Melody Woodin (Jul,07)

Full name? Melody Eileen Woodin
How old are you? Turned 21 this past April.
Where are you from? Hockessin, Delaware. Very exotic!
Where do you live now? I've been in the city for 3 years, currently in Alphabet City!
What is your favorite show that you've done? Any Dior show. Each one tops the last.
What is your favorite shoot that you've done? I did a shoot for Interview with Albert Watson. They dressed me up like Mark Bolan from Trex. I love classic rock so I was thrilled they booked me for it.
What is your personal style like? Tomboy! I do the skinny jeans look for castings but at home I stick to casual comfort.
Did you complete school? I graduated highschool (Alexis I. DuPont) before moving out to NY. I plan on going to college after modeling...aybe Equine Sciences.
If you weren't modeling, what would you like to be doing? My family runs a horse farm, so every chance I get, I'm out at the barn either giving lessons, mucking stalls, or breaking and training the foals. My heart is out there.
What is some of your favorite music to listen to? Wow tough question... ethro Tull, Crosby Stills & Nash (Young as well), The Doors, The Eagles, The Guess Who, Heart, Jefferson Airplane, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin...
What about favorite movies? Jurassic Park, Little Miss Sunshine, Wild Hogs (reminds me of my dad!), Over the Hedge (love animated movies), Fried Green Tomatos.
Favorite books? A Clockwork Orange/Water for Elephants.
What's your drink of choice? Dr. Pepper. If we are talking alcoholic, a dirty, dirty martini.
How did you get into the industry? Were you "discovered" or was it a choice? Modeling, for me, was an alternative to heading into a university right away. I wanted to take time to really think about what I wanted to pursue as a career. I grew up in a very small town, so fashion wasn't really a part of my life. I approached Barbizon in Philly, came up to NY for a modeling and talent competition called IMTA, and was scouted by Roman Young, who was at Supreme at the time.
What are some of the perks of being a model? Perks? Well to be 100% honest, I love being around other girls who are built like me. I know that sounds funny, but when you are 6' and only 115lbs, its easy to feel uncomfortable in your physical shell. My mom would say it is getting the occasional designer piece as a trade...I tend to give them all to her.
Credit: For sure couture
Photo credit: Style

Jodie Barnes (date unknown)

Kuki de Salvertes : Jodie, how did you get into fashion? Tell me how and when everything started.

Jodie Barnes : I have been really into clothes since I was about 3. I guess my interest stems from my mother, who was very glamorous. I remember sitting on the end of her bed watching her get ready to go to parties. She wore a fair bit of Halston and Giorgio Sant Angelo and had the most incredible collection of handbags I have ever seen.
By the time I was 12/13 I was buying The Face, iD, Vogue Homme amongst others and I was really inspired by Anna Cockburn's work (as well as Joe Mckenna and Melanie Ward) and I decided to become a stylist. I didn t really want to go to fashion college so I decided to study English and French literature. I think that was the right choice.
After studying, I did Pr for about a year to get an overview of the industry and then I assisted various stylists for about 3 years.

KdS : About your first shoot. When was it? For which magazine? What are the memories you still have from it?

JB : I was lucky as I didn't test. The first story I shot was with Philip Gay and was called ‘The Laughing Cavalier”. We managed to place it in a magazine called Teknikart. I remember being really happy to have my first ever solo styling job published. It was about 7 years ago.
It really was a lot of fun that day. The story was based around the idea of some kid dressing up in military costume – a bit like young kids do, and we asked the model to jump in a puddle. He decided he would dive head first and he was completely covered in mud – it made a great picture. That was the last shot and he left to go and meet his girlfriend, without having a shower! It was so funny.
I decided that having fun on a shoot was the most productive way of working… and still believe that today.

KdS : What makes the characteristic of your style?

JB : My work is quite simple. If something does not need to be part of the outfit or image, then it is generally not there. I guess my work is classic but a bit weird. I like a little bit of ‘care in the community'. But, at the same time, what I like changes, in the same way that fashion does. I find that interesting.

KdS : What does the Jodie Barnes schedule look like? Is it as complex as we could imagine? How much of your time do you give to magazine editorials?

