MODEL PROFILES: SASKIA DE BRAUW

Born on April 17^th 1981, Dutch model Saskia de Brauw is fashion’s very own comeback kid, re-emerging at the age of 30 as one of its most sought-after faces.

Saskia started modelling in 1996, when she was discovered at the age of 15. Quitting a year later to concentrate on studying art, Saskia returned to the fashion industry in 2010, signing with DNA Models.

Saskia made an immediate splash in the industry when Eres Swimwear decided to replace Lara Stone as their face of the brand, instating de Brauw as their new campaign model.

In July 2010, Saskia was profiled by www.models.com and made her international catwalk debut in September. Walking for Reed Krakoff, Matthew Williamson, Balenciaga, Givenchy and Daks, Saskia was an immediate stand-out. Her debut got the attention of designers and editors alike, and in October, Givenchy’s creative director Riccardo Tisci introduced de Brauw to the then-editor of French Vogue, Carine Roitfeld.

After another successful runway season in February 2011, Saskia’s introduction to French Vogue paid off with a starring role in their summer preview editorial. ‘Et Vogue L’Ete’ was a multi-page special, outlining all the season’s key ideas. The bi-annual season preview is a centrepiece feature for French Vogue, presenting the most important looks, in a manner that’s typical of the magazine’s ethos: bold, creative and fun.

Saskia’s editorial debut was a blaze of glory, softening her androgynous looks for Oscar de la Renta, and revving them up for Miu Miu. She also appeared alongside Daphne Groeneveld, in the pelmet neon skirts from Jil Sander. De Brauw’s headlining in French Vogue was an announcement to the fashion world that this was a model not about to sit in the background.

Saskia’s status as model-of-the-moment was cemented in March when she was invited to appear on the cover of French Vogue; it was the final cover under Carine Roitfeld’s leadership. Labelled ‘Fantasy’, the blush-coloured cover saw Saskia in a frilled collar and jewels. The dichotomy of Saskia’s bold features against such a romantic background made it a fitting adieu for Roitfeld who had championed model talent throughout her stint as editor.

Roitfeld specialised in finding faces that didn’t necessarily ‘fit’, transforming Lara Stone’s career and making Isabeli Fontana a modelling legend. Her support also boosted the careers of Natasha Poly, Daria Werbowy, Arizona Muse and Joan Smalls. Going against the grain is a French Vogue speciality, and what Roitfeld did for modelling during her time at the magazine cannot be underestimated. She recognised that it was not always trends that move fashion forwards, but faces. Saskia, who was her last discovery whilst at Vogue, promises to be another model that helps to define where fashion goes next, and that’s no small legacy.

In the same month, Saskia did cover duty for Italian Vogue, photographed by Steven Meisel. The two covers could not be more different: French Vogue, evoking high glamour and Italian Vogue going for the cerebral vote. Winning hearts and minds is the core business of high-fashion – without that connection, it’s just clothes. Roitfeld understood this very plainly, hence her interest in sourcing the next great face.

Saskia also appeared in editorials for W and Italian Vogue during the month of March. The Italian Vogue shoot, also steered by Meisel, was a symphony of clashing patterns, swirls and stripes. Combined with eccentric accessorising and artisan make-up, ‘Wasted Luxury’ was textbook Italian Vogue.

Appearing for W, de Brauw took on a more expected persona, and performed in a street fashion / punk editorial. Working alongside new faces Eliza Cummings, Jana Knaverova and Bambi Northwood Blyth, Saskia’s features lent themselves perfectly to the hard-core attitude needed to sell punk on a fashion stage.

In June ’11, Saskia made her couture debut in Paris, walking for Chanel and Givenchy. It demonstrated Saskia’s pull in the fashion world: she is 1.5 inches shorter than the average couture model, but her appearance for both couture houses was assured and confident.

Autumn 2011 will see Saskia’s profile reach another level, with two major campaigns. Italian duo DSquared have booked her to appear in their street-cool designs, but the big news is that de Brauw has landed one of the most prolific campaigns in the business: Versace.

