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Final Call


Kate Moss/IMG Ph by Mario Testino for Paris Vogue
It's pretty much a wrap for FW 03 and what a truly schizophrenic campaign season it has been. On the one hand major celebrity names made significant inroads into the market with Cate Blanchett for Donna Karan being the latest star booking. Yet on the other hand a bevy of newcomers booked an audacious season with former MDC cover girl Louise/Women emerging as girl most wanted, adding Moschino, Hugo and Blumarine to her Chanel and Anna Molinaria bounty....In the meantime May Paris Vogue cover-girl Kate Moss/IMG lands the Missoni and Burberry campaigns while renewing her lucrative Chanel fragrance contract...Now it's off to tally the sum total of campaigns logged by agency, which should make for interesting statistics.

Sweet Sensation


Alexander McQueen was right. Faceless "industrial" scents churned out by a bevy of interchangeable fragrance factories are out. Old world, painstakingly crafted scents are in. Knocking Annick Goutal off her perch as the must wear new cult perfume is Santa Maria Novella, whose product has been processed by the same Florentine monastery since the 17th century. Try the amber scent, it is so unadulturated it's almost offensive.

On The Stands: V


Stella/DNA Ph.Inez Lamsweerde and Vinooth Matadin
In the first installation of our new feature, On The Stands, highlighting the best of the magazines currently on sale, MDC takes quick stock of the hot book V.

Launched in September 1999, after a mere 23 issues, V looms as the must-read fashion publication of the moment. Generous in scale, gloss and content the magazine has shrewdly traded on mother publication Visionaire's flawless reputation for fashion perfect packaging.
V with its fast forward mix of music, architecture, art, film and fashion is now without a doubt, the breakthrough high style youth book that has long been promised but never before been delivered on the American market. Tune in as the magazine's Editor-In-Chief Alix Browne fills in the blanks on what makes V.so very. V.

The inspiration behind the creation of V was..?
TO CREATE A YOUNGER, SIBLING PUBLICATION TO VISIONAIRE.

Your ideal reader is...?
ANYONE ANYWHERE WHO IS INTERESTED IN FASHION AND ALL THE MYRIAD THING THAT FASHION TOUCHES.

How do you decide if an artist or filmmaker or novelist is very "V"?
MOST OF THE TIME WE JUST GO ON INSTINCT... WE HAVE A PRETTY BROAD RANGE OF INTERESTS. IF SOMETHING IS INTERESTING TO US, HOPEFULLY IT WILL BE INTERESTING TO OUR READERS, TOO.

Do you have a deliberate policy of exposing a new generation of fashion fans to seminal influences like Antonio Lopez or Emile de Antonio?
WELL, IN THIS DAY AND AGE, THERE'S A LOT OF "REFERENCING" GOING ON. I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT FOR PEOPLE TO KNOW THEIR FASHION HISTORY

What is it do you think that the magazine brings to the US scene that is unique?
EUROPE IS CHOCKABLOCK WITH "INDEPENDENT" FASHION-BASED MAGAZINES. IN AMERICA, THERE ARE ONLY A HANDFUL, V BEING ONE OF THE FEW.

Is the fashion for the editorials "market driven" or are the clothes used a more freestyle expression by individual photographers and stylists ?
IT'S A COMBINATION OF BOTH. WE TRY TO GIVE PEOPLE AS MUCH EDITORIAL FREEDOM AS POSSIBLE--AND I HOPE THIS COMES THROUGH IN THE WORK. AT THE SAME TIME, WE HAVE TO BEHAVE RESPONSIBLY, AND THIS MEANS SUPPORTING THE DESIGNERS WHO SUPPORT US.

Do you envision the magazine becoming a more mass market publication in the future?
WE DEFINITELY WANT TO EXPAND THE V READERSHIP BUT WITHOUT COMPROMISING THE EDITORIAL CONTENT. I DON'T KNOW IF WE WILL EVER BE SUPERMARKET CHECK OUT STAND MATERIAL--I DON'T THINK ANY OF US ARE INTERESTED IN DOING THAT KIND OF MAGAZINE--BUT I DO THINK WE HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO REACH A LOT MORE READERS...

A Certain Flair


Karolina/DNA Ph. Micheal Thompson for Flair magazine
Two time MDC cover star (see MDC No.19 and MDC No.31), Karolina Kurkova graces the May cover of Flair magazine, even as she gets her first "diva" gossip item in New York magazine. But then again isn't rumor and scandal in mainstream celebrity columns the final ingredients to true supermodeldom?

New Vision


Marina/Vision Polaroid courtesy of Vision.
In our perpetual search for the freshest of new faces, MDC stumbled across this Spanish stunner at Vision. Her name is Marina and she certainly bears watching given the reaction she got in her few days in NY. And speaking of Vision, when questioned as the motive behind her meetings with the Paris agencies during the past Fashion Week Vision's NY Director Christina Park replied mysteriously "I was just shopping not selling." As is a girl's prerogative no ?

