossip or speculation. Because it's an interview, and because the NYTimes is such a reliable, responsible source, unless she issues a statement denying it, it's the official confirmation we never had.

And why do I find it important? Well, my best guess is, Natalia and Justin will formalize legal proceedings in the nearest future, or have already done so. My other guess is, she might also be dating this Sasha Pesko, and wants to do it in the open. If she's separated, and doesn't expect to get back to Justin, it's natural that she moves on. There's no reason why she should hide, as if she were doing something wrong behind her husband's back.

I have to say I agree with you on both points, acfr1969. I got pretty sad for her and did not even sleep well, somehow took it very close - just because I wish her so well.

What Valentino's partner said about Natalia sounded poignant and very respectfully - you cannot help but wish people like Natalia to succeed and do more kind and necessary things since she does them so well. People would not be describing what Natalia does/has done so meaningfully, would not be touched by her aspirations, if she was less charismatic.

And yes, the confirmation was executed uber-elegantly.

I have to say I agree with you on both points, acfr1969. I got pretty sad for her and did not even sleep well, somehow took it very close - just because I wish her so well.

What Valentino's partner said about Natalia sounded poignant and very respectfully - you cannot help but wish people like Natalia to succeed and do more kind and necessary things since she does them so well. People would not be describing what Natalia does/has done so meaningfully, would not be touched by her aspirations, if she was less charismatic.

And yes, the confirmation was executed uber-elegantly.

You know?, me too. I got sad for Natalia and woke up in the middle of the night, thinking of her, as if she were a dear, close friend. The whole NYTimes article touched me to the core. It's very poignant, very respectful of her, and of her accomplishments. She has such strength, such sense of purpose! You can see her spreading her wings and raising above her sadness, instead of moping around, feeling miserable and sorry for herself. This woman is truly admirable.

Maybe I'm extrapolating here, but I find it very, very interesting that, of all themes she could have picked for this year's Love Ball, she chose a Fairy Tale. She's bidding farewell to her marriage and to the fairy tale that defined her public persona to this day, and it's as if she were saying, you know what?, it's a new chapter in my life and the fairy tale is not about romance anymore; it's about helping people and doing good. Hats off. All the power to her.

Maybe I'm extrapolating here, but I find it very, very interesting that, of all themes she could have picked for this year's Love Ball, she chose a Fairy Tale. She's bidding farewell to her marriage and to the fairy tale that defined her public persona to this day, and it's as if she were saying, you know what?, it's a new chapter in my life and the fairy tale is not about romance anymore; it's about helping people and doing good. Hats off. All the power to her.

well said and very perceptive - this could indeed be the case and part of the thinking behind (other than majority of people should be easily entertained by the idea of mysterious Russian fairy tales).

Interestingly, my own impression of my country's fables is that they are not entirely happy, they tend to leave you with a sense of loneliness or loss, though something happy happens in the end - but to get there, a hero typically looses a lot and it always struck me as sad but in a way more realistic and close to life.

Maybe I'm extrapolating here, but I find it very, very interesting that, of all themes she could have picked for this year's Love Ball, she chose a Fairy Tale. She's bidding farewell to her marriage and to the fairy tale that defined her public persona to this day, and it's as if she were saying, you know what?, it's a new chapter in my life and the fairy tale is not about romance anymore; it's about helping people and doing good. Hats off. All the power to her.

well said and very perceptive - this could indeed be the case and part of the thinking behind (other than majority of people should be easily entertained by the idea of mysterious Russian fairy tales).

Interestingly, my own impression of my country's fables is that they are not entirely happy, they tend to leave you with a sense of loneliness or loss, though something happy happens in the end - but to get there, a hero typically looses a lot and it always struck me as sad but in a way more realistic and close to life.

Yeah, you've just nailed it. She's getting rid of the Cinderella skin that doesn't really pay tribute to all her hardwork and effort, in order to embrace her moment: the loneliness and the loss, but with a sense of purpose, striving to get somewhere better. I remember that Telegraph interview:

'They do love their tragedy, their pain and suffering,' Portman says midway through his omelette. Vodianova looks up, fork in mid-air. 'Who doesn't, darling? Don't you love it?'

'No, I don't like pain and suffering at all,' Portman replies.

'I love it. I love Anna Karenina and Tolstoy, it's all about…' She clutches her arms to her chest and makes a dramatic gasp. 'We love it, even in our own lives. We sometimes choose difficult parts in order to experience this feeling, because after something really tragic comes the feeling of great love or relief, and that feeling is what we need - it's what we love.'

