16 Aralık 2009 Çarşamba

Fendi, Karl Lagerfeld, Jessica Stam

I have thought a lot on how to title this post. Usually, one person from the trio of the model, the designer, and the photographer stands out, but here, when the model is Jessica Stam, the designer house is Fendi, and the photographer is none other than Mr. Karl Lagerfeld himself!, it is inevitable that a conflict (in my mind, that is, not in actuality) would arise that was similar to those that arose in the music hall days with the lead acts fighting among themselves to have their names displayed more prominently on the billboards. Finally, I made the ordering as displayed above. I have not had difficulty in placing Jessica Stam towards the end, since she looks like she is a cold person.

Since this is an advertising campaign for Fendi products, our Uncle Karl has somewhat poked the Fendi brand right into our eyes in some shots. Smoke is the common point of all the photographs in this campaign covering more than half the image area, which led some commenters to the conclusion that it was a bit "boring." But I, like the majority, relate the mysterious atmosphere created by the smoke to Lagerfeld's genius. Indeed, the photographs have an eery air, pulling the viewer inside and whipping up curiousity. In some shots, a male silhouette seems to appear just a little from among the fog, but since our attention is fully locked on Jessica, we don't even see those men. That's the subtext of the campaign, and its message to prospective customers: Once you wear these clothes, you will look so beautiful that all men standing next to you will disappear in a nameless fog.

If the smoke and the fog give a gray and depressed aura, the stones in the background soften it with their natural colours and texture. The clothes are in neutral (and natural) colours too. The simple colour plate is enlivened in one shot with Jessica's bordeuaux coloured nails, with her velvet dress in the same colour, and with her leather bag, again in the seducive colour of a deep red wine. She wears very little makeup, her lips are painted in a shiny gloss without deviating from their natural colour. I cannot stop thinking what if her lips were also full in deep wine red, but I suppose Master Karl knows something.

Let us now come to the furs that are prominent in all but a few photographs. First, a minor silver fox detail, adorning the tie straps of a sleeveless but hooded dress in beige colour. The dress is as simple as it is elegant. Next, a dark brown Russian sable fur coat, whose price is probably not less than 20 grand. Then, a "knitted fur" coat in gray-brown-black tones. That gorgeous dark red velvet dress is accompanied by a fur coat with an original design. Its body is made from Russian sable, and the 3/4 long sleeves made from gray mink fur are given a special texture, probably using a "shearing" technique, so that the fur is shortened and it is made up of thin fur strips.

In general, the furs used in the campaign are far removed from dramatically contrasting colours and patterns. They are either monochrommatic or they are made from pieces with similar colours. Some fur design techniques, which were pionereed by Saga Furs of Scandinavia, have been used to give a slight edge and movement to the furs. Most importantly, the furs in the Fendi collection are at the pinnacle of luxury, as it is only appropriate for Fendi. These furs are not of the type "Oh, how nice, let me just get one to wear on the New Year's Eve, and then if I don't like it, I can simply throw it deep into my wardrobe!" They are beautiful, luxurious, and of course, very very expensive. Of course, this does not mean that we can look at them for inspiration and ideas.

So far so good, but what are you going to say to the huge bag in the last shot? I have carefully looked at the picture and arrived at a conclusion, but I shall not reveal it now, so as not to spoil the surprise for you. Please do give your answer in the comments section.

In order to fully appreciate the beauty of these images, please click on them and let their full sized versions cover your screen for a moment or two.

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Now, let's get to the bottom of this. When I had first seen these photographs from the Fendi campaign and decided to post a blog entry on them, I had not thought that Jessica Stam was a Victoria's Secret model, TOO! When I became aware of the fact that after Caroline Trentini, I was going to have another VS model featured in my blog, it was too late. You remembered who Jessica was, didn't you? For those who did not (or could not!), let the following little memory refreshers come!

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