Freja Gets Taller

Do you remember last season's Alexander Wang Lace-Up Stiletto Boot with Zip Detail named after Freja? Well, this season it's back and taller than ever before. Behold the Freja Laced Tall Boot:

When the cold, crisp days of fall creep back upon us, you can take comfort knowing that you're calves will be wrapped snugly in black leather....never mind your exposed toes though. I suppose fashion can't be practical 100% of the time. ;)

Freja is one of the few models to return this season with an A. Wang product named after her. Granted it's just an update of last season's shoe, so of course the name would remain the name. Nevertheless, the shoe must have been a great S/S season seller if it was deemed worthy enough to return in some variation for the F/W season as well. How appropriate to name an indefatigable shoe after an indefatigable model.

Alex always names his accessories and footwear after models; so in case you're wondering, this season also features a Constance (Jablonski) Platform Chukka Bootie, Daria (Werbowy) Small Duffle bag (which I'm already lusting over), and Addison (Gill) Mid-Calf Platform Boot. If you like to drool over accessories like I do, the full F/W 10.11 Accessory report is up here.

Image Credits: Style.com

New York Underway

She didn't disappoint! Freja walked in the Alexander Wang show earlier tonight.

Looking as formidable as ever, Freja was the third girl out after Natalia and Iselin. Not bad shoes to follow, right? Discounting her absence at Rag & Bone yesterday, it's good to know that some things are still predictable and constant. Kind of brings me a peace of mind amid all the unrelenting craziness that is fashion week. With so many new model faces to learn, names to remember and new collections to browse, it's just reassuring to know that you can count on certain things to happen. Like my favorite model walking in the NY show I always look forward to the most.

Now let's see if my other predictions for shows walked come true....

Image Credit: elle.com

Alexander Live

Don't forget, Alexander Wang is live streaming his show today at 5pm EST (in about 2 hours). You can watch it at SHOWstudio, or if you're in New York you can watch it as it's projected onto the massive screen outside the American Eagle Outfitters at 46th and Broadway. For other shows doing live streams that Freja could possibly walk in, refer to this old post.

So as you all know by now, Freja did not walk in Rag & Bone yesterday night. But neither did a lot of regulars like Coco, Lily, Stam, Sheila, Maryna and Karolin. The direction of the casting went a lot younger and fresher, which I feel is inevitable for a brand expanding and getting as much hype as R&B is getting. Anyway, we'll just have to see if Freja shows up for Alex's show.

I have a gut feeling that she might be taking this season a little easy. And good for her if she is, because she obviously needs the break. 2009 was a busy year for her in terms of print work and runway work. She also traveled with Karl, seemingly everywhere he went, all over the world. So I wouldn't blame her for wanting to be more relaxed and selective about her runway work now. Especially seeing as some of her other peers are doing the same thing (Lily, Lara, Stam, Sasha). Hopefully we'll see her today, and then I think we'll only see her at Marc on Monday, Derek, Marc by Marc and Narciso on Tuesday, and Michael on Wednesday. Maybe another surprise show somewhere, but I really think that will be it, and I feel like I'm even being too hopeful here.

What do you think? Bets on what shows she walks in? On whether she shows up in NY again? On whether she makes it to London this season? On whether she disappears like she did during SS08 and SS09? I hope not because she'll be leaving lots of fans disappointed.

Fashion Week Live

Marc Jacobs isn't the only one in New York who will be streaming his show live. Alexander Wang and Rodarte are the latest designers to join in on the democratization party. Like twitpic-ing blurry runway pics last season, the live streaming show seems to be this season's "it" thing to do. Isn't it amazing how fast things are changing? Before we know it, fashion week might be a thing that exists entirely and solely online. I hope not, but I wouldn't be surprised either.

Anyway, Freja will probably walk Alex's show so you'll get the chance to see her live on Saturday the 13th at 5pm. Rodarte is happening at noon on Tuesday the 16th, but I'm not sure if she'll be there. She walked the show last season, but that was her first time working for the Mulleavy sisters. At this point, who knows what type of runway season Freja will have? She's been working a ton lately so she could ride on her momentum into the shows and convert a good runway season into some nice campaigns (besides Chanel). Or she could decide to lay low, take a break and recover from her busy year (the busiest in a while).Whatever this season brings, I'm sure we'll be on the edge of our seats.

