Journals
Tuesday,Dec 27 2005, 12:07:29 PMHana Soukupova
HANA SOUKUPOVA
THE ELECTRIFYING WORLD OF FASHION THROUGH THE EYES OF THE YOUNGEST CZECH TOP MODEL
NOT EIGHTEEN YET AND SHE ALREADY BELONGS AMONG THE MOST WANTED FACES OF THE FASHION WORLD. WE MET HANA JUST AS SHE WAS ABOUT TO FLY TO THE AUTUMN FASHION WEEKS WHERE SHE FINALLY ENTERED THE EXCLUSIVE WORLD OF INTERNATIONAL TOP MODELS.
When we met at the end of the spring in Prague, it was just year after she had got her very first opportunity to work for the best designers at their great shows. No doubt. Hana made an impression. From the moment she did her first prestigious fashion editorial, her life changed abruptly several times and the young model made a great jump into the fashion work. Here in the Czech Republic you might not háve seen her face or heard her name, but trust us that shortly this is going to change. In current autumn shows of collections for spring/summer 2004 Hana appeared more frequently than Eva Herzigová and Karolina Kurková together. But how is seventeen-year old Hana coping with this sit-uation? Here is her story...
Hana sits in a Prague restaurant and looks relaxed. Year ago she set out from her native Carlsbad into the world and now she had an opportunity to enjoy herself in the way seven-teen year old girls normally enjoy their lives. She went to visit her grandparents in the country, played with her dog, had a chat with her sister and went for summer swimming. After a week of holidays with the family she will again také the plane to New York, where recently she started to live. It is certainly very interesting but at the samé time quite strange when a seventeen years old girl works from morn-ing till evening and makes huge sums of money. But such is a live of any top model. On the other hand, only a few of them experience this as early as in their seventeen. You could count them on the fingers of your hand. Yes, Hana has had an extraordinary success. So far, she says, she can cope with it. And perhaps it is better that she is that young - the things and events happen around her faster than she is able to realise. True, she works with the best fashion photographers and the best fashion designers. But so what? She still can remain a normál, modest seventeen years old girl.
Hana's agent, Lenka Jochová, her closest friend - apart from the family, of course - says Hana was happy to skip quite quickly the period in which the teenagers work on ordinary commission just to get experience. "We sent Hana to Paris quite early, to present her and to find out whether there is some interest in her." The long-legged model went from casting to casting and often heard the simple uniform answer: too young! In spite of the fact everybody around her thought she was just the face that could impress in
Paris. These were oné of the toughest weeks in her short career.
"I was in Paris month and a half and I did not work at all. Every day about five to seven castings and I could not get any commission. I stayed in a hotel with another model and sometimes we went to swim or had a walk around the Eiffel tower. Week before I was supposed to leave for home, I was commissioned to do some photographs with the photographer Liz Collins for Numero, oné of the most popular fashion magazines in Paris. And this was the break point. Since that time I háve been getting more and more commissions," she says and great reliéf can be heard in her voice. "Yes, I was pretty nervous. I had such great hopes at home and suddenly I had to say to myself: well, just a month and I go home with nothing... But the last week it has all changed and I was so happy..." Before Hana left for the fashion world for good, she started studying at the secondary school of ceramics in Carlsbad but had to quít soon: "I wanted to stay because I liked it, the people in the school were just great. And to be honest, I wept while I was leaving..." Oddly enough oné of the most wanted models in today's fashion world first has not really been interested in fashion and she even did not wish to become a model: "Only when there was Fashion TV on our cable TV I dreamed that I would like to be one of them. But I pre-ferred playing basketball - I played for nine years," says long Hana. "Then I stopped, I had no time for it."
