Natalia Vodianova

[acfr1968]

LARGER FILES

Harper's Bazaar UK

March 2011

via ANV

Hugo Boss FW 2010-11

As seen on Marie Claire Australia, March 2011

via ANV

via ANV

And these are rather small but I haven't found them in HQ. Natalia is seen here in China, in June 2010, when she launched her Etam collection there.

(sorry if repost )

[Aliceinfashionland]

I don't really like that Natalia talks negatively about her husband in an interview, about facts that go back years. (They were all partying next door and I was alone with my newborn baby, poor me!)

At the time, she was very happy and lucky to be noticed by him, and part of her success was thanks to him, and the decision of having a child they made it together. He went everywhere with her, how many models feel lonely indeed because they are alone in hotels and on photoshoots and on planes? He was with her at all times, backstage, holding the baby while she was on the catwalk, he had tons of money and she had babysitters. How many models are able to count on so much support? (think about that poor cute model who suicided in New York)

I understand it is sad that things are not going so well with her husband anymore, but acting like a lady would be not putting him down in public like she does. She presents herself as a victim. She is not. She is a young girl who fell in love with a wealthy and adorable man, she lived a fairytale (in anybody's book) and her life made a complete turn for the better.

And now, like many many couples, their relationship has come to an end for various reasons. (and it is not all because of him, I don't know many men who would have accepted to follow a woman at all times and adapt their lives to her and support her like he did for so many years. Maybe he got a bit fed up of being in her shadow, of living her life basically.)

She says she is lonely, but aren't we all in a way? Aren't there a lot of lonely people in this world who are starving, beaten, abused etc? And her childhood was not a childhood? If I was her close family, I'd be offended by that.

She says her kids are the priority but why is she not with them? Like many women with a career. I think she needs the spotlight, and that is why she wants to become an actress, now. And I don't believe that she does all that only for her charity.

As i see it, she is not so much fragile and human as a fierce businesswoman.

I think she is very pretty and good for Etam for hiring her, it did their image well, but please, spare us the self pity.

[Eos]

Well, me too to tell you the truth, reading this article, I wondered why she portrayed Justin this way...maybe she wants to give an explanation of the separation for the mass media...(maybe she could have done it in some other way). Maybe she was being sincere?

However I don't think she presented herself totally as a victim....She clearly said she is very happy to be what she is and where she is now. I think it's a good thing, even if it's maybe a part of controlling her image, that she shows she has feelings (I mean feelings like sadness, loneliness, pityness - things which might not be always associated with pride, high self-esteem...)...it brings you closer to the person. Personally I am fed up with all these women celebs/startlets always on top, always partying, part of one elite who look down on others - impossible to figure them out, so artificial. I'm sure I'm not the only one to think Natalia does not belong to that.

In many other interviews, you could understand she wants to give back, and I don't know many other models as involved as her in a charity. I think she is aware she was very lucky, maybe she even feels guilty about it cause this luck was huge.., and she does what she has to do. She could have become far far worse.

I'm convinced she is a good business woman, but a sensitive one, with good common sense, not cold hearted as many others of the elite I was talking about. You're telling about dying or starving people, and seem to be thinking she forgets about them when she says she's lonely, but I don't think so...she is full of compassion, empathy, otherwise she would not be as involved as she is in her charity. It's not because she says she feels lonely sometimes in one interview that you can judge her so toughly. And even if you think her charity is just a kind of embellishment for her image, and so what. In the end she does it, she does good things, embellishment or not embellishment.

Then, Justin, lol. I think he is not the kind of man you can feel sorry for. He has always had money, never worked thanks to this constant money, met Natalia, fell in love with her......personally if I was a guy in love with a model, and full of money, I would not have hesitated to follow her....I don't see where is the suffering in it, it's just love. Maybe it's a miracle among the world of models, they were both lucky, we all know their story. Then, I'm sorry for him about the separation, that's all !

And I don't really want to feel sorry for Natalia either (except for this presumed separation..) because she had an exceptional rising life, her dreams came true, she could not hope more. It's just a pity their relationship had to end. When she says she didn't have a childhood I don't think she blames anyone from her family, but just the situation, the fate it-self....if she compares it with her children's childhood, there is no doubt there are big sad differences.