JB : I devote a huge part of my time to editorials. Since I became fashion editor at arena Homme Plus, my workload has increased dramatically as I shoot both women s and men s wear. It can be really hard balancing the two. I try and keep those people that have been great supporters of mine happy - ie Ashley Heath and his projects, the guys at iD magazine and Jo Ann Furniss, my editor.

KdS : How many shoots do you style each season?

JB : About 6.

KdS : What is your best shoot ever, the one you will never forget? Why?

JB : My last shoot is usually my favourite. I love working with Paul Wetherell. It is always a pleasure, and he has become a friend through working together.

KdS : Actually, what in a designer, a collection, a show makes you enthusiastic, motivates you and inspires you?

JB : I am inspired by people who work hard, and suggest new ideas through their work. There are so many designers, photographers and stylists that I feel have contributed great things to the industry, and each one of those has their own way of suggesting new things, so it is difficult to pinpoint exactly what inspires me, but I would say ‘originality' is the most important thing.

KdS : Jodie, is there a life after styling? If yes, what are your future projects?

JB : I am still a baby in the scheme of things so I would hope to have a much longer career in styling than I have had already. This year is as much of an unknown to me as any life I could consider ‘after' styling, but I would say living next to the beach would come high on the list…. Oh and I love kids.

(credit:totemfashion)

Maison Martin Margiela (Oct,2001)

INTERVIEW: Why does Paris equal fashion?

MAISON MARTIN MARGIELA: At this stage, its the inertia that this town has amassed over the years. An inertia that draws creativity and those attracted to it into its core. Yet Paris is not essentially different from any other great city "of personality" ... it stands as itself in much the same way as New York, London, etc. Almost a "brand," its "branding" is of a town that embraces a more individualistic creative expression. Those wishing to begin in fashion tend to start and show here because of the concentration of fashion professionals passing through town throughout the year (that inertia again!).

I: Does Paris equal fashion?

MMM: Visitors to Paris will have a much different view on this than those working and living here! Within our profession this is especially true. During the collections and for their duration, for those who are the fashion whirlwind that hits town, Paris can equal Fashion, albeit a specific viewpoint.

I: What difference is there working in Paris as opposed to, say, Belgium or New York?

MMM: When one is ensconced in one's work it can be all too easy to take one's surroundings for granted, no matter where one lives! Paris has many down-to-earth practical advantages for a fashion company established here. As with all other places, there is also a price to pay for this. A lack of direct experience of working in other places leaves us incapable of drawing direct comparisons with Belgium and New York.

I: Why has Paris been so important in the history of fashion--in fact, is it important?

MMM: The wealth of individual talents that it has brought onto itself down through the years. It is as if they have all left something of themselves in Paris, a skill, a vision, a memory ... offered stones, bricks, or even blocks towards the construction of Paris as a "fashion" city.

I: In Paris, is fashion: a) in the air?

MMM: It can be, though it varies--the locations and moments are selective!

I: b) Is it in the water?

MMM: Bottled or tap?

I: c) The tailors?

MMM: Yes, though not exclusively Parisian.

I: d) The craftsmen?

MMM: Ditto for c).

I: e) Is it in the memory?

MMM: Yes, past and recent and not in a moribund way. Paris radiates its own personality in its way, as the other fashion capitals do theirs.

I: f) The consciousness?

MMM: Of some, and often.

I: Do you think that Paris is especially alive right now? And if not, is there a place that you think is very dynamic in this moment? Or is it really all in our minds, anyway?

MMM: We feel that there is a reawakening in Paris on many creative levels: music, art, fashion, etc. The wheel continues to turn and this cycle seems to be bringing Paris through a particularly furtive period again. We are unsure as to whether these elements are reawakening in concert or individually! Is it a "wave" or sheer happenstance?!

I: Do you have a story--any story--that you want to tell us about Paris and fashion?

MMM: We decided to set up shop in Paris 13 years ago and after 25 Martin Margiela collections for women, seven "10" collections (our men's line), as well as seven collections for the women's ready-to-wear line for our colleagues at Hermes, we are still here, growing and learning along the way. And all of this, for better or worse, in sickness and in health! ... a team, glad to be here, to be given the opportunity to continue doing what we love, surrounded by the gifts and talents of all our colleagues in the industry in general, and at Hermes in particular and by Paris this city!