Alexander Wang Backstage

The full Alexander Wang backstage video is up, but there isn't that much more Freja to be seen. Regardless, it's a very well done video (Sorry for the bad upload quality. You can see a better version on the site itself under Collections < Spring 2010 < Backstage Video). The mood and music-can't go wrong with the Chromatics-are pitch perfect in conveying that air of coolness that pervades anything Alexander Wang. And I love seeing the juxtaposition of the calm, orderly runway walk next to the mad, dash backstage run. Not to mention that this was my favorite collection from last season so I'll take any excuse to see it in motion once more.

Alex's clothes are usually a hit or miss with me, but there was something so attractive about the way he did American sportswear that I just fell in love (despite the outrageous prices). The color palette, drape of the fabrics and overall feeling of levity made the clothes easy to relate to and wearable. And watching this video you get the sense that the models really felt comfortable, and that they were the ones wearing the clothes and not vice versa. After this SS10 collection I'm anxious to see what Alex has in store for FW1011. Hopefully it lives up to his hype. What about you? Any collections that you're particularly looking forward to?

Oh, btw, speaking of collections, Marc Jacobs is going to be live streaming his new one on his website, Monday February 15th at 8pm EST. Freja hasn't missed a Marc show in.....ever, so keep your eyes peeled. Don't you just love how the industry embrace of technology has the added reward of instant gratification for us?

Video courtesy of alexanderwang.com

News Bytes

-To coincide with the arrival of spring accessories on his e-commerce site, Alexander Wang is releasing a behind the scenes video of his SS10 runway show. Style.com has a short preview which you can see above. It's only 45 seconds and you can see Freja about 16 seconds in. The full version will be released Monday on Alex's site, and if the preview is any indication, it looks like we'll get plenty of Freja to satisfy our backstage curiosities.

-Freja moved up a rank to a solid number 4 on models.com Top 50 Models list. Lara, Anja, Natasha, Sasha and Raquel are the only ones before her. If I recall correctly, Freja's career high position was number 2, but I could be wrong. Any one remember? Anyway, as long as she keeps working at the same pace and level that she's been at for this past year, I don't see any reason why her rank wouldn't gain one or two more spots. However, I'm not sure she'll ever reach the number 1 spot. Freja's a wonderful model, but let's be realistic; you have to be damn near iconic (I'm talking within the industry here, not just with fans) to reach that spot and her quantity of work just doesn't add up. If Meisel shoots her for a Vogue Italia cover, US Vogue puts her on their Models of the Moment issue, Nick Knight features her on ShowStudio monthly, and she lands blue-chip ad campaigns beside Chanel then we'll talk. Until then, it's not gonna happen. (Prove me wrong Freja, because I would be happy to eat my words.)

-You can see preview images of Freja's new Vogue Nippon editorial shot by Terry Richardson here and here. Being that the images are low quality, I'm pretty much ideologically opposed to everything that Terry Richardson stands for, and I need a break, I'll spare you the long write up about this ed...not that any of you were dying to read it in the first place I'm sure.

-New York Fashion Week officially beings in 12 days on February 11th! We'll likely see Freja touch down for her first show Friday night at Rag & Bone...that is, assuming she's going to walk this season. I don't see why she wouldn't, but with Freja I've always come to expect the unexpected. And the SS08 and SS09 seasons are always fresh in the back of my mind, making me hold my breath in hope that she doesn't unexpectedly skip out again. We'll see. After all, life's pleasures are derived in anticipation.

Image Credits: imgmodels.com

The Namesake

First it was Jill Stuart. Then it was Chloe. Now Alexander Wang is the latest designer/brand to name one of his products after Freja. Breaking away from the two before him, Alex decided to go the shoe route rather than the bag route. Behold the Freja Lace-Up Stiletto Boot with Zip Detail:

The second they made their debut on the runway you could hear all the Wangsters and fashionistas alike swooning over the zippered, laced-up, folded-over, seemingly three-shoes-in-one details. They are guaranteed to be the it shoe come spring which means Freja will literally be walking all around us.