All women (almost all) have their kids as priority, but Natalia visibly has a bigger scheme of life than just being a mother.

But well, she tends to talk weird about Justin these times...she looks like she has some resentment....

And I don't wanna praise her to the skies...just defend her when I think it's fair. I've always felt sympathy for her, I don't know why, I've never been like that with another celibrity....I don't think I exagerate.

The story of Ruslana Korshunova - I think she is the one you were talking about, moved me a lot too, but I don't think it has something to do with Natalia. Maybe she was psychologically more fragile.

[pautinka]

I personally disagree that Natalia suffers from self-pity. True, I felt squeamish when she eluded to her "unhappy" past moments with Justin - simply because it was about a very private moment - such as the arrival of their first newborn and taking care of him. That, and because of the fact that indeed in the past she only had good words to say about Justin in various articles/interviews about their life. I would not call it self-pity, though. If reports of his extravagant life style are true it could be very difficult for her to tolerate on daily basis: a non-working husband, easily burning mutual money down, not doing anything with his life. To argue by your own logic, Justin is his own man, he did not HAVE to follow her, he could pursue things interesting to himself, so it is not like she made him sacrifice his young years for her and the family. I suspect that due to his upbringing and wealth, he may not have sufficient drive to pursue things in life. But these are all our guesses.

But mostly I disagree that she is a strictly business-woman. To me, she has a huge heart. She does not sit still, enjoying her success, pursuing beauty projects only, or filming herself in Hollywood, her heart is obviously with poor children in Russia.

Other than that, I agree with your initial statements that she had a great life with Justin, a fairytale-like and that perhaps it is not generous of her to bring him down now for whatever reasons that may seem obvious to her. Private life should remain private, especially the negative moments of it. The lesson I learn from it is perhaps a cliche but still holds: nothing is ever perfect for anyone, no one is exempt from hardship even when they are on top of the world; every marriage/relationship has multiple dimensions.

[pautinka]

And these are rather small but I haven't found them in HQ. Natalia is seen here in China, in June 2010, when she launched her Etam collection there.

[pautinka]

Eos, I could not agree with you more - on all of the points that you made.

[Aliceinfashionland]

Maybe self pity was indeed a strong word. I think I meant wanting to make people feel for her, have compassion.

Wanting to help and to give back is indeed part of the image she wants to have. She doesnt want to be perceived as just a fashion model (= superficial pretty girl) Good for her.

But she once said herself that she loves people looking at her, that she loved the attention.

Now she says that being famous has negative sides, that you have no privacy. I find that extraordinary, she is THE most talked about model in the french magazine i read regularly. And that doesn't happen unless someone is constantly out there to achieve that.

In other words, why does she do everything she can to remain in the spotlight if she is so desperate for privacy?

She '''used''' her adorable family to promote herself for years, in editorials etc. She is photographed at every fashion event very regularly. She speaks about her poor sad childhood over and over: it is mentioned in virtually every single article about her, in many interviews. Much more so than other models of the same origin who certainly don't have much brighter stories. And now that her modeling days are for the biggest part over, she decides to try to be a film star. (live between England and Hollywood!)

That sounds contradictory to me, to say the least.

She could do like other models (Elle McPherson, Claudia Schiffer) who have a career and a business and live a family life but who are not endlessly trying to appear on covers, and do ten things at the same time. (Host eurovision, play in a movie...)

She has a huge heart? There are millions of charity organizations in this world and people giving their whole lives for them, getting their hands dirty on a dayly basis, who aren't on magazine covers or living a jetset life. I think it's wonderful that she created this charity for russian children, and that she spents time on it, but that just makes her a decent human being as opposed to the empty hearted and fake socialites of this world.

I don't know Justin, and I don't want to judge him for being rich or anything else. But one thing is for sure: he is gentleman enough not to be giving interviews about his wife disappointing him or how he grew up without the love of his mother etc. He never tried to use her celebrity to put himself forward, he was supportive all the way, as much as he could. He has defects, she does too.

They both did what they could with what they had. I'm sure he was happy to follow her around, but she was lucky to have him there. She wouldn't have been able to achieve so much without him. As someone mentioned she had this glow, she shined love which was to me a big part of her appeal, she was just bursting with happiness. And I'm sure she will again!

