Saturday, March 26, 2016

Jourdan Dunn and Rosie Tapner for Selfridges #DenimLovers





These days, it’s not enough for Jourdan Dunn and Rosie Tapner to look hot in front of a guy with a camera. Nope – in today’s world, models have to pose in front of two hundred people waving iPhones. Or at least, that’s what went down last night during the #denimlovers party at Selfridges.

Confused? Don’t be. To celebrate the launch of their huge Denim Studio, Selfridges went for another world first: the first ever co-created fashion campaign.

Guests were invited on the public photo shoot to take pictures of the girls on their mobiles, to be used in a mass collage for the Selfridges campaign. Photographer Tom Craig directed the madness, with Jourdan and Rosie shaking it to Daft Punk and Robin Thick for an audience of press and industry insiders (hiya, Susie Bubble) – although we have to say, this is the first shoot we’ve been on that ended in a full-on stage invasion.

“We’ll be staying up all night putting the images together,” Craig said, leaving the rest of us were to party on with blue slush puppies and a host of male models in denim overalls. Happy to be blue? Sure. Check out our shots of what went on behind the scenes and at the party.









 

Why Are All the Big Models Trading the Runway for the Front Row?

It seems that when it comes to supermodel spotting, it’s no longer the catwalk that’s got it down: These days, it’s all about the front row. It appears that established names have earned the right to enjoy the view from their seats, and lately, they’ve been taking the opportunity to experience fashion from the other side. Suki Waterhouse and sister Immy have made the rounds at shows like Sonia Rykiel and H&M, while Liu Wen showed up at Fendi looking sensational. The front row at Givenchy had almost as many models as the catwalk did with Soo Joo Park, Ana Beatriz Barros, and Karen Elson all sporting Tisci gowns.

Taking a break from walking in order to actually view the collections has become a key way for models to remain in the spotlight without having to dive into the hustle and bustle of show castings, rehearsals, and fittings. The collective obsession with who and what models are wearing has opened the door for their style to be as obsessed over as any starlet’s—and ditto their cultural sway. Starlets may have snapped up many a model’s hotly desired ad campaigns, but it looks like they’re striking back in their own way. Here, a look at the models who have been sitting pretty during fashion month.

Tuesday, December 22, 2015

HTC Collabs With Model Jourdan Dunn For Limited Edition HTC One M9


jodandunn
Limited edition handsets are pretty cool. They usually feature unique design and colors that the regular handsets do not offer, and they also might come with features and extra goodies to make it more compelling. Well for those who have yet to purchase the HTC One M9, perhaps you might want to hold off for a bit.

HTC has recently announced via Twitter that they will be releasing a limited edition HTC One M9 handset which will be made in collaboration with British model and HTC ambassador Jourdan Dunn (pictured above). It is unclear as to what exactly will be the result of this collaboration, but given that Dunn is a model in the fashion industry, chances are we might see some fashion-related themes.






For example the HTC One M9 might be given a new coat of paint to look more fashionable, which at the moment is rather somber-looking. It might also come with fashion accessories so that owners will be able to decorate and accessorize their handset. Perhaps there are exclusive wallpapers or themes, who knows?

However what we can be sure is that the innards of the handset should remain identical to the one that was released to the masses. No word on when HTC will unveil the device but check back with us at a later date for the details.

One Vogue Cover Doesn’t Solve Fashion’s Big Race Problem

Jourdan Dunn is the first sole black woman to feature on a British ‘Vogue’ cover in 12 years. Good for her—but what a shameful indictment of Planet Fashion.
 
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When it was announced that Jourdan Dunn would be the first black model to cover British Vogue in twelve years it made me sad. Not for Dunn who was getting the solo cover she so deserved, but for the fashion industry for continuing its decades of tone deafness towards models and consumers of color.

This is the same industry, that even when there is a black face—as in the case of Annie film star Quvenzhané Wallis—the only option for retailer Target’s Annie-themed fashion campaign was to put a white girl on the cover of it.