Martin Margiela is the Designer for Hermes women's ready-to-wear and the co-Founder and creative Director of Maison Martin Margiela.

Interview credit: Interview magazine
Image credit: sonnyphotos

Hedi Slimane (Oct,2004)

The shape of time: why the new watch from Christian Dior Homme designer Hedi Slimane is anything but bling-bling as usual

JOSEPH ERRICO: Let's talk about your new line of watches for Christian Dior Homme, which will be available in Dior boutiques this fall. What inspired the designs for the three versions?

HEDI SLIMANE: I've always been interested in watches that look scientific, like the ones used in the army. It was about measuring time very precisely and graphically. They're more minimal than most.

JE: This is a very technical watch, for a real watch enthusiast. And instead of putting precious jewels around the face which has been the trend lately--you put them on the back and inside so the watch will operate smoothly.

HS: Yeah. I'm a bit old school in terms of watches. I have an uncle in Switzerland who is an expert on old collectable ones, so I knew I didn't want to design a fashion watch. I view this watch less as an accessory than as a device for living.

JE: What was your overriding inspiration?

HS: I started with a simple idea, but I subverted everything; every aspect of the watch has been reworked. It's all a bit asymmetrical; I took in a bit here and put it back over there. I approach design in a very horizontal way, but then I like to add some element that will break it, like graphisme in the mid-'20s. That's how red was used there and also with these watches. It means you have to start all over again, which, of course, is what "reset" means.

JE: How do you think the concept of time has evolved in the 21st century?

HS: I think there's a different sense of time: time for others and time for oneself. Personally, I've learned to do less of the things that I don't care about.

Interview credit: interview magazine
Image credit: nownow

Sharon Wauchob (2004)

WITH ARIANA SPEYER
Her clothes' louche look belies their intricacy. She designs her own textiles, working with factories in France, Italy, and Japan. After graduating from Saint Martins, Sharon Wauchob launched her own label in Paris in 1998. Ariana Speyer spoke with the designer at her atelier on Rue de Beauce in the third arrondissement.