'Bloody women,' Portman responds.

I don't think she chose loneliness, loss or suffering, but she won't avoid them. She will power through the storm, knowing that something better awaits for her. The whole White Fairy Tale is her moment.

This is all very subtle and fascinating. I'm reading some Russian fables online. Just finished that one of the Tzarevitch, the Grey Wolf and the Firebird. It's quite a lesson.

I think it could be indeed that they need to wait until they will be married for ten years in order for the divorce to be smoother, it totally makes sense! Hadn't thought about it.

I work as a psychologist. And i hear lots of sad childhood stories, Natalia's is not that uncommon. I'm sure it has influenced her, and that it is where this idea came to help other children in her country.

But to the contrary of many people I think it's normal she should do it. Is it not a duty to do what we can to make the world better? Every one at their own level? Some more visibly than others. Many people in this world devote their whole lives to help others, sometimes in extreme conditions.

I don't admire Natalia. I think she has overall had a very good life (and still does have a very privileged existence), and that she is only giving back, which to me is the least one can do. I wish more people would do it, because the world would be a better place.

I'm not a big fan of the "famous people telling how they suffered in childhood" stories. I think it is one of those things one does to acquire sympathy from the public.

I think it is very sweet that some of you sleep badly thinking about Natalia's loneliness, but at the same time i think: why care so much about somebody's life when that person doesn't even know you exist or care about you?

It must be one of the extreme consequences of the internet and magazines....

We are presented with role models, preferably beautiful or talented, but sometimes none of the two, to love and to look up to, when actually they are not our real lives. We have no idea what they really are. We don't have a relationship with them.

I'm sorry, i'm aware this is very off topic, but it strikes me a lot on forums, be it about actors, singers or models, lots of people saying how they think this person is so amazing! And i always want to reply: No one is actually more amazing or that different from any of us on this very forum, talking about Natalia. We just have a different part in this life.... and different means of action.

I think it could be indeed that they need to wait until they will be married for ten years in order for the divorce to be smoother, it totally makes sense! Hadn't thought about it.

I work as a psychologist. And i hear lots of sad childhood stories, Natalia's is not that uncommon. I'm sure it has influenced her, and that it is where this idea came to help other children in her country.

But to the contrary of many people I think it's normal she should do it. Is it not a duty to do what we can to make the world better? Every one at their own level? Some more visibly than others. Many people in this world devote their whole lives to help others, sometimes in extreme conditions.

I don't admire Natalia. I think she has overall had a very good life (and still does have a very privileged existence), and that she is only giving back, which to me is the least one can do. I wish more people would do it, because the world would be a better place.

I'm not a big fan of the "famous people telling how they suffered in childhood" stories. I think it is one of those things one does to acquire sympathy from the public.

I think it is very sweet that some of you sleep badly thinking about Natalia's loneliness, but at the same time i think: why care so much about somebody's life when that person doesn't even know you exist or care about you?

It must be one of the extreme consequences of the internet and magazines....

We are presented with role models, preferably beautiful or talented, but sometimes none of the two, to love and to look up to, when actually they are not our real lives. We have no idea what they really are. We don't have a relationship with them.

I'm sorry, i'm aware this is very off topic, but it strikes me a lot on forums, be it about actors, singers or models, lots of people saying how they think this person is so amazing! And i always want to reply: No one is actually more amazing or that different from any of us on this very forum, talking about Natalia. We just have a different part in this life.... and different means of action.

I don't know, aliceinfashionland. I don't care that Natalia doesn't know me or doesn't care about me. I like her and I admire her. I find it nice to talk about her with other people who share this same interest. That's the whole point of Bellazon. Anyway, it's very sweet of you to care about my sleep and my deep exposure to the effect of the internet, although I pretty much don't know you and don't care about what you think.

But since you asked, let me return you the courtesy. I'm also curious. I guess you don't suffer from this extreme consequence of the internet and magazines, as we, troubled people, do. So why do you come to this board at all? Bash Natalia and stir up controversy are the only things you do around here. I mean, I share a thought with pautinka and you write that? It's not nice to bully people into looking ridiculous. You must know you've just patronized me for no reason at all, other than the thrill of it. Maybe there's a reason as to why. Be a dear and analyze that.

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I don't know, aliceinfashionland. I don't care that Natalia doesn't know me or doesn't care about me. I like her and I admire her. I find it nice to talk about her with other people who share this same interest. That's the whole point of Bellazon. Anyway, it's very sweet of you to care about my sleep and my deep exposure to the effect of the internet, although I pretty much don't know you and don't care about what you think.