But, but … there was a token black girl in the background, Target cried in its defense! (But we’ll have more on fashion and tokenism later.)

Both high fashion and the fast, commercial fashion of Target are supposed to be about aspiration. The belief is we should not just want the clothes the model is wearing, but we should want to be her, look like her and live her glamorous life. According to Madison Avenue, I should believe that by slipping on a pair of Dior shades or spraying some Dior cologne I have, by proxy, been endowed with the golden goddess glory of Charlize Theron.

There’s nothing remiss with this selling of fantasy and dreams until the thinking shifts that if it’s Jourdan Dunn wearing the gold dress in the Dior commercial it won’t sell Dior because no one aspires to be a gorgeous black woman—because black women, by virtue of their blackness, cannot be glamorous and aspirational. Michelle Obama be damned, they are the exotic other, alienating for wealthy white consumers and torpedoing your brand into nothingness.

None of that is true for those brands who have booked black faces. Estee Lauder has not crumbled to dust because the perfect brown face of Joan Smalls represents it. J Crew did not give back the money it incidentally made off of Mrs. Obama. Yet the notion persists.

The absurdity of incidental racism is that because it doesn’t involve someone physically assaulting a black or brown person for eating at a lunch counter, it allows the perpetrator to believe they “can’t” be racist, as they yelled no N-word and the status quo was reinforced in a non-violent way.

The absurdity of incidental racism is that because it doesn’t involve someone physically assaulting a black or brown person for eating at a lunch counter, it allows the perpetrator to believe they “can’t” be racist, as they yelled no N-word and the status quo was reinforced in a nonviolent way. After all, the fashion industry doesn’t hate black people. They love them as props or for decorating a white model in black face! The fashion industry could never, would never, state its exclusion of black models overtly. Instead, black models are required to remain meekly, silently off stage, waiting for a turn that may never come.

Or, that if a turn should come, as it did for Naomi Campbell in August 2002, when she was the last black model to grace the cover of British Vogue solo, that black models—all of them, including the ones competing with Naomi and everyone else for work—should see that as a triumph. For themselves! One that they cannot cash in at the bank to pay for their flats. One they cannot add to their resumés to book more shows. And one that ultimately will not open any doors for them to be in British Vogue, if it takes the magazine 12 years to consider another black woman.

Usually, in other industries that aren’t based on looking tall, thin and unique, the excuse for

why diversity got the boot was “we couldn’t find any qualified applicants.” But this is fashion. For ten years Jourdan Dunn, Chanel Iman, Joan Smalls, Liya Kebede, Ajak Deng, Sessilee Lopez, Noémie Lenoir and, of course, Naomi Campbell—who you could easily book on several covers every year—were still walking around and breathing air, more than qualified to be the face of anything.

Last summer, I spoke with first black supermodel Beverly Johnson about this for The Root. Johnson argued that diversity in the fashion industry is now worse compared to her trailblazing day thanks to the willful cluelessness of the industry.
“Tokenism isn’t diversity. Saying you booked one black model to walk in one of your label’s many shows is not progress.”
“People don’t get it. They, very innocently, don’t do what is best for the company and more likely hire someone like them that looks like them, which is understandable on the psychology but is not understandable in the way the world works—particularly since people of color, minority, are a big contributor to your business.

“That’s why I really don’t go into the reason of it. There’s no rational reason to racism or discrimination or to people just not acting as good human beings. There’s no rational explanation for it. I’d rather go to the solution and stay in the solution.”

Chanel Iman, one of many models of color to recount this, has tales of being told, “We already found one black girl. We don’t need you anymore,” demonstrating that progress in fashion today is about tokenism.

But tokenism isn’t diversity. Saying you booked one black model to walk your label’s many, many shows isn’t progress—just as having one African-American president doesn’t erase the systemic racism that still rears its heads in the American justice system.