Mega IMG


Chloe Sevigny/IMG Ph. Matt Jones for ID Magazine
It's a monster FW 03 season for powerhouse IMG as they amplify their profile to new heights. First up, clients trying to track down that elusive fashion icon Chloe Sevigny can now do so through the IMG board as Ms Sevigny has signed on for representation. Then there is the huge campaign season being posted by IMG with Angela Lindvall tripling up as she lands the Dior, DKNY and Chloe campaigns. Former MDC covergirls Anouck, Estee Lauder icon Liya (and Karolina Kurkova/DNA) are on the set for Tommy Hilfiger, while Top 50 face Jeisa lands the Chanel accessories campaign. Another former MDC covergirl Natasa Vojnovic is the new face of Valentino while one of our favorite newcomers Daria (see the Feb OTM archives) is the new Prada girl. Diane Dundoe is exclusive for Balenciaga this season while Jacquetta Wheeler lands both the Cavalli and Ralph Lauren campaigns. Editorial queen Stam is the next Versus girl while former MDC cover Anne V has been conscripted to the D&G set. Scary thing is, there's still more to come (namely in the form of Kate Moss). Stay tuned!

Loving Supreme


Nadine/Supreme. Ph. Laurie Kirk
It's looking like a moment for the Supreme board, as the new faces division of Women is pulling in a lion's share of bookings. The much buzzed about Girl 1 at this season's YSL, Julia Stegner has indeed snagged the Yves St Laurent campaign (alongside Adina/Next), in addition to booking the Strenesse and Sportsmax campaigns. And of course Julia has leapt out of the pack as one of the must-have new editorial faces, booking Harper's Bazaar w. Solve Sunsbo as well as Italian Vogue with Steven Meisel. Joining Julia in editorial VIP circle is agency mate Caroline Winberg, booking W with Mert N Marcus and Ellen von Unwerth after logging 29 shows in Europe this season. And then there is MDC beloved Illona who flies off to London tonight to shoot V magazine alongside Top 50 face, Telma. Also quite intriguing right this minute is Supreme's sensational new signing, Nadine. The Jamaican beauty is sweeping the scene, booking French Vogue with Mario Testino, The Face with Norbi, and V with Inez and Vinooth (along side Julia and Louise Adkins). She's looking like a keeper!

Legendary Linda


Linda Evangelista/DNA, Photographed by Steven Meisel for US Vogue
Despite the presumption that Linda Evangelista would be the signature model for the F/W 03 Dolce y Gabanna campaign, it looks like the sizzling supermodel has just been nabbed as the face of choice for Karl Lagerfeld's next Fendi ads . The Dolce Y Gabbana ads in the meantime will be comprised of former MDC covers girls Liya/IMG, Eugenia/DNA, Rie Rasmussen/1 Mgmt, as well as Travis/1 Mgmt....In other campaign news..Expect to see 1 Mgmt's Liberty Ross in the upcoming Armani and Jitrois campaigns...It's back to the Brits for Mario Testino's Burberry campaign as Stella Tennant/DNA, Kate Moss/IMG and former MDC MOTW Michelle de Swarte, (now at Marilyn) have reported to the set for the FW 03 campaign. FW 03 is looking like a moment for DeSwarte as she is also one of the six models on the set for Terry Richardson's Tommy Jeans gig.

Celebrity Circle


Jennifer Lopez. Ph. Peter Lindbergh for Harper's Bazaar
A bit of a celebrity invasion seems to be hitting the FW 03 campaign scene with Christina Aguilera hijacking the much coveted Versace campaign alongside longtime Versace muse Amber Valetta/DNA. Word from the set was both the popstar and the supermodel were shot for the Collection campaign, with each subject shooting singles only. Joining Aguilera in the campaign celebrity circle is Oscar winner Adrien Brody, who goes high profile for a second season in Ermenegildo Zegna's upcoming campaign being lensed by Steven Klein. Most intriguing of all is the close-to-be-clinched deal that would put the luscious J-Lo in the spotlight for the next Louis Vuitton campaign. Don't however, expect to see Ben Affleck as a part of the package...In other campaign news, Terry Richardson (a/k/a T-Bone...The current Arean Homme Plus explains all) is now the photographer of choice for the Tommy Jeans campaign ...while Mario Testino's D&G gig will be highlighted by Ana/Elite, Susan Eldgridge/Elite and former MDC MOTW Nina Oord/Marilyn.

Man Of The Moment


Andres/Q. Photographed by Inez Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin for Paris Vogue
Who's the hottest male model on the market, right this second? It just might be Q's red hot find, Andres who right on the heels of appearing in his solo 12 page editorial in French Vogue , has had just about every major client in town pursuing him for the F/W campaign season. It will be interesting to see who will clinch that final confirmation, but we suspect it's going to be a pretty haute-luxe kind of label. Mum's the word.