Chanel Eyewear

I was flipping through the current issue of W magazine and saw this new Chanel Eyewear ad.

It's slightly different from the one we've already seen:

And only the fourth image to be released from the set which already includes:

Maybe there's more? Maybe that's it? Who knows? I do love the sterile, minimalistic vibe of these shots. Pick a good, beautiful model and let the product speak for itself. No need for additional flurries and distractions. The cool, calming color tone also helps these ads pop out when you're flipping through a magazine. But I couldn't help noticing the concept recycling that Karl uses here, not that there's anything wrong with that.

Numero #81, March 2007

Anyway, you know you're living in the 21st century when a brand synonymous with tweed suits, old ladies and No. 5 perfume prominently and regularly features a model with highly visible tattoos in it's ad campaigns. I'm just loving the fact that they didn't airbrush out or cover up Freja's in the shots. They lend just the right amount of edge and bring just the right amount of modernity to such a traditional and established brand image. Society has come such a long way in terms of the acceptance of tattoos. They're not the social taboo they once were even just 10-15 years ago. And Freja really is a model that exemplifies these times because she's been able to have such a successful career despite of (or maybe because of?) her tattoos. Set her up 10 years earlier and I don't think she would have worked.

Now, perhaps she's just the very rare exception to the rule, but I do feel like I see more and more models proudly showing off their body art: Isabeli, Snejana, Karmen, and Abbey Lee immediately come to mind. Though it remains to be seen whether another model with such visible tattoos will come along and attain the quality and sustained level of success that Freja has. And I can't think of anyone else that came before her. Maybe Omahyra Mota but I don't think she was as successful as Freja is.

Perhaps Freja's career is just the product of hard work, and a lucky confluence of factors that line up only once in a lifetime. Your thoughts? Will tattoos become commonplace? Or is Freja really the only model that can get away with this?

Image Credits: My scan from May 2010 W Magazine, youkioske via Flashbang @ tFS, scan via fearless123 @ tFS, imgmodels.com, frejabeha photobucket

Tailor Made

Perhaps these temporary Chanel tattoos are just another reason why Karl can't seem to get enough of Freja these days. In addition to being one of his muses, perhaps she was the inspiration for these showing up on the runway? Who knows? At least we know that tattoos aren't a hindrance for Freja. Instead they seem to be her boon.

Either way, Freja is totally on point right now, and in fact was years ahead of the fashion game with her tattoos. Of course, her's aren't trends to be here one day, gone the next. They're always visible and very permanent. The temporary kind showed up not only at Chanel, but also at Rodarte and Jean Paul Gaultier this past runway season, making them a verifiable trend. So tattoos seems to be having their fashion moment right now. So much so that even us "masses" (i.e those who can afford to buy anything by Chanel) can indulge any inking desires we may have. Lucky for Freja and lucky for tattoo lovers out there like myself.

Tattoo Update

I've been wanting to update and add to this old tattoo post I did a few months ago. Since then, Freja's received some more ink, and I've come across better pictures of her existing tattoos. I'll probably have to do another one of these posts in a few months time, as tattoos have a tendency to pop up unexpectedly on Freja. But that's part of the reason I love her as a model. She's not afraid to assert her individuality in an industry that would rather have her as a blank slate.

1. "Float" located on the left side of her neck


2. Upside down Triangle on the back of her neck (outlined first, filled in later)


3. Circle done with dashed-lines behind her right ear


4. Cross on her right earlobe


5. "Serendipity is Life" on the back of her upper right arm


6. Colt Revolver on the inside of her upper left arm


7. "This Too Shall Pass" on the inside of her upper right arm


8. "This World Tonight is Mine" on her right wrist


9. "Redemption" on her upper left forearm


10. Three circles on her left wrist (outlined first, filled in later)


11. Star on her upper left torso (outlined first, filled in later)


12. "M" on her upper right torso


13. Lightening Bolt on her upper right torso (to cover up the "M")


14. Lines on her left middle finger


15. Graphic design on her lower stomach (no picture available)

If you're keeping track, Freja currently has 14 tattoos (that we know of) and she's been inked 18 times. Perhaps these numbers will be going up come September? Keep those eyes peeled.