Jourdan Dunn’s cover is a triumph for Dunn, but don’t sell this as some sea-change moment for models of color. We’ve heard it before. Unless it begins to feature black cover stars regularly, Vogue could blithely go another decade or two declaring their progressive bona fides because once upon a time Jourdan Dunn was on the cover. Let Jourdan Dunn be the first of many—not an island, or badge of self-congratulation. Only then can fashion claim a sea-change is underway.

Who knew that “we shall overcome” meant “we, the few, shall book covers every decade or so, maybe, sometimes, if we are in style.”

Jourdan Dunn Discusses The Prejudice She's Faced As A Black Model And Why She's Not Giving Up

 

Modeling is one of the most notoriously tough industries to break into, and that's especially true for minority catwalk hopefuls. Instead of being discouraged by the challenge, though, the prejudice Jourdan Dunn has faced as a black model is what inspires her to keep pushing in the industry — not only for her, but for the young girls looking up to her, too. Talk about modeling for a cause.

In a new interview with The Times, Dunn revealed some of the hurdles she's faced as a black model, including makeup artists and hairstylists not being able to work with her skin tone backstage. "It's hard for black girls," she says. "A lot do give up, because if you don't have an agency who is going to push you, you are just there doing nothing and having to deal with all the rejection."

Unlike many before her, Dunn has stuck around, and the hard work's paid off — this year, Dunn became the first black model pictured alone on the cover of British Vogue since Naomi Campbell's 2002 cover. And she has no plans to stop her modeling world domination anytime soon.

"I feel like I owe it to other little black girls and other ethnic-looking girls to carry this on. You know what? It is hard but I had to get over it," she says.

More minority representation has been called for recently in the industry, and even though we're not even close to equality yet (in modeling and in general,) Dunn's making a major statement simply by killing it in everything she does. She cares about the message she's sending to the world and to the next potential Jourdan Dunn, who's out there right now, facing the same challenges the superstar did and trying to move past them. Hopefully, Dunn's stance is encouraging girls like that, because it's time to see more women of color in our advertisements and on our runways.

Rihanna Dropped Out Of VS Show Because Kendall Jenner ‘Replaced’ Jourdan Dunn?

Jourdan Dunn Kendall Jenner Victorias Secret Fashion Show
“Feeling so much better about not doing BS… sorry I mean VS now that Rihanna isn’t doing it also,” Jourdan wrote along with a laughing emoji. Either Jourdan dropped out or VS didn’t invite her back this year, but judging from the tone of her tweet, we’d guess it’s the latter.

If Jourdan really didn’t get asked to come back, we can’t help but wonder if it has anything to do with all of the new high-profile models walking in this year’s show, like Gigi Hadid and Kendall Jenner!
And then we also have to wonder if any of this has to do with the reason Rihanna dropped out of her performance! It was reported that she canceled to work on her album, but that seems a bit sketchy, doesn’t it?

Jourdan Dunn reveals she is 'so happy' at being revealed as the first black model to land a solo cover of Vogue in 12 years

Jourdan Dunn has been revealed as the first solo black model to grace the cover of British Vogue for more than 12 years. 

The 24-year-old Londoner shared the cover image of the fashion magazine on Instagram to her 954,000 followers after speculation on Twitter today.

She wrote: 'I'm so Happy to finally say I'M ON THE COVER OF BRITISH VOGUE!!!' 

Jourdan Dunn posted her first Vogue cover to her Instagram account
Jourdan Dunn posted her first Vogue cover to her Instagram account

Jourdan recently starred at the Victoria's Secret show in London
Jourdan recently starred at the Victoria's Secret show in London

She added: 'Thank you Patrick Demarchelier and Kate Phelan for making this happen and also thank you all for the Love and Support it means everything to me #2015YearOfTheDunn.'
The model used a string of kissing face emojis to highlight her joy. 
Patrick Demarchelier is a famed fashion photographer whilst Kate Phelan is an esteemed stylist. 

