June 7, 201113 yr 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.I made my point you made yours. I can't help it if you feel i'm patronizing. Just know that was not my intention. I don't know anything about you, (or you about me for that matter) but i do know that you "couldn't sleep thinking about Natalia's loneliness." That is what i was talking about, not about you as a person. I read that, and it struck me. If you think it's fine, and you have good reasons then good for you. This forum is about 'Fashion models'... I am not the one who started talking about Natalia's happiness or unhappiness. (which i think is fair enough up to a point.) Other models have more pictures and less personal life comments, which i prefer. That is my opinion and i'm allowed to say it. Maybe i should feel you are patronizing me when I read your last paragraph....
June 7, 201113 yr VogueNatalia's New PlanNATALIA VODIANOVA has launched a new initiative for her charity, the Naked Heart Foundation, asking 40 designers to each create a dress for her Russian-inspired White Fairy Tale Love Ball in Paris during couture week at Valentino's Wideville chateau. The Vogue cover girl has modelled all the dresses, photographed by Paolo Roversi, for a limited-edition book - and they will then be auction by Christie's for the charity. Vodianova insists her own humble beginnings foster her commitment to the children of her homeland."Being still a Russian little girl inside, I wanted to create something around my love of fairy tales," Vodianova said of the elaborate fundraiser. "I think the events that happened to me in my childhood are driving me."The model, who recently separated from husband Justin Portman, revealed that she was responsible for her younger sister from the age of six due to a difficult home life, and says the Naked Heart Foundation - which builds play parks for underprivileged children - would have been a salvation for a child like her."A playground would have been a dream for me - I didn't have anywhere to take my sister," she told the International Herald Tribune. "[My] horrible stepfather - I can't even tell you. He was an alcoholic and with that comes many demons. When I made money, the first thing I did was to hire big bouncer to have him removed from the flat and sent back to the Ukraine."The model hopes the Parisian event will beat the £850,000 she raised at a recent event in her native Moscow.
June 7, 201113 yr First, thanks to everyone for revealing their points of view. Here are my 5 cents and by all means I am merely sharing my view, not imposing it on anyone, as probably we are all formed people at this point.I am not making an idol out of Natalia, I am fully aware that as any reasonable human being she is a mix of admirable and non-admirable tendencies. We all are and the events of life test our tendencies and shape them at the same time. I also know that I am passionate and in general grateful person. It truly makes my day to see an act of kindness, everything else just pales in comparison for me. I believe this particular feature in me, for example, appeals to my husband, who finds it not very common and appreciates it (the fact that I will stop for an extended period of time and survey the kind act). I am aware that many people, including me, are capable of good and do it on regular basis without being praised. People come to doing it at different rate, different timing in their life. Motherhood effortlessly and naturally accelerated my getting to appreciation of patience and kindness. To Natalia it happened earlier, because of her sister. It is not part of her fairytale for me, it is simply her reality, stuff she's made of. So there - I am aware of my own goodness and capability as a compassionate human being. But I do admire taking it to a much greater and organized level and not resting at achieved results. Not just doing it because your job is to do it (say, doctors, rescuers, healers of sorts, etc), or not settling on simply conducting your job and then living your own small life in your own small shell/nest, occasionally making kind jesters towards others (like Natalia could have done and most of us do on regular basis). She does not rest much and I appreciate that. True, there are other people doing exactly the same and they ALL deserve honor, just like we give to Natalia. That does not change the fact that I respect specifically HER.I also have an explanation for being profoundly upset for her. It is called empathy. It is not related to making an idol out of Natalia or other people (celebrity or not). It rather relates to my imagination and ability to put myself in other people's shoes, imagine myself dealing with the situation they face, step by step, acknowledging causes and consequences, and in psychological terms speaks of my frontal cortex function (since we occasionally bring our professions in here). I do not think that it is ultimately disadvantageous quality or that it is imposed by media upon me. Contrarily, I view it as advantageous because I get to learn from other people's experiences that way. But why is it ultimately the case? Because I am made this way (some of it is inherited, some is self-made as I found benefits of such relating to others). Natalia is a live person, not a heroine of some imaginable tale. The article only stressed that. It is not her fault that the press liked the Cinderella story so much and fed it to us left and right (even if she did contribute initially to presenting it this way, which may be she did NOT - I have no idea). What I know is true is that people are attracted to it, precisely because it is real, sincere, natural, not squeezed out of finger as many cases with other celebrities and charities.
June 7, 201113 yr 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....No, I don't think we disagreed at all. It's just that the NYTimes piece came to me not as something new, in terms of information. You're right, we already knew it. The thing that struck me as important was that she finally broke the news, albeit not directly. So, it was not about the information, but about what she let us know. It's the timing, more than anything else. Oh, I didn't address the reasons for their split up. I think you're right, this is something way beyond our reach. I mean, you can come up with ideas, but that's all.
June 7, 201113 yr Natalia Vodianova and David Koma at the NewGen announcement at Somerset House!What was that, ariti...?
June 7, 201113 yr Natalia Vodianova and David Koma at the NewGen announcement at Somerset House! What was that, ariti...? acfr1968 it's from today The British Fashion Council's NEWGEN And NEWGEN MEN Winners Announcement
June 7, 201113 yr Fashion spot sorry if repost Links on the dresses are now working on the White Ball website ! There is a bigger picture, an illustration, and an explanation for each dress, both in english and russian. There is also jewelry put on auction, among it a line of jewelry called russian fairytale, designed by Natalia. I'm impressed by the list of the honorary committee (some important persons in french politics ! ).
June 7, 201113 yr Natalia Vodianova and David Koma at the NewGen announcement at Somerset House! What was that, ariti...? acfr1968 it's from today The British Fashion Council's NEWGEN And NEWGEN MEN Winners Announcement Cool dress! This is one I could never wear... Thanks!
June 7, 201113 yr Had we seen this one before...? LQ via Modelinia ** I think it's the Stella McCartney (it looks like the one she's wearing on the cover of Tatler Russia) ETA: Actually, yes, we have seen this one before. Sorry for repost...
June 8, 201113 yr Paris Fashion Week dying to know what her boots are - love their style, the height and wearability of the heels...
June 8, 201113 yr The British Fashion Council's NEWGEN And NEWGEN MEN Winners Announcement London, 07 June 2011 via ANV ETA: via ANV
June 8, 201113 yr new picsmodelcandidsNatalia just stay as liar, to say who was still with Justin and they were going to have more children ... hahahaha she should be honest and say that was separate and would have been easier for her to start a relationship. she would have saved much trouble and gossip for a long year. would have been easier.Luckily for Natalia in her new relationship, she will need.
June 8, 201113 yr new picsmodelcandidsNatalia just stay as liar, to say who was still with Justin and they were going to have more children ... hahahaha she should be honest and say that was separate and would have been easier for her to start a relationship. she would have saved much trouble and gossip for a long year. would have been easier.Luckily for Natalia in her new relationship, she will need.Yes, it'd have been. I always thought so. Better say the truth and avoid the egg facial later. But maybe she still expected to get back to Justin at that point and felt she shouldn't give away what their situation was, if still unresolved. It was not a good course of action, but makes sense. My first impression of this guy was not good, but it's because of that piece of gossip, saying that he asked not to be photographed with her, because it'd be bad for him. Maybe that is not true. I don't know. Good luck for her, it's a new chapter, she'll need it.
June 8, 201113 yr The British Fashion Council's NEWGEN And NEWGEN MEN Winners Announcement London, 07 June 2011 via ModelCandids.com ANV
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