Photographed by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott, Saskia plays against type to become the ultra-feminine vixen that Versace demands. Recalling the hey-day of the label, the Versace insignia is clearly seen on buttons and buckles, but the rest of the campaign marks a considerable shift in semantics for the luxury brand.

For a label that usually hires blonde, uber-groomed glamazons, Saskia marks the beginning of a cleaner, sharper vision for the label’s future. Evoking all its best attributes, and its own brand mythology, Versace is using a different face (in every sense of the word) for a subtle re-brand.

Think of the Italian label and you tend to come up with the same adjectives: glamorous, seductive and super-sexy. All those things are still here in this campaign, but with it, there’s an extra layer of insouciance that makes the designs appear effortless. Everyone knows that the main ingredients of any fashion collection are blood, sweat and tears, but no-one wants them to show up in the final designs. It should look like what it is: inspired.

Saskia endows the Versace campaign with an element of androgyny that directly plays against its previous form. It’s a new direction for Versace and one that promises to bring new admirers. If you found Versace a little intimidating in the past, a little too glossy perhaps, this ad goes a long way to redressing the balance.

Still in terms of credits a relatively new face, Saskia has managed to make herself indispensable. Androgyny is experiencing its first real moment in the fashion spotlight since the mid 1990’s. For a period of nearly twenty years, glamour has been the definitive look – whether that was full-on glitz, or mixed with street style and grunge.

Where fashion goes, models suit themselves to fit. Faces that have been in favour have all suited fashion’s glamorous agenda. What has been missing is a selection of models that are proudly and defiantly off-message. With the arrival of Freja Beha, one haircut really did make all the difference. Her choppy cut took her from one of the pack to one of a kind. It marked the advent of a new kind of model: bold, not classically beautiful, but a true breath of fresh air.

Saskia’s comeback in 2010 could not have been better timed: despite her age placing her at the point where most models are considering their next move, de Brauw is working at the very heart of the fashion industry.

What is genuinely exciting about models like Saskia and Freja is that they are pushing back at the boundaries of what type of project a model can and can’t do. Saskia’s signing with Versace is a perfect example of this: from leather pieces to a Black Swan-inspired feather dress, she moves from flirty and feminine to cool sophistication.

The loosening of the old fashion rules: androgynous face = androgynous fashion, pairing chocolate-box beauties with ultra-feminine looks has resulted in a free-for-all that’s hitting the spot in terms of self-expression and individuality. Carine Roitfeld’s passion for launching faces that don’t fit the current look was an instinct ahead of its time: no-one wants to think of themselves as a fashion formula, and fashion has responded by creating trends that give you room to manoeuvre.

This celebration of individuality and self-sufficiency will be the way forward for the fashion industry and Saskia is part of this revolution, moving from soft and dreamy to angular androgyny in a heartbeat. Never the same woman twice, Saskia’s popularity stems from her ability to multi-task at the highest levels. Compare her covers for Italian Vogue and French Vogue and you could almost swear you’re looking at two models, rather than one. Saskia’s transformation is so complete it becomes modelling from the inside out. Her decision to quit modelling in 1997 to study art has resulted in a stronger and more developed model in 2011.

An avid photographer with her own blog (http://sdebrauw.blogspot.com/) Saskia’s unique outlook also gives her an advantage when it comes to photo-shoots. Knowing that the further you delve into character, the better the result is invaluable to making the most of your time in front of the lens. Also being aware of which angle creates which effect allows Saskia to utilise her face to maximum effect. Her work on film is testament to how crucial it is to know your face and what it can do.

De Brauw’s CV is part timing and part skill – her comeback at the time when the industry was ready for something new is a phenomenal story, but her amazing run of success is more than luck. Her collective skills and experience, and the way she uses them, take her beyond the ordinary and move her into a league of faces that are truly extraordinary.

