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Ear to Ear

January 11th, 2012 Posted by Janelle comments (11)

There is no smiling in high fashion. Seriously.

There was a point in the pre-recession days (if you can remember those) when spotting a smile on a cover or in a campaign was was something akin to seeing Anna Dello Russo in khakis and Keds – it simply wasn’t done. Don’t believe us? Take a look at Fashion Iconography for a year by year cover rundown of blank stares and suggestive pouting.

We’re not sure if it is the lighter than air feeling of spring’s floucy separates, the inescapable influence of smize-queen Tyra Banks, or a tie in deal with Crest, but this season is all about laughing, grinning and being incessantly cheerful.

Mirte Maas and Mathias Bergh‘s Tom Ford ads are beyond upbeat and bordering on manic – who would guess that Mr. Ford himself was behind the camera? Beneath all that carefully crafted sexiness, we knew he had a sense of humor.

Julia Stegner, Miranda Kerr and a couple of baby goats for Bally. Cavity. Inducing. sweetness.

Only a hint of a grin for Bottega Veneta, but seeing Liya Kebede always makes us smile. Plus, lets be real who wouldn’t be grinning if they found themselves in the possession of that tote.

Arizona Muse for Isabel Marant, stuck in the backseat of a convertible (cars are another of the season’s big fashion ad motifs, see Prada’s gas station-fest) shielding her face from the sun and STILL smiling.

Hearing the words Milla Jovovich by Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin, automatically makes you think of a really arty black and white shoot, possibly with some cool face painting or an M/M Paris design scrawled along the side. Luckily I&V are saving that kind of stuff for Justin Bieber this month and instead have graced us with this shot of an ecstatic Milla.

Bits & Bytes: Obsessed...

Heritage Foundation

In Bloom

The Force

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11 Comments

Marty says:
January 11th, 2012
at 4:50 pm

I love the fact that there smiling, Models always have to be so serious, stare into the camera. When a model smiles it creates so much more energy to the picture, I wouldn’t say it’s always okay to smile but these are wonderful images there, that catch your attention and that’s a good thing when Advertising you want people to look at the picture and buy the clothing.

*Mirte Maas has huge mouth btw, haha.* still gorgeous
Lily says:
January 11th, 2012
at 5:38 pm

Make Milla an icon already…
kitkat says:
January 11th, 2012
at 5:50 pm

I love this. I agree with Marty.

In my experience when working with models, it is a lot harder for upcoming models these days to do a genuine smile and give a part of their personality to the camera.

It sounds strange to say but it is almost as if everyone practices and uses their “smize” and “death stare”. It is becoming so generic, boring and takes away from any personality and energy.
Christopher Y says:
January 12th, 2012
at 6:15 am

I LOVE ARIZONA for ISABEL MARANT the most out of this bunch!!! …I just kinda wish his hand wasn’t blocking so much of her beautiful face…
lou says:
January 12th, 2012
at 9:48 am

SHE IS SO HOT HOT LOVE HER FACE AND MOUTH WISH I CAN MEET HER IN LAS VEGAS.
Brent says:
January 12th, 2012
at 10:53 am

My perfect smile is my best feature! Its about time high fashion modeling takes notice. And who says you have to smile to show teeth?… Love this trend.

http://thebeautifulvoyage.com/blog/2011/brent/
Bruce Edwin says:
January 12th, 2012
at 3:10 pm

This is definitely a shock to see the smiles, but a nice one at that…this is really nice to see and cute, its a refresher for fashion, good job here
TeaAtTwo says:
January 13th, 2012
at 11:29 pm

A trend I love. Liya’s subtle smile is so alluring.
TpC says:
January 19th, 2012
at 12:21 pm

baaahhhhhd goat!
AveZeng says:
January 20th, 2012
at 4:54 am

that is wonderful
Iconiclook.com says:
January 25th, 2012
at 6:54 am

Dark red lipstick and round shades. Can there be anything more iconic?

Ear to Ear

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