But since you asked, let me return you the courtesy. I'm also curious. I guess you don't suffer from this extreme consequence of the internet and magazines, as we, troubled people, do. So why do you come to this board at all? Bash Natalia is the only thing you do around here. I mean, you must know you've just patronized me for no reason at all, other than the thrill of it. Maybe there's a reason as to why. Be a dear and analyze that.

Dear acfr 1968,

I have been "following" Natalia since she started her carreer. I saw a picture of her in a magazine and fell in love with her beauty. It has been a lot of years now, and though i stopped collecting like i used to, i still like to see if new pictures come out. (can't wait to see good quality pictures of the dresses for the love ball) I like to see how she evolves.

That is what i am interested in. Of course, i also read the articles that came out about her. The first article i found interesting but after having read the same story (the poor childhood, the fairytale etc) soooooooo many times, I became really tired of it.

I am against making people into myths. I meet Natalia. (did you?) I am one of those people who don't like to be 'fed' nice stories about 'stars'. (think what the press made of poor Marilyn Monroe, a deeply troubled young woman still admired by many)

In other words, I hope to see many more pictures of Natalia during lots of years, but i really don't need to read the fairy tale part any more, or the struggle, or the allowing her husband to be criticised in the press. That is what i have been posting about.

I guess you felt i was ridiculing you saying that you lost your sleep over her loneliness.

I wasn't. If you had read what i wrote in a positive way, you would have read: you are amazing too, you are special too! Don't put people you don't know on an 'admiration' level. That's all.

And don't you agree that it is an strange consequence of the internet that people we don't know come 'in' our lives? And that you would loose your sleep over your perception of Natalia being lonely? (she has 3 wonderful children and a loving family in Russia, she isn't that miserable) There are lonely people all over this world, I don't loose my sleep over them, but the ones i am close to, I try to help.

You can disagree of course. I'm a bit of a harsh realistic, that's true... But maybe a bit of reality sometimes doesn't hurt.

Don't feel offended over my comment, maybe just consider what i'm saying, and then discard it if you don't think you agree.

Aliceinfashionland, you have a right to an opinion. Everybody does. It strikes me as odd that you even come here, but ok, whatever the reasons, I'm not trying to convince you of how wonderful Natalia is.

Just don't do what you did. You patronized a person who shared a thought among people with the same interests. It was offensive and I didn't like it. Yes, I felt you making me look ridiculous. It was gratuitous and out of place. You don't know anything about me and just inferred a lot. You don't know why Natalia's story touched me, or why I woke up in the middle of the night thinking about it. What you did was to twist it into something else.

Your questions are way out of line, this board is not to discuss psychological issues. What you did, and keeps doing with this pointless post, is plain bullying. Please, stop here.

Thank you for all the pics and the article

I think that, even without the NY times, we all had understood they were anyway separated....it was a bit obvious.

You're absolutely right, eos, but this is not the point I made. The thing is, this NYTimes piece is not about what we already know, but what Natalia let us know, albeit obliquely. I think this is the first time she comes to acknowledge the separation, even if she doesn't say the actual words. It was a clever, elegant move to break the news in her own way, after having dispelled divorce rumors in the past. That's what I find relevant about it. You can't dismiss the article as mere gossip or speculation. Because it's an interview, and because the NYTimes is such a reliable, responsible source, unless she issues a statement denying it, it's the official confirmation we never had.

But I never said I disagreed with you, on the contrary, I think it was also very elegant from her to "officially" declare it in this kind of indirect way, to the reliable source which is the NY Times. I was just talking about some other personal feelings I had, like my curiosity about the reasons why they split up. And, I don't know for you, but I never needed any reliable or not source to be convinced of their separation, unfortunately. As a fan, and watching every of her pics and reading again and again her interviews, I could understand it....

I think I admire Natalia and am grateful towards her for what she does for her country ; giving it a good image, in an intelligent way, and helping its children. So many people have loads of money, I'm sure a lot more than her, and don't do anything. Which is very interesting is that I think she has the power to change the minds of these people, since she is kind of part of their elite, now. She is a saver, a robin hood, and at the same time has the physical appearance of a princess...an angel (very graceful, always elegant) , and thanks to that, she attracts people. The world needs more people like her.

And I like when a person's life becomes a myth I would like her so much to stay in the minds of people in the future, maybe read one day her autobiography...

But, I understand what you say too, aliceinwonderland. I have a kind of thing in me which tells me always to see things from a very fair point of view, not too passionate...but anyway, you should be proud of her ! Aren't you not ?