HELEN TOPE

MODEL PROFILES: SASKIA DE BRAUW

Born on April 17^th 1981, Dutch model Saskia de Brauw is fashion’s very own comeback kid, re-emerging at the age of 30 as one of its most sought-after faces.

Saskia started modelling in 1996, when she was discovered at the age of 15. Quitting a year later to concentrate on studying art, Saskia returned to the fashion industry in 2010, signing with DNA Models.

Saskia made an immediate splash in the industry when Eres Swimwear decided to replace Lara Stone as their face of the brand, instating de Brauw as their new campaign model.

In July 2010, Saskia was profiled by www.models.com and made her international catwalk debut in September. Walking for Reed Krakoff, Matthew Williamson, Balenciaga, Givenchy and Daks, Saskia was an immediate stand-out. Her debut got the attention of designers and editors alike, and in October, Givenchy’s creative director Riccardo Tisci introduced de Brauw to the then-editor of French Vogue, Carine Roitfeld.

After another successful runway season in February 2011, Saskia’s introduction to French Vogue paid off with a starring role in their summer preview editorial. ‘Et Vogue L’Ete’ was a multi-page special, outlining all the season’s key ideas. The bi-annual season preview is a centrepiece feature for French Vogue, presenting the most important looks, in a manner that’s typical of the magazine’s ethos: bold, creative and fun.

Saskia’s editorial debut was a blaze of glory, softening her androgynous looks for Oscar de la Renta, and revving them up for Miu Miu. She also appeared alongside Daphne Groeneveld, in the pelmet neon skirts from Jil Sander. De Brauw’s headlining in French Vogue was an announcement to the fashion world that this was a model not about to sit in the background.

Saskia’s status as model-of-the-moment was cemented in March when she was invited to appear on the cover of French Vogue; it was the final cover under Carine Roitfeld’s leadership. Labelled ‘Fantasy’, the blush-coloured cover saw Saskia in a frilled collar and jewels. The dichotomy of Saskia’s bold features against such a romantic background made it a fitting adieu for Roitfeld who had championed model talent throughout her stint as editor.

Roitfeld specialised in finding faces that didn’t necessarily ‘fit’, transforming Lara Stone’s career and making Isabeli Fontana a modelling legend. Her support also boosted the careers of Natasha Poly, Daria Werbowy, Arizona Muse and Joan Smalls. Going against the grain is a French Vogue speciality, and what Roitfeld did for modelling during her time at the magazine cannot be underestimated. She recognised that it was not always trends that move fashion forwards, but faces. Saskia, who was her last discovery whilst at Vogue, promises to be another model that helps to define where fashion goes next, and that’s no small legacy.

In the same month, Saskia did cover duty for Italian Vogue, photographed by Steven Meisel. The two covers could not be more different: French Vogue, evoking high glamour and Italian Vogue going for the cerebral vote. Winning hearts and minds is the core business of high-fashion – without that connection, it’s just clothes. Roitfeld understood this very plainly, hence her interest in sourcing the next great face.

Saskia also appeared in editorials for W and Italian Vogue during the month of March. The Italian Vogue shoot, also steered by Meisel, was a symphony of clashing patterns, swirls and stripes. Combined with eccentric accessorising and artisan make-up, ‘Wasted Luxury’ was textbook Italian Vogue.

Appearing for W, de Brauw took on a more expected persona, and performed in a street fashion / punk editorial. Working alongside new faces Eliza Cummings, Jana Knaverova and Bambi Northwood Blyth, Saskia’s features lent themselves perfectly to the hard-core attitude needed to sell punk on a fashion stage.

In June ’11, Saskia made her couture debut in Paris, walking for Chanel and Givenchy. It demonstrated Saskia’s pull in the fashion world: she is 1.5 inches shorter than the average couture model, but her appearance for both couture houses was assured and confident.