ARIANA: After a childhood in rural Ireland, you ended up in London, the big city.
SHARON: I grew up on a livestock farm in the northwest of Ireland. My home was so remote, it felt closer to America than to London. But immigration is one thing the Irish are good at.
ARIANA: In London, you trained at Saint Martins, as did so many rising designers.
SHARON: Saint Martins was the most direct route to a fashion career that I could think of. And it was challenging to wrap my mind around London. I was so young, and had never been anywhere that came close to it. In the '90s, everything in London felt innovative and cutting edge.
ARIANA: Did you always know you wanted to design clothes?
SHARON: For me, it was a form of escapism rather than a love of clothes or sewing. I would spend hours poring over the boring clothes catalogs we had around the house. I was a freak!
ARIANA: How did you end up working here in Paris?
SHARON: Right after I graduated from Saint Martins in 1993, I got a job with the Japanese designer Koji Tatsuno, who moved his studio to Paris later that year. At the time, there wasn't much happening here, but we had a feeling that it was going to become more exciting.
ARIANA: And did that happen?
SHARON: Well, at first the pace seemed slower than in London. The fashion industry here projects an exterior calm. But there's a lot of life bubbling under the surface — this business requires a great deal of dedication and speed.
ARIANA: After working with Koji, you became an in-house designer at Louis Vuitton in 1997.
SHARON: I'm glad I experienced the mechanics of a big company. It gave me a totally different insight into the industry. It was a creative time for me — I was there at a pivotal moment.
ARIANA: Vuitton was going through a major transformation. Marc Jacobs had just arrived. They were launching the monogram as a fashion symbol.
SHARON: I worked on the monogram — I was able to be quite inventive. I enjoy developing new concepts and experimenting with new materials. When I worked with Koji, we developed our own textiles.
ARIANA: The Japanese are known to be extremely resourceful when it comes to fabrics.
SHARON: They've had to be. Before the country opened up to the West, they weren't importing goods from other countries. The Japanese didn't have the raw materials necessary to make European-quality fabrics, so they evolved their own processes. Even now, the way they fabricate yarn is different than in Europe. More recently, they've focused their energy on developing synthetic materials with great success. I still use the hands-on experience I gained creating textiles with Koji in my present business. I always go to my factories to understand how their processes work.
ARIANA: Where do you produce your clothes?
SHARON: The garments are usually produced in France, but I'll go anywhere to find the fabrics or processes that I need. I've purchased lace from a factory in France and taken it to another factory in Italy to have it laminated.
ARIANA: European factories usually specialize in just one kind of fabric. It must be a challenge if you want to experiment.
SHARON: Exactly. Recently, I wanted to create a brocade look on a jacket. I took Irish tweed and French lace to a factory in Japan where they used an old Japanese needle-punching process to pull the tweed through the lace. The two fabrics fused together to create the effect that I wanted.
ARIANA: You really take advantage of the expertise and specialization that exists in the textile industry.
SHARON: When I go to a new factory, I hope I'll meet someone who is willing to help me implement my vision. Chance plays a big role in this whole process. That's why the designer has to be involved in every stage of production. There are a lot of manufacturing techniques that designers don't tap into — simply because they aren't working closely with their producers.
ARIANA: Do you ever meet resistance from your manufacturers?
SHARON: I think they're usually quite relieved by the level of my involvement, actually. My partner, Josh, and I speak with our factories every day. We simply can't afford to be detached from the production process if we want our business to work.
ARIANA: Independent designers have to juggle so many tasks on very tight deadlines.
SHARON: My mind is always spinning. Fashion is schizophrenic — it's artistic and practical at the same time. I think that's as real as you can get.
ARIANA: Do you sketch as part of your design process?
SHARON: I sketch as a way to archive my ideas, but I don't generally believe in working in two dimensions. We often do things simultaneously that are normally done in sequence, like finishing and detailing. Last season, when we made a relaxed silk shirt, we began with a detail, the large leather cuffs that wrap around the arms. That detail determined the shape of the whole garment.
ARIANA: Do you work season to season or do you have an overarching vision for the label?
SHARON: We're beginning to focus on the long-term. I used to resist the retro look, but I realized people have always been drawn to familiarity in fashion, so I'm working on ways to use it. Last season we produced hand-painted suede jackets, which are very 1970s. The design evoked a sense of irony, but it was also sophisticated and feminine.
ARIANA: I think I've seen that piece. Is it the suede jacket with chiffon panels sewn into the back?
SHARON: Yes. We mixed suede and leather with silk chiffon. I like playing around with different fabric weights within the same garment.
ARIANA: Some of your pieces can also be worn several different ways.
SHARON: I design for women who like to mix things up a bit. For instance, if I go away for a week, I don't bring different clothes for day, evening, and business. My clothes can be reinterpreted and adapted to different situations. We've made hoods and collars that you can wear like little jackets, or wear over other jackets as accessories.
ARIANA: Does being Irish influence your work?
SHARON: It has certainly affected my color sensibility. Where I come from, the light is flat, so your eye becomes accustomed to very subtle tones. At the beginning of my career, working with contrast was difficult, but I've tackled what I was scared of in terms of colors. Now I'm quite comfortable using both subtle and intense shades.
ARIANA: Do you go back to Ireland a lot?
SHARON: Yes. I still have ties there. My family has been there for two hundred years — in the same house, actually.
ARIANA: Why do you think there are so few Irish designers?
SHARON: It's surprising when you consider that there is so much music, so much film, so much theater. But fashion differs in one respect — it's an industrial process, and Ireland just doesn't have the manufacturing infrastructure.
ARIANA: I hear Dublin's got a great artistic and social scene.
SHARON: There's such a strong youth culture there. Josh says that whenever he's in Dublin, it always feels like school just got out. They're not scared of creativity. They embrace it.

