Harry Winston: After the Ads

In the modeling world we make such a big fuss over campaigns, but rarely do we get to assess how effective they are. So imagine my delight when I came across this article from WWD about Harry Winston jewelry sales. As we all know, Freja fronted their most recent ad campaign.

For the fourth retail quarter ending on January 31st, Harry Winston reported a 60% sales gain and a net income of $9.9 million dollars. Thing were already looking up for the company when they reported their third quarter results back in December. But sales stayed strong throughout the fourth quarter and beat analysts' expectations. So why am I talking about this? Because Freja's ads hit market saturation during this fourth quarter period (Nov-Jan).

Am I saying that Freja is the only reason why sales were so good? No, of course not. Yet I can't help but to think she certainly played a part. After all, she's been proven to sell as Franca has showed us:

"On July, 2010, three fashion magazines used the same Miu Miu dress, Vogue Uk, Elle Uk and W in America. Vogue UK had a model on the cover, Elle UK a singer - Lily Allen - and W Eva Mendes. In England sales were higher. Freja is the new icon for models. Eva Mendes didn't have an impact on W."

And where is a large majority of Freja's fan base located? Asian countries like China, Japan and Korea. Freja seems to have an unexplainable and ferocious appeal over there that perhaps no other model has. Her Asian fans are voracious when it comes to her and you can see that in the sites, forums and blogs that they've set up. Coincidentally (or not), Harry Winston sales in Asia were up 138% while sales in the US and Europe were only up 79% and 27% respectively.

Yes, everyone knows that Asia is the emerging market right now, but since Freja appeals to so many fans in Asia, I'm going to propose that she has great appeal to general consumers in Asia as well. So picking her as the face of the campaign made commercial sense (even though it didn't necessarily make the most fashion model sense at first), and it certainly seems to have paid off as well. Fourth quarter gains, good numbers, increasing sales; Freja and her ads did what they were supposed to do.

Of course, I don't really claim to know much about sales analysis. This is just where my mind went when I read the WWD article. I do consider myself somewhat of a Freja expert though, so that has to count for something, right? ;)

Some day, I'd love to get my hands on some Chanel sales figures......anyway, we should be proud of our girl. And we should also hope that some head honcho of a major cosmetics brand is putting as much thought into the matter as I am. High fashion campaigns. Check. Jewelry campaign. Perfume campaign. Check. Big time beauty contract? To be determined......

Freja's Place Within the Cult of the Model

Freja seems to be getting more and more press these days. Not only does she have an editorial in the February issue of Vogue UK, but she's also discussed quite a bit for an article in the same issue regarding "The Cult of the Model." She seems to be one of the poster girls for our current obsession with models......how wide spread and pervasive this "obsession" is amongst the general public is questionable and open for debate. But among model followers and fashion insiders, Freja has certainly made a name for herself this past year. As someone familiar with her career back when she chopped her hair off and wasn't getting covers and editorials in all the major Vogues, it has been quite the journey of ups and down, elations and disappointments, anticipation and apathy.

Now I can't help but to wonder, has Freja made enough of an impact to withstand the fickleness of the industry, it's constantly changing tides, and the pitfalls of stereotyping and overexposure? Has she made it over the ridge and to the plateau where we can all rest easy knowing that we'll always be seeing work from her, a la Daria, Kate and Giselle? Or has this second coming in career doomed her to a fate similar to the countless other hyped faces who are everywhere one minute and then forgotten the next?

I suspect the answer to this lies in Freja, and Freja alone. It lies in her own goals, aspirations and wants out of life. And it lies in her modeling skills, which are on full and glorious display in this editorial.

Look Forward
Vogue UK February 2011
Ph: Patrick Demarchelier
Styling: Kate Phelan

She has the goods.....whether she wants to use them and for how long is the uncertainty here. It's a total shame that so many casual observers seem to write her off as a one-look pony. If they took the time or effort to truly look, they would discover what we fans have discovered long ago. And they would see that 6 years worth of work creates a book dominated by androgyny, yes, but also full of delightful subtleties, underrated femininity, and untapped potential. Oh yes, Freja is far from a one-trick pony, but I suppose the words of Vogue UK have more gravitas than the words of a simple fan.