Autumn 2011 will see Saskia’s profile reach another level, with two major campaigns. Italian duo DSquared have booked her to appear in their street-cool designs, but the big news is that de Brauw has landed one of the most prolific campaigns in the business: Versace.

Photographed by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott, Saskia plays against type to become the ultra-feminine vixen that Versace demands. Recalling the hey-day of the label, the Versace insignia is clearly seen on buttons and buckles, but the rest of the campaign marks a considerable shift in semantics for the luxury brand.

For a label that usually hires blonde, uber-groomed glamazons, Saskia marks the beginning of a cleaner, sharper vision for the label’s future. Evoking all its best attributes, and its own brand mythology, Versace is using a different face (in every sense of the word) for a subtle re-brand.

Think of the Italian label and you tend to come up with the same adjectives: glamorous, seductive and super-sexy. All those things are still here in this campaign, but with it, there’s an extra layer of insouciance that makes the designs appear effortless. Everyone knows that the main ingredients of any fashion collection are blood, sweat and tears, but no-one wants them to show up in the final designs. It should look like what it is: inspired.

Saskia endows the Versace campaign with an element of androgyny that directly plays against its previous form. It’s a new direction for Versace and one that promises to bring new admirers. If you found Versace a little intimidating in the past, a little too glossy perhaps, this ad goes a long way to redressing the balance.

Still in terms of credits a relatively new face, Saskia has managed to make herself indispensable. Androgyny is experiencing its first real moment in the fashion spotlight since the mid 1990’s. For a period of nearly twenty years, glamour has been the definitive look – whether that was full-on glitz, or mixed with street style and grunge.

Where fashion goes, models suit themselves to fit. Faces that have been in favour have all suited fashion’s glamorous agenda. What has been missing is a selection of models that are proudly and defiantly off-message. With the arrival of Freja Beha, one haircut really did make all the difference. Her choppy cut took her from one of the pack to one of a kind. It marked the advent of a new kind of model: bold, not classically beautiful, but a true breath of fresh air.

Saskia’s comeback in 2010 could not have been better timed: despite her age placing her at the point where most models are considering their next move, de Brauw is working at the very heart of the fashion industry.

What is genuinely exciting about models like Saskia and Freja is that they are pushing back at the boundaries of what type of project a model can and can’t do. Saskia’s signing with Versace is a perfect example of this: from leather pieces to a Black Swan-inspired feather dress, she moves from flirty and feminine to cool sophistication.

The loosening of the old fashion rules: androgynous face = androgynous fashion, pairing chocolate-box beauties with ultra-feminine looks has resulted in a free-for-all that’s hitting the spot in terms of self-expression and individuality. Carine Roitfeld’s passion for launching faces that don’t fit the current look was an instinct ahead of its time: no-one wants to think of themselves as a fashion formula, and fashion has responded by creating trends that give you room to manoeuvre.

This celebration of individuality and self-sufficiency will be the way forward for the fashion industry and Saskia is part of this revolution, moving from soft and dreamy to angular androgyny in a heartbeat. Never the same woman twice, Saskia’s popularity stems from her ability to multi-task at the highest levels. Compare her covers for Italian Vogue and French Vogue and you could almost swear you’re looking at two models, rather than one. Saskia’s transformation is so complete it becomes modelling from the inside out. Her decision to quit modelling in 1997 to study art has resulted in a stronger and more developed model in 2011.

An avid photographer with her own blog (http://sdebrauw.blogspot.com/) Saskia’s unique outlook also gives her an advantage when it comes to photo-shoots. Knowing that the further you delve into character, the better the result is invaluable to making the most of your time in front of the lens. Also being aware of which angle creates which effect allows Saskia to utilise her face to maximum effect. Her work on film is testament to how crucial it is to know your face and what it can do.

De Brauw’s CV is part timing and part skill – her comeback at the time when the industry was ready for something new is a phenomenal story, but her amazing run of success is more than luck. Her collective skills and experience, and the way she uses them, take her beyond the ordinary and move her into a league of faces that are truly extraordinary.

