Although it has been out for a while, I didn't go to pick up the Harper's Bazaar Runway Report until yesterday. Being a person who loves organization, I instantly fell in love with the subsections for Fall/Winter 2010. The shows were separated by city, and then there was a brief summary of the overall aesthetic of the collection. Some of the best pieces were shown in small thumbnails, with larger pictures of the opening and closing pieces. There's sections on the hair and makeup, some quick model interviews, important milestones that took place, and as always, beautiful ads to set the tone.

It's been a few months since F/W 2010 was shown, and it was nice to have a reminder of everything that happened. Having just been introduced to Spring/Summer 2011 styles, I sometimes find it difficult to differentiate between the two. Plus, it's almost impossible to see every show. Regardless of whether you are watching on live stream, actually in attendance at the shows, or just viewing pictures after the show took place, this magazine is a great way to keep track of everything without being too overwhelmed. I recommend that you check it out.

When a model is added to "Terry's Diary" --a Polaroid shot of every model that he's ever worked with-- their fans either cringe or clap. Of course, working with this photographer is great for a model's career, but at what cost? Richardson is known for controversial and erotic photo shoots, although the models do look great. There is no doubt that if you work with Terry, you will be either objectifying a controversial topic in society, another culture, or just posing sexually. People either love or hate his work, with the bright colours, and nudity. Some of his most recent work includes:

Left: Natasha Poly in 'The Brightest', Vogue Russia October 2010 Right: Freja Beha Erichsen in 'La Geisha', Vogue Paris November 2010

Lea Michele in 'Glee Gone Wild', GQ November 2010

So despite his graphic themes, Terry Richardson is a very sought after photographer. His work appears in several magazines monthly, and now even celebrities are lining up to work with him. But really, is he a talented photographer and artist? Or do people want to work with him because of the controversy around his work? The best example of this is Richardsons's recent work for GQ magazine. It depicts Glee's three biggest stars, Lea Michele, Cory Montieth and Diann Agron in a high school setting in provocative poses, like Britney Spear's 'Hit me Baby'. All of the debate that has come from this editorial goes to show how much talk a star can get from a few pictures. But will terry tone it down after this, or heat things up?

According to model Dominique Piek's twitter, the casting for the annual Victoria's Secret Fashion Show was held today. As the casting directors have mentioned in a video about the casting for last year's show, the models that come to the casting are selected by the casting directors beforehand, showing just how difficult it is to be casted for the show. And for many fashion fans, the question is, which high fashion models will we see casted this year?

The pattern between household names in fashion and the American lingerie company is something that no one can deny. Tyra Banks, Karolina Kurkova, Adrianna Lima, Heidi Klum, Gisele Bundchen and many more have all been angels. They have all had very successful careers, and are some of the highest payed models. There is no doubt that becoming an angel definitely helped their career. Even the newer faces for the brand have received a career boost. Rosie Huntington-Whiteley is replacing Megan Fox as the leading lady in Transformers 3, something that would not have been possible without meeting director Micheal Bay when he directed a commerical for the company last year. Another new face for the brand, Chanel Iman, has mentioned on numerous occasions that Victoria's Secret angels were what had inspired her to model in the first place. Being featured in their catalogues or walking in the show has never hurt High Fashion models like Jessica Stam or Caroline Trentini's careers either.


But what about those High Fashion models that have not benefited from the show? For example, one of the other new faces with a contract is Lindsay Ellingson. Before she had been a part of the brand last year, her career was just beginning to kick off. With her long limbs and beautiful large blue eyes, Lindsay could be seen on an increasingly large amount of runways. Being in the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show last year only seemed to help her, until she dropped off of the VS scene. She frequents the catalogues, but never attends the promotional events, and her name has not been heard regarding the company in a while. Furthermore, she only walked a few shows this season, all of them in New York. If she is not at the show this year, could the company have dropped her completely?





















Lindsay Ellingson at last year's VSFS. Will her career bounce back from this obvious dismissal?