"Look at Freja: demure for a Harry Winston ad, accessorized with an innocent smile and a slice of wedding cake and wearing a strapless dress straight out of a fairy tale; for MaxMara, she's a chic young mother in a camel coat about to go shopping down the via Montenapoleone in Milan; she's a girl hanging out at a music festival in skinny leather jeans for Vogue."

After writing about this kind of stuff for so long, I'm just happy these notions are being recognized by sources with a rider reach. Because maybe now I can take a long break.....or maybe Freja will come out with even more work to get me hooked again. :)

Image Credits: scans by tFS member gossiping

More Harry Winston

Thanks to a few lovely anonymous commenters in my previous post, I was directed to some more shots of Freja's Harry Winston Jewelry campaign, shot by Patrick Demarchelier.

Freja looks so great in these, albeit a bit too airbrushed. But whatever...she's smiling and positively radiant! WWD just came out with a report about Harry Winston's earnings, and now I think I have an idea as to why they went with Freja for the campaign; being the unconventional, but brilliant, choice that she was.

"Increased demand for luxury goods and higher sales from Asian consumers helped the luxury jeweler post a profit of $3.9 million..."

"The engine of this recovery is being fueled by the Far East as Chinese citizens become consumers not only at home, but also in the luxury shopping districts of the developed world,” chairman and chief executive officer Robert Gannicott said on a call with analysts."

Call me crazy, but it seems to me like Freja was picked to front the campaign because she has appeal to the Asian consumer. We all know how popular she is over there, so this just makes sense to me. I don't know, maybe I'm just making connections where there are no connections to make. But all of this is still interesting to say the least....

Image Credits: harrywinston.com via Noctilux tumblr

Changing Tides

I know I seem to be stuck on this subject (considering I just wrote something in the same vein two posts ago), but I think it's a pretty huge deal. Especially to all the longtime Freja fans out there. So what's the big deal? Freja is officially a modeling icon, or about as close as one can get to becoming a modeling icon these days under modern circumstances. She's no longer obscure, fringe or merely a cult hit. The tide has changed and she's mainstream, well known and recognizable now. I know, I know, we'll never return to the era of the supermodels. But at the same time, we shouldn't use that as the barometer against which we measure all subsequent modeling successes by. For the past is past, and we are firmly in the present. That past can never be replicated so long as the world evolves and things change. And if there is one certainty in life it's that things do change. The fact that a heavily tattooed, spotlight avoiding, tomboyish model sits at the top of a modeling industry predicated on long held feminine ideals of beauty should tell you as much. It's hard to imagine such a thing happening 10 years ago or even 5 years ago. But it's happening now.

We do get modeling waves: the Brazilians, the Russians, and (currently) the Dutchies. But the remarkable thing about Freja is that she doesn't belong to any of those waves. She didn't ride on the coat tails of an industry wide modeling trend. She started out when doll-like, blond models were all the rage. And so she got to where she is based on her uniqueness, personality, likability, authenticity and genuine appeal. That's what makes her an icon in today's fashion climate. That, and the fact that her career is stronger than ever five (almost six) years in.

Most of us had the fortune of witnessing the turnaround Freja's career has gone through this past year. She was a big name within the industry before, but now she's an even bigger name who has begun to transcend the boundaries that usually limit models like her to the high fashion sphere. So along with her high fashion cred, Freja has slowly earned commercial viability and mainstream appeal. She isn't a household name, but everyone seems to know her. And the work she's getting is beginning to reflect that.

Even Vogue Italia's editor in chief Franca Sozzani recognizes and write about it in her editor's blog on vogue.it:

"On July, 2010, three fashion magazines used the same Miu Miu dress, Vogue Uk, Elle Uk and W in America. Vogue UK had a model on the cover, Elle UK a singer - Lily Allen - and W Eva Mendes. In England sales were higher. Freja is the new icon for models. Eva Mendes didn't have an impact on W."