HELEN TOPE

MODEL PROFILES: HAILEY CLAUSON

Born on March 7^th 1995, Hailey Clauson signed with Ford Models in 2009. The same year, fourteen-year-old Hailey made the pages of Japanese Vogue as their ‘model of the month’ for the October issue. Hailey then cut her teeth on catalogue work, appearing for cult American store, Forever 21.

In September 2010, Clauson made her debut at Fashion Week, walking for Calvin Klein, Gucci, Versace, Dior, Louis Vuitton, Hermes, Miu Miu, Elie Saab and Lanvin. Hailey’s popularity with designers was immediate: her affiliation with the ‘money labels’ already marked her out as a possible campaign signing.

Hailey’s progress continued in October with an editorial for Italian Vogue. Now a rite of passage for every top model in training, appearing in the magazine is the surest sign that your career is only going to get bigger.

‘Short: The New Ease’, photographed by Craig McDean, sees Hailey featuring with Hanne Gaby Odiele, Hannah Holman and Patricia van der Vliet. Appearing in a set of fashion portraits, the models’ slouchy, contemporary poses are off-set by the retro styling. Deceptively simple, the editorial shows everything and everyone working together in absolute harmony. The editorial is somewhat unusual for Italian Vogue; quieter in tone, but it provided a storming debut for Hailey.

Hailey finished off 2010 with an editorial for Dazed and Confused. Clauson appears in a set of black and white portraits, but unlike the gentleness of the Italian Vogue shoot, this editorial is deliberately dark and deliberately edgy. Clauson carries it off with aplomb. Her hiring for this piece was undoubtedly influenced by her earlier work for Italian Vogue. The tone of the shoots differs a great deal, but the stillness and concentration required for both is something Hailey has clearly mastered. One of the more difficult areas of editorial modelling is generating a ‘still’ image that has life behind the eyes; intent, a story. It’s all too easy to turn ‘contemplative’ into ‘flat-lining’.

Clauson’s career, in timescale still in its infancy, is fast developing and making her a contender, especially when it comes to competing against more established faces. To prove the point, 2011 started with the news that Hailey would be joining Karmen Pedaru and Joan Smalls to become the face of Gucci.

In the Gucci campaign, Hailey gets to channel and play up her sexpot features, in a campaign that celebrates sun-soaked sensuality. There are few occasions in high-fashion where you get to play the siren, but working for Gucci is definitely one of them.

Hailey also appeared in campaigns for Jill Stuart and Italian design duo, Dsquared. In February, she had her best show season to date appearing in a total of 31 shows. Walking for Gucci, Jason Wu, Marc Jacobs, Prada, Reed Krakoff, Versus, and YSL among others, Hailey got to feature in some of the best shows of the season.

Her runway credits got a major boost when she also flew to Paris to appear in couture shows for Elie Saab, Azzedine Alaia and Giambattista Valli. Both Alaia and Valli are two new houses recently credited with couture status, vying for a slice of the lucrative luxury market.

The new customer bases in China, Russia and Japan are giving haute couture a new lease of life. Haute couture’s future in 2008 was far from certain, but in 2011, couture is now reclaiming its position as taste-maker, informing the shapes, colours and fabrics that will go into making the clothes we buy and wear. Even with Dior currently in flux, the couture industry is going from strength to strength.

In March, Clauson went back to editorial work, appearing in shoots for W and Vogue China. Her shoot for Chinese Vogue, ‘A Child in Time’, is a bold aesthetic, once again utilising Hailey’s ability to take a great ‘still’ shot. Being still – and confident – in front of the camera is a game of nerve. Hailey’s gaze is unflinching, but she is visibly at ease.

Hailey also got to flex her muscles for W, appearing in a narrative editorial for Frida Gustavsson and Caroline Brasch Nielsen. ‘Against Nature’, photographed by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott, is a dark, atmospheric shoot. Featuring neons against a flat landscape, the results are compelling, and even a little disturbing.