It's no secret Alex takes a lot of inspiration from models. He has already named some of his other products after them (most notably the Coco Duffle, although the name has now changed to the Rococo Duffle) and this season also features the Alla (Kostromicheva) Leopard Haircalf Wedge Mule. It was just a matter of time before he used Freja as a namesake since we already know that he's a Freja fan.

How very fitting that next seasons' sure to be most coveted shoe is named after one of fashion's most coveted models. And for once I think the product fits its namesake very well because I can actually picture Freja wearing these and integrating them into her current wardrobe. I couldn't really picture her carrying her Jill Stuart bag:

Nor her Chloe clutch (as gorgeous as it may be):

Alex's shoe gives off the right amount of the downtown, cool girl who doesn't give a shit and looks fabulous without even trying, vibe that fits Freja's sartorial personality much better than the two bags do. What do you think? Would you ever wear or carry Freja? Are some of you going to be making a big shoe purchase come springtime? All I can say is that my bank account is happy my feet can't handle stilettos...

Image Credits: style.com, fashionista, thebagforum (and thanks for the heads up slow_hands!)

Saturday Morning Videos

In a follow up to yesterday's post about Freja and Alexander Wang, here's a video that shows us Alex has indeed been an admirer of Freja for a very long time now. Thanks to commenter parisxsummer for the heads up!

At 2:14 you can see pictures of Freja's Fall 2005 Self Service editorial on Alex's "mood board" for his FW0809 show. Fittingly enough, Freja ended up opening that show in a very memorable sheer number with a downtown death stare on her face that summed up the mood of the show perfectly.

This was arguably the show that put the Alexander craze into full throttle, so it's nice that Freja was a part of it in more ways than one.

And now here's a completely unrelated, but highly adorable video of various rehearsal clips from the past season. Some of the models' faces and reactions are priceless. This is the type of stuff I always look forward to--when the glossy facade gets taken down and we get to see the reality behind the runway.

Freja @ 1:30, 1:40, 2:38 and 2:48

I love that we get to see bits of the girls' personalities. The human element really comes across and reiterates to us that these models are just regular teenagers/young women with irregular jobs. It's relatable and fashion can use more of that, especially in this recession.

Anyway, watch the whole video because there are so many hilarious moments. I was laughing so hard at how Kasia misdirected Alla at the end. And I think Mirte and Amanda's reactions at the Missoni rehearsal were endearing. That Missoni show seemed like a pain to rehearse!

Image Credits: style.com

Alex Joins the Fan Base

We know Freja loves Alexander Wang as she's been seen wearing his T by Alexander Wang line and carrying his black Donna Hobo bag everywhere during fashion month. She's even been known to stop by his sample sales in NY. Well, now we know the feeling is mutual.

You can add Alex to the growing list of Freja fans in the industry, which already includes the Rag & Bone boys and Stella. At his Barny's trunk show yesterday afternoon, fashionologie got the scoop on Alex's favorite look from his SS10 show:

I feel like everyday I change my mind. But I always seem to come back to Freja's look, she really knows how to bring an outfit to life, which is so important in a model for me.

And the look in question:

Alex has made no secret about how he is inspired by models off duty. So it should really come as no surprise that he admires the coolest one of them all. :)

Image Credit: style.it

Beauty

Corbis is a picture site that always has great backstage pictures, especially of Freja. Here are two more to send us off on the last day of New York Fashion Week.

London is up next and it looks like Freja will walk for the first time. So the excitement continues on without pause. But before we move on, hopefully we'll see Freja at a few shows today. We need a proper NY bon voyage afterall. Perhaps Isaac Mizrahi and Tommy Hilfiger?

Image Credits: corbis.com

New Trend?

If you're tired of styling your hair in different ways, try this new styling look for your eyebrows! :) But seriously, I wonder if this trend will translate onto the streets? The Alexander Wang show is pretty influential in terms of style, but doing eyebrows this way might be taking it too far. I don't know....maybe in four months I'll be eating my words. I can see "Wangster" girls like Lissy Trulle and Alice Dellal sporting this look. And a year ago if you told me partially shaved heads were going to be in, I never would have believed you. But now they totally are and the only person who I think pulls it off is the wonderful Kate Lanphear.

Image Credits: scan by tFS member OhJane, wireimage