Image Credits: celebritycity, fashionmag.com, fashion_shows, models.com, modepilot.de, mtv.dk, scan by Diciassette (17) @ tFS, seocoracaopensasse.blogspot

A View from the Side

We always concentrate on how a model looks from the front, but we often forget about the side view. We are missing out because I think Freja has a really beautiful, distinctive side profile. I love how this picture highlights it, and also draws attention to the details we overlook when we only look at the front. Here we have a row of bobby pins, Freja's helix piercing, and her tattoo all gathered in the center of this photograph. A potentially straightforward photograph suddenly appears nuanced, textured and complex due to these three elements. Kudos to the photographer who had the view from the side.

Image Credits: corbis.com

Tattoo Recap

I consider the job of a model to be a beautiful blank canvas -- a vehicle through which a designer conveys his or her creative point of view. One of the things I find so intriguing about Freja is that she isn't a blank canvas. Instead, she has chosen to adorn her skin with multiple tattoos. How does she survive with these permanent markings, much less attain notable success, in an industry that triumphs mutability and the ephemeral? I think you would be hard pressed to find any other model would could continue to get the caliber of work Freja does if she were sporting 13 (and counting!) tattoos. For me, herein lies the basic foundation of Freja's appeal and mystery. She is completely part of the fashion machine; an established girl with many campaigns, covers and editorials under her belt who has walked the catwalk in all the big cities at all the major shows. And yet, she simultaneously asserts herself outside of and apart from this world as well. I hope to explore this idea in depth later on, but for now I give you a visual recap of it's most obvious aspect.

1. "Float" located on the left side of her neck


2. Upsidedown Triangle located on the back of her neck

First Freja had the outline, then she had it colored in:


3. Unknown graphic design located behind her right ear


4. "Serendipity Is Life" located on the back of her upper right arm


5. "This Too Shall Pass" located on the inside of her upper right arm


6. "This World Tonight Is Mine" located around her right wrist


7. Colt revolver located on the inside of her upper left arm


8. "Redemption" located on her upper left forearm


9. Three circles located on the inside of her left wrist

Again, Freja had them outlined first only to fill them in with color later:


10. Small star located on the upper left side of her torso


11. "M" located on the upper right side of her torso

Mysteriously, the "M" was later replaced by a lightning bolt:


12. Lines located on the middle finger of her left hand


13. Graphic design located on her lower stomach, of which no picture has ever appeared and understandably so.

I end with an excerpt about Freja from the 'Models' Ink" feature in the August 2008 issue of British Vogue:

She got her first tattoo, a graphic design low down on her stomach, when she was 16. She hadn't really planned it, but passing by a tattoo parlour late one night, simple decided to get something done. Her modelling career appears to have been similarly spontaneous. "When I was 15 I did a little modelling as a summer job. I didn't think it would become anything serious, but the little jobs led to bigger jobs and two years later I was walking down the catwalk for Prada." And Prada didn't mind her tattoos? "Nobody has minded so far, I don't think," Erichsen says, "but then they weren't in obvious places at the beginning. They were easily covered. Still, I did make a deal with my agent about a year ago: she said I could get as many tattoos as I wanted as long as I didn't cut my hair."

Erichsen now has 12 tattoos - several distinctly visible - as well as a short, boyish crop. "I just felt like it," she says of her hair, "and so I cut it myself. I don't think it affected work either way." Her tattoos include a star under her arm, a gun on the inside of her upper left arm, three circles on her wrist, and various bits of writing, including the phrase "this world tonight is mine", which comes from a PJ Harvey song ("My version of carpe diem"), and the phrase "this too shall pass" ("Obviously I was going through some stuff when I had that done." What stuff? "Just personal stuff"), as well as the word "float" ("as in float through life, don't sink") on the side of her neck. "I just like getting them done," Erichsen explains. "I like the whole process, especially coming up with something you want, which never takes me long. Like the revolver. That's not a heavy symbol for me. I like guns and I think the design is pretty, and once I have an idea I have to go there. I'm definitely hooked on getting tattoos."