after prufrock

With the Spring/Summer 09 season peering around the corner, the agencies make their usual showcard shortlist of their brightest and finest young faces. Whilst I must admit to have been largely underwhelmed the past few seasons with the new generation of rather plain, minimalist girls who have infiltrated what was for few solid years an even playing ground for bold personalities and unique features, there are always a few young guns that catch one’s eye regardless of the lackluster of the rest of the pack. In addition to this, it’s always interesting to see in which artistic direction the agencies take their respective show packages, as often it is their primary form of breaking new faces into the fashion weeks, showcasing the prospective models to the casting directors. Sometimes, they even get creative. This season’s approach appears to be more classic than remarkable, with the exception of IMG, whose creative instincts seem to have wronged them with yesteryear bleach gradients and passe colours. So despite IMG possessing a number of girls who impress to no end (Sasha Pivovarova, Jeisa Chiminazzo, Jessica Stam, Freja Beha Erichsen, Marina Perez), I thought to post some of the highlights from the Women Management collection. Of note particularly is Toni Garrn, who is proving exquisite in most of her work, and Ukrainian Jolie lookalike Natalia Chabanenko (who opened and closed for Prada in the Fall/Winter 08 show).

[From top left: Toni Garrn, Laragh McGann, Inguna Butane, Heather Marks, Natasha Poly, Isabeli Fontana, Kasia Struss, Mariacarla Boscono] 

Related: Women Management Blog

As Bette feels like an old chum of sorts, I thought perhaps to focus on another yesteryear favourite- the The Dick Cavett Show. Spanning from 1969 to 1975 (and intermittently on various networks thereafter), the show could be characterised by its host’s refined measure and endearing wit. Cavett’s vast intellectual arsenal allowed him to perceptively cover a plethora of subjects and interview a great number of fascinating guests, simultaneously engaging both his audience and those he interviewed with his relaxed conversational style.  So dynamic and influential was his persona and show format, even Nixon attempted to usurp this sophisticated talk show-host from his American TV throne. Check out more of Dick here, where these days he puts his pen to use and shines a light on the joys and hazards of the entertainment industry and other contemporary topics.  Considering the stamina it must have taken him to propel 90 minutes of unscripted, thoughtful and entertaining material night after night, it is not surprising to note that Cavett’s own views on the typically loquacious American shows we presently have flashing on our midnight screens are less than adoring.

& now, for some classic Dick and Bette:

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“The Taisho Era, sandwiched between the Meiji and Showa, was short, lasting only 15 years. However, in those years, the budding ethos to respect the individual’s subjectivity and romanticism became a trend along with Taisho democracy. A unique culture and artistic expression that was influenced by Western Modernism and Art Deco also blossomed . . .

“Although the bathing suit today seems impossibly prim, the form-fitting, one-piece suit constituted a dramatic change from the full-cut, multi-piece bathing costumes popular a decade earlier. This beauty’s swimsuit displays the shape of her body as well as the skin of her forearms and legs” – Art Gallery of New South Wales.

View the exquisite full set here. Via Lifelounge.

We arrived in New Zealand, weary and without bed. Once more unpacked into the cold, hands frosted by an undeterable itinerary of an organised tour. & so it was, as we bustled ourselves onto the bus and with great unknowing enthusiasm hit the road, to be met bluntly by a prodigious region whose encircling cement bands had no respect for anything but the raggard twists of the mountains. We clockworked around, noses pressed against the steamed glass, our newfound cravings for adventure rising and falling with the sharp calls of the valley. The sun rose slowly, like some lonely, underearth creature sorrowfully raising its burning soul in its hand to serve the sleepy bodies below crawling their way through a brand new morning.

[video of some nice randoms with my guy Nick - 12000 ft dive]