(Credit: index magazine)

(Photo credit:www.rte.ie/tv)

Franca Sozzani (Apr,2007)

http://www.iqons.com/iqons.php?fct=page&i=44

^The link to an iqons interview with Franca Sozzani of Vogue Italia, she has great things to say about Rei, creating new talent and street fashion.
Enjoy!

Bella Freud (Jan,2004)

FASHION & STYLE: MY GREATEST MISTAKE BELLA FREUD

I usually wear clothes that I have designed myself, so I don't end up dressed like a fashion mistake. But when I was 12, my first clothing conflict arose with my mother - I wanted platform shoes. I wasn't allowed them, so I bought some hideous black lace-up ones in a jumble sale. I used to carry them around in a plastic bag, and hide them under my flares.

As far as work is concerned, some of my worst moments happened at one of my fashion shows in the tent outside the Natural History Museum, in the summer of 1995, when the Seventies legend Ossie Clark helped me. I knew Ossie was a brilliant machinist who could do stuff at top speed if he had the inclination, but this depended entirely on his mood. For this show, he spent hours worrying about details that didn't matter, even at a very late stage. The show was in the evening and we were still cutting patterns in the morning.

It was completely mad, like a horror film in slow motion. I knew that if I lost the plot, there would be no show. Everyone was so tired and Ossie had been terrorising the machinists, so everything came to a standstill. There was a bikini to be worn by Luciana Morad (well before her affair with Mick Jagger). But the bikini wasn't there. So we sent a girl to get it from the studio, but she returned with just the bikini top. Luciana was planning to go down the runway with a bag attached to her waist instead of the bikini bottoms. I freaked out and we sent the poor girl back to the studio. She rushed back with these tiny bikini bottoms and Luciana was shoved on to the catwalk.

It was all such a rush in those days, but I haven't worked like that for a long time. These days, I'm calmer. Since I went to work in Italy and then with Jaeger, I have become more organised.

(Credit:Independent Newspapers UK Limited)
(Photo credit: fashionencyclopedia.com)

Riccardo Tisci (Feb, 07)

(Photo credit:style.com)

Givenchy has seen designers come and go: John Galliano, Alexander McQueen, Julien Macdonald. Right from his first couture collection, two years ago, Riccardo Tisci seemed to connect with young women. They got his modern romance. But did editors? So often his shows are a tangled mess of mood and ideas. Still, young women manage to see his substantial gifts. How does a talented designer reconcile this divide in perception?
Between fittings for his fourth ready-to-wear collection, tonight, Tisci talked about the unique problem of being Riccardo.
GivenchyFrom the Givenchy haute-couture spring, summer 2007 show in Paris.

Q. Are you aware that editors don’t entirely grasp your work?

A. Yes, I do have that impression. When I arrived at Givenchy, I was a guy from nowhere. And Givenchy was kind of confused. Nobody knew what it meant anymore. I think now the press is beginning to understand what I’m doing. My way of showing is very melancholic. People call me a Gothic designer — I don’t think I am. I love romanticism and sensuality, maybe because I come from a family with eight sisters. I’m also a person who is very emotional. I like black, I like white. I never like what’s in the middle. And the runway is where I try to transmit this.

Q. Do you think Givenchy is on the verge of a breakthrough?

A. It’s interesting that you ask me this now, because things are going very well. Touch wood! In the last year we have developed the image and the identity of the house. I’m writing my code for Givenchy without destroying its history. Givenchy was aristocratic, because Mr. Givenchy always dressed aristocratic people — but it was aristocratic with craziness.

Q. Were you frustrated that the press didn’t appreciate your clothes as quickly as women? Queen Rania of Jordan is a big fan.

A. Queen Rania has commissioned some beautiful things. And Cate Blanchett has worn Givenchy two times, in Berlin and in Los Angeles. Yes, I was aware that there was a difference, but I’m not a negative person. I figured it was my way of presenting, and I don’t want to change that. I don’t like girls walking up and down on the runway. I’m also working more with the commercial side. When you have an amazing show and then go to the shop and don’t see the things you showed, that’s so depressing. It’s also why people don’t get me. Last season, we had a big commercial success.

