Image via New York Times - From the celeb free Marc Jacobs Fall ‘09 show
Blame the recession if you will, but Modelinia has a different outlook on this season’s lack of celebrity packed front rows. It’s all about the models. Vogue started it in 2007 when they announced the return of the Supermodel – in Jonathan Van Meter’s “Hit Girls.” Now, with blogs and Twitter, models are no longer nameless.
Not that there haven’t been big celebrity names around. Kanye showed up to Preen and Band of Outsiders, Sean Lennon spent a whole day at shows, including a stop at Charlotte Ronson, along with, who else—Lindsay Lohan and Sam Ronson. And William Rast not only had Carine Roitfeld and Anna Wintour, but Jessica Biel, Gerard Butler, and Becki Newton as well. We can’t help but notice (and enjoy) the focus on celebs shifting back to the models and the designers.
Nicholas K, Sergio Davila, and Mara Hoffman used 69 models in their mixed, three-person runway show while Shelly Steffee used all Coco Rocha mannequins for her presentation. Marc cut his invite list down and removed all celebrities, but used 65 models, giving them all unique hair-dos. Preen also used one model per look, and brought girls like Trish Goff, Kirsten Owen, and Anne Catherine Lacroix back to the runway. Alexander Wang staged a revival as well, bringing back Tasha Tilberg, Natasa Vojnovic, Christina Kruse, and Hannelore Knuts.
Conveniently, the Met Costume Institute Gala this year has a supermodel theme. Will each designer walk with a model instead of a chosen celeb? We hope!
You say recession, we say renewal of model obsession!