I guess generally speaking, I don't like people 'who made it', going on and on about how they had a hard time. Most people on this planet have awful times, just be grateful for your life that is so much better than most people's.

But i guess it's clever of her, attracting people's compassion is always a good way to get more attention.

I think when she arrived in Europe, she really was the princess of the fairytale: admiration, attention, love, money, beauty, perfect wedding, aristocrat husband, gorgeous healthy children, a face that made people dream... And she thought it would all go up endlessly. And then reality kicked in... That happens everyday, out of the spotlight. No one is entitled to perfection, everybody has rough patches.

[pautinka]

Aliceinfashionland,

I think after you elaborated your point I can see that I am agreeing with you much more. yes, I think success in her industry and self-promotion through whatever avenues and means go hand in hand. Back in some old interviews words like "clever, money-oriented" come to mind to me now. Somebody, I recall, said about her that due to her childhood poverty all she could think about in the beginning of her career was money (I am almost quoting). Well, that's not surprising, especially given that she was new and had to "make it' and was supporting her mother's family. And yes, I also recall how she said she loves attention and spotlight. But I am glad that she used her celebrity to change the situation in Russia, shake up those wallets in that country for her charity. So her means to me justify her purposes. To me it simply speaks of her gradual maturation. I don't have much to say/guess about Justin - clearly he has not been bringing her down so far on this separation issue but Is it due to his gentlemen-ness or because he is not asked? we can't know.

You are definitely right that reality has hit for her. Hopefully, it does not impact kids in a terrible way. Afterall, it is important for THEM not to feel lonely/alone: their mother works a lot and their father seems to be absent.

[fashionmistake1234]

anv

[fashionmistake1234]

natalia v.net

i think i just died

[fashionmistake1234]

natalia v.net

[thedarknv]

¿LOVE magazine?

source: Blog samantha elizabeth milligan

[maryna]

¿LOVE magazine?

source: Blog samantha elizabeth milligan

Is it said where you found the scan that it is Nati? because to me it looks like more Caroline Trentini for the ed "Lipgloss & Cigarettes" in LOVE SS 2011... but maybe i'm wrong, as Natalia is also in an ed of this issue...

[pautinka]

¿LOVE magazine?

source: Blog samantha elizabeth milligan

Is it said where you found the scan that it is Nati? because to me it looks like more Caroline Trentini for the ed "Lipgloss & Cigarettes" in LOVE SS 2011... but maybe i'm wrong, as Natalia is also in an ed of this issue...

I think it is Natalia (for one, Trentini is much bigger chested )

[maryna]

ok thanks pautinka in fact I also thought it was her 'til I remarked the little freckles (don't know if I used the good word?) on her face, that made me think about caroline... That's why I'm a little bit confused about that...

[fashionmistake1234]

thanks to fashion spot

[fashionmistake1234]

facebook

[fashionmistake1234]

srry if repost telegraph

Natalia Vodianova: Fashion design was a challenge

Thursday, 27 January 2011

Natalia Vodianova was petrified when she first agreed to design a collection, because she knew it would be so challenging.

The Russian model made her name strutting the runway for the biggest brands in the business, such as Calvin Klein, Louis Vuitton and Yves Saint Laurent.

She has now turned her hand to design, and unveiled her latest lingerie collection for Etam in Paris earlier this week. It was a star-studded affair with Beth Ditto, Boy George and The Kills in attendance, and made Natalia realise how far she has come.

“It's another opportunity for me to express myself. When I was approached to design, it was a strange, scary moment, because to say yes was a challenge,” she explained to fashionweekdaily.com. “Being a model can be quite one-dimensional, but here I am, with another dimension to me. And that’s a brave thing to do. I had some expectations from this collaboration, but what’s come out of it was much more than I expected - I absolutely loved every moment of it.”

The 28-year-old has praised Etam for helping her, explaining they have been instrumental in making her realise her dream. Before she started work with them she had no idea of the work involved in designing, and is proud of how far she has come.

When she isn’t working, Natalia devotes much of her time to charity. She describes helping people as an addiction, explaining nothing else comes close to how good it makes her feel.