Q. How were sales for the January couture collection?

A. When I arrived we had five customers. Now we have 29.

Q. It must be a great affirmation to see young women, strangers, in your clothes?

A. I was in Cannes last year for the film festival and I saw this Russian girl, very beautiful, 23 years old. It was amazing to see her in my dress — a green dress from the last show, with the shoes and the bag and everything. It’s like the Arabic countries. Some of the princes have, like, 10 daughters, and they all dress in couture. It’s funny, they all come.

Q. Does Carine Roitfeld [the editor of French Vogue] help you with your shows?

A. No. Carine is a good friend. At the beginning, I was super shy. And Carine was very sweet to me. She treated me like a mother. She would come the day before the show and tell me what she thought. No, she doesn’t style my shows. I know there are rumors but there’s always a lot of talk in this business.

Q. It’s strange, though, how young women grasp the work of a virtually unknown designer — without magazine hype. How do you explain that?

A. In a way the fashion world is a little contaminated with information and trends and stars. But these girls, they are pure. They see the garment and they feel an emotion. To me, fashion is more and more about that. It’s not about shocking. It’s about what you want to wear. And these girls want sensuous, not shocking.

Credit: Cathy Horyn at nytimes.com

Mariacarla Boscono (Mar, 2005)

VIVA MARIACARLA.With a Moonlike face, fragile and sharp, intense expressionism, sparkling 1.77m, Mariacarla, the Roman, has a little something of Giulietta Masina, the most emotional neorealism heroine. Physically made for cinema, she would have probably puzzled Fellini. She inspires to Fashion a Strada of today.

A GIRL OF STYLE. Mariacarla Boscono. She masters extravagance with grace, prefers dresses that tell a story, and dresses up as if she was in a fairy tale. Fashion heroine and full of imagination, Mariacarla makes her life very beautiful.

ONE GIRL. Mariacarla is a girl from Rome, who loves cooking for a lot of people. She was first spotted by Karl Lagerfeld, who requested her for Fendi. She started her supermodel career with an exclusive contract of three years with Comme des Garçons. Short hair, pale face, black eyes: the fashion, in a conceptual way. “That was my first job. Of fashion, I just knew Versace, Claudia Schiffer... it has been a shock and a great education. They taught me another way of creativity.” Then, she did many campaigns for designers such as Chanel, Jean Paul Gaultier, Versace, shows, shootings. “At that moment, I had a flight once a day.” She is obstinate, a perfectionist, and lives this intensity as a chance: “I wanted to learn from everyone, receive the maximum and give the maximum. We have one life to live!” Today, she is enrolled in the Lee Strasberg dramatic art lesson in New York.

ONE STYLE. “Hippy style, for its concept of freedom. Not for its look. Bohemian, for the colours of travel. Eclectic, but never looking like trash.” She wears fur, vinyl, wears a robe du soir for breakfast, and has dinner wearing a country Vietnamese skirt. Her allure is always a surprise. She knows the secret of a rich and very personal extravagance. Because her style is a protection, too. Mariacarla hides her shyness behind this beautiful eccentricity, which allows her to push her boundaries ahead. Dressing herself, she invents a bit of herself, too.

INSPIRATIONS. Her mother, “a fabulous & chic woman.” pushed her to cultivate her own identity not to look like everyone. “When I was a kid, I always saw her finding the perfect allure. Then, it was normal to me to find my own style. She taught me not to dress and live as the others do.” She quotes, too, the fashion world which allows her to free her personality, and be confident.

OBSESSION. Vintage dresses. She buys some and takes some in her mother’s dressing. Mariacarla’s dresses are a bit crazy and tell a story. Summer or winter, seasons do not matter. She just adds a sweat or a pair of tights. Lines from the thirties or cuts from the sixties, she makes forgetten the notion of time with a pair of Alexander McQueen platform-shoes or a pair of black vinyl leggings. She is never retro.

FAVOURITE. “My mom’s blue dress, it has little straps. It is from the seventies. I love it. I wear it in evening with a jewel, barefoot on the beach, under a fur by a snowy day in New York.”

SECURITY. A long black and yellow Sonia Rykiel dress. “I feel so comfortable in it. It is like I am in a blanket.”