 Besides being Victoria's Secret's reigning PINK girl and having a bright and infectious personality, Namibia's Behati Prinsloo is also considered the 15th sexiest model in the world (models.com). She's got a fresh face, and the ability to be successful in both High Fashion and commercial modelling, and is only 21. But what makes her so different from all the other young, fresh-faced models today? Her body. While she's not any Karolina Kurkova, she has one of those healthy bodies that I've seen on HF models. As a member of the website, The Fashion Spot put it, "Her body is refreshing to look at. I agree completely. Like other Victoria's Secret models, she has trained hard for her body, and it shows. She doesn't look like she's weak or fragile, or even half dead. Behati's body looks healthy, and in turn it gives her the energy she's known for. I think that Behati is a model who has the potential to do a lot for the body image of models. If one of the things that makes her attractive as a model is her body, hopefully this will be a trend that we see a lot more of in the near future?


Like her best friend, Coco Rocha also has an amazing idea of body image. As she said in a recent interview, "My agent told I needed to look like I was anorexic, but not actually be anorexic. I asked them how that was even possible." Coco is vocal about her dress size, stating that she is a size 4, and not the size 2 that is the standard sample size for designers. Coco is also known for staying true to her beliefs, with a firm 'no' on nudity, unnecessary skin showing and posing with cigarettes. With these out of her portfolio, it's somewhat surprising that she is as successful as she is. But the fact that despite all this, she is still one of the most respected models in fashion at the moment, makes me wonder if this is the attitude of the model of the new decade.

 

This season was a mixture of good and bad, as usual. There were many who tried to do minimalism and shapeless, but it really didn't work out, with the exception of Calvin Klein. These are, in my opinion, the top ten shows of the season, in no particular order:


CHANEL








Elie Saab never ceases to please me. I can't remember a show that I didn't fall in love with, and this season was no different. He seems to be a designer who truly lives in his own bubble of inspiration, and the long, light coloured dresses were enough to make me drool. They flow effortlessly, and he mixes shape and shapeless perfectly. There seemed to be a big difference between the day and evening wear's target audience however. While the day wear consisted of beautifully tailored jackets and skirts ensembles, targeted towards the mature business woman, the evening gowns looked like a very elegant teen's graduation dress. That being said, I wouldn't mind wearing one of those dresses to my own graduation. Regardless, I cannot see a forty year old woman, or even a thirty year old wearing a baby pink dress like those.


JEAN PAUL GAULTIER



Chanel was a dream, with a luscious and large runway garden. The orchestra's music was perfect, and of course, the clothing phenomenal. Karl Lagerfeld's tailor-ship and intricacies are breathtaking, and I liked this collection much more than Fall/Winter. The monotone colours were mixed with beautiful pastels, and the feather dresses were something only Chanel could pull off. The few men's looks were also well done, and the toddler wearing Chanel makes me hope that the house with start to design for babies. The show largely consisted of tweed jackets and pantsuits, but my favourite tweed ensemble were the many with the hot pants. Although I could never fit into a pair of those and feel comfortable walking out in Canadian weather, I would snatch them up in a second if I could. The shoes followed the odd platform trend that littered runways, one that I hope doesn't catch on. I'd rather leave that back in the nineties.

ELIE SAAB




JPG's collections are always fun, and some fresh air after the seemingly similar collections in Paris. Whether you like the clothing or not, the show is always entertaining and something to look forward. Are any of these outfits RTW? Probably not unless you're Rihanna. There were two clear inspirations, Joan Jett and David Bowie circa Ziggy Stardust. Do I love both of these people? Yes, yes I do. The colours and patterns in the clothing were perfection, and surprisingly I liked the mullets. One thing that I would buy for sure were the shoes. I hope this collection is one of many to bring back the 'hard rocker' look into fashion.