Freja can sell magazines! In a time where all American publications (cough, US Vogue, cough) tell us that celebrities are the only people who matter or who can move units off the newsstands, Freja is proving otherwise. Imagine that....a fresh, appealing face who isn't so completely overexposed that you're actually intrigued enough to see what she might have to say. Wow....I'm shocked (insert sarcastic smiley here). Anna Wintour take note; the general public might actually want to see someone besides a typical Hollywood starlet a la Blake Lively on the cover of Vogue. And to hit home on the idea of Freja's broader appeal, she'll be selling jewelry now as well.

Harry Winston Jewelry
Ph: Patrick Demarchelier

It's a bold move for Harry Winston, but a great coup for Freja. If I were her, I'd be going around to everyone I know saying "whatnowbitches...booyah!" But that's just me. I think that to a certain extent we've all underestimated Freja. Whether we think she can't pull off femininity or that she can't ever reach a high level of popularity, this campaign proves us all wrong. This is the type of campaign I've been waiting for. It gives her a completely new image, but one I always knew she was capable of. The irony of the images will not be lost on ardent fans, and the absence of tattoos might disappoint others; but the significance of this campaign is what's important here. And if all goes well, I think we could see Freja transcending even more boundaries in the future. So congrats to her. As she turns 23 and enters into a new stage of life, it's only fitting that her career should grow and mature as she has so beautifully done before our eyes.

Image Credits: bbs.sfileydy.com, twitter.com/amandaweiner, passionluxe.com via tFS member candlebougie

A Modeling Model

One of the things I enjoy the most about Freja's recent panoply of editorials is that they have given us the opportunity to see her work with people she doesn't normally work with. Patrick Demarchelier is the example here, and even though this new editorial isn't the most brilliant breakthrough of Freja's career, it is solidly decent, something different and shows us another side to her modeling skill.

Urban Renewal
Vogue UK April 2010
Ph: Patrick Demarchelier
Stylist: Lucinda Chambers

I'm a big fan of Lucinda's work and this editorial is no exception. It also helps that I absolutely love, love, love the trend towards modern, wearable, minimalistic clothes that real women who have real jobs can seamlessly integrate into their existing wardrobes (thank you Phoebe Philo!!). The clothes are straightforward and the styling, photography and model poses coincide with that aesthetic. Freja was the perfect girl for this shoot because I think her face personifies the mood of the layout; sleek, refined and modern, but not at the expense of being interesting.

Sure, it isn't ground breaking, but not every thing has to be. Sometimes you just want to see a good fashion spread with desirable clothes modeled by someone who knows what she's doing. Someone who's using her body in the best possible way to display the clothes. And lest we forget, that is the foundation of Freja's job after all, and she's damn good at it. For all the focus that's put on her personal life, who she's seen with and what she looks like off-duty, I can't help but feel that her abilities as a model are just an afterthought. I hope I'm wrong about this...and now that I think about it, that's probably the best summation as to why this blog exists. It's to bring the focus back to the work! Sorry for the tangent....

Anyway, Patrick's style can get very boring and repetitive, but under the styling hands of Lucinda I think this editorial is able to escape the mundane pitfalls of being just another plain studio edit. His style is distinct though. I see similarities between this editorial and the editorial that resulted from the last time Freja and Patrick worked together.

Proof that a photographer's direction has a lot to do with the way a model models? Yes, I definitely think so. Proof that Freja takes direction well and it easily malleable to different visions? Yes, I absolutely think so. Her body and her face are the creative vehicles and here she shows us that they are tuned up and in fine driving form.

By the way, who else thinks that Freja is waaaaay past due for a Vogue UK cover? Alexandra Shulman, the Freja fans are watching you. Don't let us down! You too Jaime Perlman. I know you're a fan....make it happen! (Hey, the return to femininity eventually happened after I griped about it many times last year. Maybe this will happen too, after I spend all of this year complaining about it. Ha!)

Image Credits: Beautiful scans of April issue of Vogue UK by tFS member fearless123, other scans by me

HQs

We've already seen this editorial, but I'm posting the HQs for anyone that wants them. I'm pretty OCD about good scans and some of you out there might be as well. Since I was already scanning these for myself I thought it wouldn't hurt to post them. Besides, editorials always look better in higher quality. You really get to see the beautiful details of the clothing that you may have missed the first look around.

Milan
Vogue UK August 2009
Ph: Patrick Demarchelier




Image Credits: My scans