BRITISH MODELS ON TOP
We have Doutzen Kroes, Lara Stone, Bette Franke, Saskia de Brauw, Maartje Verhoef, Bregje Heinen and more beauty. Quite a lot for such a small country. But if there is one country that can be considered the royal supplier of catwalks and campaigns, it is England. British Vogue rolls out the red carpet for the new generation and that is not for nothing.
The oldies
First there was Twiggy and then Jean Shrimpton, the girlfriend of photographer David Bailey who together stole the hearts of Vogue’s Diane Vreeland. When they walked into her New York Vogue office (with a bright red wall, because everything that stood against that wall was only good enough for the magazine) she said: ”They are adorable, the English have arrived.” Then came Jerry Hall and Lauren Hutton and then there was Queen Kate.
The Kate era
During the reign of Kate Moss came Stella Tennant (Karl Lagerfeld loves the quirky British girls), Karen Elson and Iris Palmer. Not easy beauties. Photographer Tim Walker even said, “Don’t forget that the girls we now look up to were first labeled as freaks. Karen Elson looked like an alien, Kate Moss was extremely thin and small, and Sophie Dahl was a plus-size model.”
Why British girls are so great
Some say it’s the island culture that delivers these autonomous girls with a couldn’t-care-less mentality. Maybe it’s in the rich punk and rock culture that England has, which creates quirky girls who influence the fashion image. Think of Kate Moss's rocky festival style and of course Cara's eyebrows.
On every cover
Whatever the case, flip through a magazine and the first ad spreads show a British model. Probably several. The chance of seeing a model in four different campaigns is also high. They just have it.
The new generation
You’ve already met them but let us introduce them to you again. Cara Delevingne, Jourdan Dunn (Jourdan Dunn! It doesn’t get much prettier), Sam Rollinson (one of my favorites, she looks beautiful in a fashion series On your marks in Vogue Netherlands), new kid in town Jean Campbell with a fairy-tale beauty, Malaika Firth of course. Girls with a mission, a love for life (Cara acts, Karen Elson started a political cabaret group The Citizens Band.
“Beauty without personality is not beautiful” preaches Tim Walker. And that’s just how it is.