FIDELITY. The glamorous and theatrical dress of her friend Riccardo Tisci.

ACCESSORIES. “My style is already too much, so I do the real minimum. As she is myopic, she collects glasses. She knows how to wear them by day or night.

TABOO. “These Ugg boots... horrible! Definitely not my style, and moreover everyone has them.”

SHOPPING. She is scared of. Then she finds a solution: she does a unique moment of it, which looks like an adventure. Mariacarla established her network. New York, Los Angeles, or Rome, she has contacts for vintage pieces and they call her every time they have very rare outfit. As instance, Giovanna, the old lady of the Portaportese Market in Roma, keeps for Mariacarla the best things she finds. “I listen to her telling me each story of each dress and I love that. Like this, I already have a memory for each one of them.”

PASSION. Travels. She travelled on the Transsyberien, 3000km in Mongolia and travelled through Vietnam. A passion-evasion which is fundamental in a garde-robe. “In those countries, you do not just buy in a store. You buy to someone. Someone that owned this skirt or this coat for several generations.” From a Vietnamese girl, she chooses the more used skirt. From Mongolia, she takes a little hat and five folk-coats. Her outfits have so many stories to tell.

SHOES. The only thing she does not buy vintage. She has a real passion for Manolo Blahnik. Lanvin, YSL, she can wear everything.

JEWELRY. Only two rings: the anneaux trios ors de Cartier. This is a gift from her boyfriend and a little family ring in platinum and diamonds. On the evening, she can wear a big afghan necklace but she can wear, too, a surfer necklace.

HAIR. Ashy blond at natural. “But I make them darker. My mom’s interpretation: it helps me to feel stronger.”

BEAUTY. Crealine lotion, Avène products, Crème de la Mer for her sensitive skin.

HOME. Ultra minimalist. Lighten white walls, big wooden table and plexi table.

HOT LIST. Manolo Blahnik, is a total addiction! 31West 54th St., New York. Corso Como for the Ricardo Tischi's dress, Corso Como 10, Milan. The parfumerie Santa Maria Novella has just been opened in New York at Lafayette Street, but the original one is magical, 16 villa Scala, Firenze. Don't forget Frederic Boudet, my hairdresser. I'm drinking a glass of redwine while he's doing my hair. A very cool place. Salon Robert Kree, 375 Bleecker Street, New York.

credit: (mariacarlaboscono.hpg.ig)

Filippa Hamilton (2005)

Five minutes with..
Filippa Hamilton, the 18-year-old face of Ralph Lauren



Discovered... "When my mother and I entered a mother/daughter modelling competition. The photographer, Marc Hispard, asked me to do a shoot for French Cosmopolitan and it steamrolled from there"

If I wasn't modeling, I'd..."Be an interior designer"

Splurged first pay cheque on..."A huge bubblegum machine I bought at Dylan's candy bar in New York and had shipped to France"

Reading: "The lovely bones by Alice Sebold"

Model Inspiration: "Christy Turlington. She epitomises chic, healthy, modern beauty"

Beauty-bag staples: "Kiehl's lip balm, Lancome Mousse Clarte cleanser and Lancome Nutri intense. Also a shea butter mask"

Fitness regime: "A mix of breathing and relaxing yoga, and sessions with a personal trainer who keeps me fit with runs around London parks"

Worst beauty blunder: " A stylist burnt my hair with straightening irons. All my hair ended up on the floor. I lost an editorial assignment over it as I looked completely different to the other girls"

Adores... "St-Tropez. I stay at a friend's house or Hotel Byblos, which I love"

Next Vacation?: "Miami. I love it for various reasons-the architecture at the beach, the colours, how people dress and the relaxed vibe."

On my to-do list..."Find an apartment in London-I've fallen in love with this city! I split my time here, working and attending art school."

Next career move: "I'm taking singing and acting classes. I auditioned for the part of the queen in Troy after the casting agents saw my Ralph Lauren campaign, but missed out."

Shopping haunts: "New York. SoHo for new designers; Fifth Avenue for designer labels."

Spot her in:The latest Ralph Lauren blue fragrance campaign shot by Bruce Webber

Credit: Harpers Bazaar