Hailey went on to appear for Numero in May, shooting ‘Memory Motel’ with Greg Kadel. It sees Clauson take on a solo editorial. Fully in control, Hailey delivers a performance that is assured and cool-headed. ‘Memory Motel’ references Seventies glam-rock but the narrative of the shoot owes more to the Coen Brothers than David Bowie. A difficult balance of traditional Americana with Seventies style, Clauson delivers a message that is anything but mixed.

June saw Hailey take on another solo editorial, again for Numero. ‘Tribal’, photographed by Sebastian Kim, is a sepia-toned epic. Woman meets Nature in couture-like detail. Modelling through ultra-high fashion styling with an ethnic twist, the demands of this shoot would be asking a lot of a more experienced model, but Hailey played it note-perfect, making the resulting editorial a triumph.

Clauson is choosing to end the year as she began – with highly prolific campaigns. For Autumn / Winter, she will be appearing in the Topshop campaign with British model Nyasha Matanhodze.

The store is leading the way in creating campaigns that rival labels with a much higher price-tag. Self-billed as one of the UK’s favourite fashion destinations for the under-25’s, Topshop understands that to sell fashion successfully, it must be sold as an aspirational object, no matter what the cost.

You can attribute it to the couture effect: the confidence borne from continuing success in Paris is trickling down and creating a sophistication that is spreading across every level of the fashion industry. Topshop has learnt this lesson particularly well, because nothing in this campaign feels (or looks) cheap.

Hailey forms part of a new wave of American models that are showing the industry that they can compete on the fringes of high-fashion. Highly regarded for their editorial and runway work, the American girls (including Charlotte Free, Ruby Aldridge, Ashley Smith and Arizona Muse) are going head-to head with the Russian / Eastern European stable of talent that has dominated fashion in its dark, minor key.

Perhaps more so than any other recent model from the U.S, Hailey bridges edgy contemporary style with retro glamour. She is a model who could very easily go for the big beauty campaigns and runway slots for Victoria’s Secret and get them. Her runway CV shows she can ably represent the biggest labels in the world without missing a beat. But the exciting thing about Hailey is her tendency to go for the road less travelled.

She has appeared in Italian Vogue, but has also worked for Dazed & Confused, Numero and W. Vogue has the world on a string, but these magazines offer alternative viewpoints that make the fashion feast that much richer. When it comes to getting a handle on fashion, seeing it from every possible angle is fundamental in getting the whole picture.

Hailey’s work with Numero in particular, deftly illustrates the type of model she is likely to become. Off-kilter shoots, loaded with references to film, photography, even anthropology, give Hailey an opportunity to build a library of skills.

Interpretation takes insight, and Hailey’s clear-headed approach to potentially difficult bookings, shows a model totally on-game, but also with a highly evolved sense of what it takes to create great fashion moments. Working against the grain often produces the best work. It takes some models years to get that, but Hailey already has the advantage.

What this generation are bringing to the industry is a type of fearlessness, exhibited by models such as Freja Beha, Jamie Bochert and Saskia de Brauw. Every model owes a debt to the previous generation, but what is happening now is that the back catalogue of talent is so impressive, it gives newbies the confidence to make choices that are smart and unexpected, building a new layer of history, with faces that are free to reject the mould, and that sense of freedom can’t be anything but good.

The fashion world excels at learning from its own past, the key editorials, those memorable runway shows, to filter through and learn what failed, what worked and most importantly, why. Fashion isn’t about rehashing old ideas, but finding different ways to express the concepts that fashion is built around: self-expression, confidence, elegance and beauty. Even when they’re being inverted (usually by Prada), these are the ideas that keep the fashion world turning.

Economic crisis has shown the fashion world that no matter what, a good idea will always sell. The means of survival are very clear: bigger, better and brighter ways of selling those ideas. With models like Hailey leading the way, the road less travelled has never looked so good.

HELEN TOPE