The cover, which is for the February 2015 issue, shows a simple shot of Jourdan looking stunning sitting in the sunshine in a short summer dress. 

Jourdan poses alongside her gorgeous Victoria's Secret model pals in matching leather jackets 
Jourdan poses alongside her gorgeous Victoria's Secret model pals in matching leather jackets 

Jourdan previously graced the front cover of Vogue in November 2008 alongside Rosie Huntington-Whitely and Eden Clark
Jourdan previously graced the front cover of Vogue in November 2008 alongside Rosie Huntington-Whitely and Eden Clark

Although this is her first solo Vogue cover, Jourdan did previously front the magazine in 2008 along with Rosie Huntington-Whitely and Eden Clark.

This also marks a change for the fashion bible as it is the first time they have featured a solo black model on the cover since Naomi Campbell appeared in 2002. 

One hundred and forty six covers have been and gone since her natural, jeans and a white vest shoot.

And the disparity hasn't gone unnoticed, with Naomi Campbell, Iman, and Bethann Hardison writing an open letter to the publication in September 2013, urging them to acknowledge in the time lapsed since the last solo cover for a black Brit.

They wrote: 'No matter the intention, the result is racism. Not accepting another based on the colour of their skin is clearly beyond aesthetic.'

Jourdan has previously revealed her struggles in the industry having been turned away from shows who told her they didn't want, 'any more black girls.' 

She said in an interview last year: 'I want to talk about what goes on. A lot of people are scared to speak up.

It has been twelve years since the last solo black model, a fresh faced Naomi Campbell, was featured on the cover of the magazine 
It has been twelve years since the last solo black model, a fresh faced Naomi Campbell, was featured on the cover of the magazine 

Jourdan has enjoyed a highly successful career so far and has been the face of Burberry beauty along with Cara Delevingne and Edie Campbell
Jourdan has enjoyed a highly successful career so far and has been the face of Burberry beauty along with Cara Delevingne and Edie Campbell

'The people who control the industry … say if you have a black face on a magazine cover it won't sell, but there's no real evidence for that. It's lazy.'

Now the star is following in her idol's footsteps by putting an end to the 12-year void for models of colour to appear on the cover.

Beyonce and Rihanna are among the 58 celebrities to feature on the covers of British Vogue in that time, while Jourdan finally succeeds Naomi among the 95 covers that showed models.

This is the latest in a string of good news for the model. At the beginning of last month she took a highly successful turn on the Victoria's Secret runway as the show hit London for the first time.

Then in mid December it was revealed that Jourdan and Naomi Campbell were the faces of Burberry's Spring / Summer 2015 campaign.

She said of the shoot: 'This campaign is even more special for me because I was shot with Naomi Campbell for the first time - someone who I admire and respect within the fashion industry.'

Jourdan posed in September 2013 with some of her model pals including Suki Waterhouse, Cara Delevingne, Georgia May Jagger and Clara Paget
Jourdan posed in September 2013 with some of her model pals including Suki Waterhouse, Cara Delevingne, Georgia May Jagger and Clara Paget

Jourdan began her career at an early age after being spotted in a Hammersmith Primark in 2006 - she was signed to Storm Model Management not long after.   
Mother to a five-year-old son named Riley, Jourdan has previously worked for designers such as Calvin Klein, Balmain and Topshop.

She is also a firm favourite on the fashion party circuit counting Cara Delevigne, Suki Waterhouse and Georgia May Jagger amongst her close friends. 

Last year, Forbes announced that she was the 10th highest paid model, making an estimated $4m last year and beating world-renowned beauty Cara, who earned $3.5m. 

Rihanna has previously fronted the magazine in 2011, however, she was the only black cover star for the whole year
Rihanna has previously fronted the magazine in 2011, however, she was the only black cover star for the whole year

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