Not all women can be models, says Dior designer

Not all women can be models, Dior designer Maria Grazia Chiuri said Tuesday after a show inspired by the feminist artist Niki de Saint Phalle, who is famous for her fat ladies.

The Italian designer, who has made much of her own feminist credentials since becoming the first woman to head the storied French label last year, led out her spring-summer collection at Paris Fashion Week with a Breton jumper bearing the slogan, "Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?"

The ironic rallying call kicked off Chiuri's most colorful show for Dior, which fizzed with Saint Phalle's primary colors and licorice pinks and yellows.

But the designer stopped short of casting larger models in her homage to the great Franco-American artist who glorified the fuller female form in her voluptuous "Nanas" sculptures.

"Not all girls can be a model," Chiuri told AFP as she praised a new charter banning ultra-thin models from the Paris catwalk.

"I think it's a great idea... because I'm a woman, I have a daughter.

"At the same time we have to explain that not all people can be a model," she added.

- 'It's a job' -

Chiuri's comments came only two weeks after a wave of "plus-size" models led by Ashley Graham made headlines at New York Fashion Week.

"Because sometimes now everybody wants it all. If you want to be a singer you have to have a voice. If you want to be a climber you have to be athletic. There is something that is specific," Chiuri said.

The public often have the wrong idea about designers, she argued. "I don't want to use anorexic girls. Sometimes people forget that it's a job."

"We work on a Stockman dummy. It is size 37. We don't work on 40 because it is too difficult afterwards to make the other sizes. So there are some sizes that are good for making the first prototype. So we need the girls who have the talent and are naturally born in this size."

Earlier in the day the young French brand Jour/ne used a plus-sized model in its Paris catwalk show, although it preferred to call her "someone with curves".

"We don't want to pigeon-hole models," a source at the label told AFP after the show, which raised eyebrows by using Coca-Cola branding on some of its clothes.

Chiuri said she loved models "that have personality. I love (the British model) Ruth (Bell) because she has a strong personality. I think that you can feel it."

The designer created a huge and spectacular cave with mirrored mosaics to show Dior's collection in a nod to similar instalments that Saint Phalle created in Hamburg and Italy.

- 'We should all be feminists' -

Chiuri began her reign at Dior with a t-shirt bearing the slogan "We should all be feminists", and borrowed the "great women artists" line in her new show from an essay by the American feminist art historian Linda Nochlin.

The size of models has become a hot-button issue, with many critics claiming that fashion presents young women with an unhealthy and unattainable ideal of beauty.

Plus-size model Ashley Graham received a rapturous reception when she stepped out for Canadian lingerie brand Addition Elle in New York, and larger models Candice Huffine, Precious Lee and Sabina Karlsson also featured in other top shows.

Earlier this month French fashion's two biggest players -- LVMH and Kering -- said they were banning overly thin and under-age models from their catwalks.

Models must now be at least 16 years of age and size 34 or over (size six in Britain and zero in the US).

Saint Laurent -- which is owned by Kering -- will unveil its spring-summer collection later Tuesday, having been criticized earlier this year by French advertising watchdogs for its use of very thin models in "porno chic" poses for a publicity campaign.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Danica Magpantay has message for aspiring models

MANILA – For supermodel Danica Magpantay, it was not easy to get to where she is now.

Even after winning the prestigious Ford Supermodel of the World competition in 2010, Magpantay still had to get used to rejection before scoring modeling projects.

“Dati, akala ko ‘di ako naaapektuhan, like ‘hindi, okay lang ‘yan. Hindi. ‘Pag one [rejected application] okay. Two, okay. ‘Pag nakawalo ka na, sampu, ‘yun na ‘yung magsta-start na magka-self doubt ka,” she said in an interview on the ABS-CBN program “Tapatan ni Tunying” aired on Thursday.

Magpantay eventually realized that she was not chosen in some projects not because she wasn’t good enough – it just so happened that they were looking for a specific face, a specific character.

“Lahat naman ng tao na nagpapa-book, may gusto silang look. Hindi lang ikaw ‘yung gusto nilang look,” she said, adding that she opted to focus on the projects where she got accepted.

The same applies to models who have achieved a certain level of success, said Magpantay, who noted that one should not rest on her laurels in this kind of industry.

“It’s a job that pays well as long as you work well. Kung wala kang trabaho, wala kang pera. Hindi siya ‘yung nine-to-five na trabaho na you have [a stable] income,” she explained.

Having said this, Magpantay gave this advice to those who want to venture into the world of modeling: “It’s not [just] about you.”

“Keep your feet on the ground. Know what you’re getting into. Work professionally. And enjoy [because] at the end of the day, ‘pag tapos na lahat, it’s just an experience,” she said.

“Always give back. Always offer it (achievement) to God,” she added.

Values, education

Magpantay is currently based in New York as she continues to fulfill her dream of being a supermodel.

“At a young age, I’ve achieved this much. I’m experiencing life for myself… That’s already success for me,” she said. “Hindi lang ‘yung modeling ‘yung tinitignan ko eh. Tinitignan ko ‘yung experiences I’ve gained, people I’ve met, how much I’ve learned from myself. Mas nakilala ko ‘yung sarili ko.”

While she is away from her family most of the time, the 20-year-old Filipina beauty said she does not forget the values that her parents taught her through the years.

“I really have to give it to my parents. They raised me well. Hindi naman po sa pagmamayabang, pero hindi po talaga ako maloko,” said Magpantay, whose mother is Supermodel of the World Philippines 1990 winner and makeup artist Lala Flores.

“I can enjoy life and still be responsible,” she said when asked if she has been influenced by the bad lifestyle choices associated with modeling.

Before moving to New York, Magpantay was a fine arts student of the University of the Philippines.

She said she is still planning to get a college degree despite her lucrative modeling career.

“I’m saving up for school. I want to study again. Sabi ng parents ko, ‘you have to go to school.’ And I have to give them a diploma,” she said.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

A sizzling 'Skin' party with the country’s top models

MANILA, Philippines — The hottest and sexiest personalities from the modeling world is all set to topbill the first Talent Agents’ Organization’s (TAO) Party “Skin: The TAO Models’ Party” this Feb. 7 at the posh Genting Club, Resorts World Manila.

Around 100 of the top high-fashion, commercial, print models will show their real skin during the event. Celebrities who started their careers as models will also be part of the event.

Singer JayR, Mikael Daez, Alodia Gosiengfiao, Daniel Matsunaga, Fabio Ide, Kerbie Zamora, Lemuel Pelayo, Mikel Campos beauty queens Venus Raj, Krista Kleiner, Gwen Ruais, and Hayden Kho are expected to make the event sizzle.

The “Skin” party provides the attendees with the ultimate sensory experience that lives up to the glamor and stylishness of the modeling world. This also underscores how TAO understands the basic essentials of model requirements – going to the skin of things.

The event will also celebrate the achievements of TAO and its member groups in the field of modeling, may it be for ramp, commercials, and even showbiz.

TAO is a professional organization of legitimate and topnotch agents in the Philippines. Composed of THIRTY-SEVEN (37) members, its main vision is to unite and professionalize the talent agencies in the Philippines as well as meet the constant demands of talent requirements of all its ever-growing set of clients.

“Skin” is presented by Resorts World and Genting Club, in cooperation with All Famous, Inc., and Belo Medical Group. It is also being supported by Manila Escapades Magazine.

source: mb.com.ph