TOMMY HILFIGER




Hilfiger is generally boring. Bright colours, polos and tennis skirts, it always seemed to me to be the lower end Lacoste. For his 25th anniversary show however, Tommy really surprised me. The solid colours were matched with --surprise-- other bright colours, but they were done in a way that made them dynamic rather than pre-school. The shoes were outstanding, one of the only designers to get the platform look right in my opinion. Karlie's trench coat was beautiful, and I particularly liked the bow bandeaus, matched with the high waist skirts. It wasn't innovative, but it was bright and beautiful. I would wear any of those outfits in an instant.

RODARTE




What a surprise! Rodarte has never been a house that I considered among the top brands, and it certainly was never a show that I made time to watch. This collection was beautiful. There is no better way to describe it. The styling of the models was perfect, and the runway good as well. I loved their patterns, especially on the barrettes and the leather jackets. The shoes were well done, as were the dresses but what really stuck out to me were the coats. Blazers, jackets, trenches, they were all magnificent, and something I would buy asap. The finale dresses were not my favourite pieces, but they were certainly better than a lot of others. I'm looking forward to see what is to come from the Rodarte sisters. Was this just a lucky chance, or the sign of greatness to come?

JOHN GALLIANO




Galliano has always been one of my favourite designers, but this collection took my breath away. The show in itself was a work of art, with the music, runway and the model's attitude. It was mysterious and romantic and glamorous. The colours were a mixture of dull and bright, with a lot of chiffon. The 'sheer' look was a very obvious trend this season, but Galliano was one of few to make it look classy. No other collection could match this one in artistry and beauty. The entire collection was a success in my opinion, and a great change from the Dior show.
ANNA SUI





Anna Sui was one of few designers to create a warm summer. This season's runways were full of dark or bright colors, and Anna really went back to the Hippy roots, a very popular trend among teens today, with the revival of The Beatles. The wheat background made you feel warm, and it was definitely inviting. The clothes kept true to both modern times and the 60s, and the blouses were to die for. And through all of this, it still managed to be something new and different. The shorts were probably my favourite part, and I'd like to buy all of them.

MCQUEEN




I have to admit, I was nervous to see what would come from this collection without McQueen himself. I was pleasantly surprised, and my worry quickly vanished. The dresses were the most innovative and beautiful that I saw all season. They weren't necessarily RTW, but I won't complain. There was a mixture of flowing fabrics and feathers, with rigid structure. There was an earthy undertone to this collection, subtle enough that it didn't overpower any of the pieces. Aside from the magnificent dresses, my other favourite pieces were the ones with the black leather cutouts, like the one seen on Karlie Kloss.


DOLCE AND GABBANA




I didn't believe that a show that was primarily white could be captivating until I saw Elie Saab's S/S 10 collection. Dolce and Gabbana just solidified it for me. While the editing of the show made it difficult to see each outfit, the lace and jewels made up for all. The outfits were subtle, but beautiful, and I loved the plethora of hot pants they offered up. Although some did tend to look like adult diapers, the others made up for it. I adored the lace detailing, and the wedges weren't bad either.


GUCCI




I'd generally pick Versace over Gucci, but not this season. The mixtures of bold colours were done better than most, choosing rich plums and blues rather than primary colours or pastels. A huge trend this season is women's jumpsuits, which, being a fan of the romper, am excited for. The outfits weren't over-accessorized, something that I tend to see a lot in S/S collections. Thankfully, Gucci stayed away from the platform trend, which made me love this collection even more. The feather dresses at the end were well done, and I love the detailing on the military jackets. This collection was crisp and clean, and meant business.



Which collections was I most disappointed in? Prada, for sure. Having come home early, then waited an hour after the show was supposed to start, the tacky dyed furs and Spice Girl platforms were not what I was hoping for. The banana patterns and Willy Wonka glasses? No thank you. The other collection that disappointed me was Rick Owens. Owens always has a habit of making excellently innovative clothing, and then repeating that one idea in five different colours in his show. It's boring, and makes me think that he can't come up with enough ideas for a show.