Hana Soukupová is indeed a girl that makes an impression on first sight. She is hundred and eightytwo centimetres táli, has an angel's face and beautiful auburn hair. Although she dresses quite modestly, people around always turn their heads after her. She herself would prefer to be "less conspicuous". I ask whether she still remembers how as a little girl she tried on her mother's shoes in front of a mirror and imagined herself a model. With a smile Hana says that she preferred to pose in her basketball shorts. Well, basketball ... oné can see she remembers Carlsbad...with affection. Most she misses the nátuře around. "If I could I would go camping somewhere in nature. When I am in New York for three months, with all those skyscrap-ers around mé, there is nowhere to go to relax. I miss camp-fires as well as other things I ušed to do before. Back horné, we live right on the edge of the town and my father used to také mé and my sister for a long walks in the woods." It is only a question of time when young Hana will háve to jump into the complex and difficult celebrity life and will háve a bunch of managers around her all the time. Apart from her Czech agent Lenka Jochová she is represented by four different agencies in the four main capitals of the fashion world. After several months in Paris she moved to New York earlier this year. Currently she lives there on her own and as Lenka says she is exceptionally independent and self-sufficient and is not - happily - a riot party girl. In the city that never sleeps she has a small flat, which is yet to be fully furnished. "Currently I háve only a běd, sofa and a couple of wardrobes," she says showing us a photo of a small room. "I drew some pictures to make it more cosy, I framed photos of my friends and I made a collage out of it. The fiat is very nice. It is on Manhattan, near Soho. China Town is near so it is rather alive. What I like most in New York is going out to the nearby market and just simply shopping for fruits". In New York she is represented by the DNA agency. "They are all OK and I like them. Most of the time I spend probably with my booker Butterfly. She always calls mé and we go for a meal, sometimes shopping oř to the cinema...." says Hana who is in touch with her closest via phone. At this early age it is definitely not easy. I ask whether she has some friends from school still left. "I háve oné friend and we text one another when I am abroad or I call her. I am in daily contact with my mum oř sister although I am not extremely fond of text messages." Hana's hectic life has been documented in a film for Czech TV Nova which was shot during the last months and is about Hana and her closest friend from Carlsbad. How does she herself perceive the comparison of two young girls? "I trav-el a lot and I think this will make mé more independent sooner, I know the languages, many interesting people. But on the other hand I am so away from my closest friends and relatives. For instance when I was for the first time in Japan for two months I could not speak to any of my friends because the telephones were so expensive. Then I learned that this profession has also the negative šidě." And the negative šidě is not negligible. Although it may seem that a young girl will make a fortuně just out of her good look, this is not the čase, námely during the spring and autumn shows, when during oné month she has to trav-el through New York, London, Milan and Paris, get up at fíve oř six o'clock every day and walk oné fashion show after another. Every evening she falls tired into the běd. It gets slightly better during the rest of the year. Hana trav-els to shoot the fashion editorials for prestigious interna-tional magazines and thus has a chance to show what she has to offer. Even during her shooting in Prague everybody praised her for her significant improvement. As in any other field of human activity to work on oneself is the ability that makes the difference. And today, Hana certainly belongs among the best twenty models in the world. Its main advantage is that she is the youngest. Sometimes people would say she could be the new Karolina, but this
comparison is far from appropriate. Karolina Kůrková, a self-confident extrovert, is friendly with the stars of international show business. While Karolina gave her cock-tail party in New York this summer, which was attended by P. Diddy and co., Hana swam with her sister in a smáli sand pond near Carlsbad. The comparison, however, holds true for the career Hana could achieve overseas. This year she worked with the best photographers like Mario Testino, Jean-Baptiste Mondino, Thomas Schenk, Solve Sundsbo, Patrick Demarchelier oř Dusán Reljin, whose photo-editori-al you can see in this very issue of Hype. Slowly she has started accumulating the cover pages of various fashion magazines in her portfolio and everybody waits for the first big campaign commission from a major client. But com-pared to other models, Hana has plenty of time. She can travel round the world, work, enjoy herself, experience new things oř try to shoot with a camera. Photography is her biggest hobby.
We browse through her new album of photos and it is pre-cisely in this moment that the quiet introvert Hana shows what lies deeply in her. Apart from her beauty and strength will she certainly has some talent. It is very sympathetic that from the whole rough world of modelling she is fasci-nated by the creative šidě: good photographers and design-ers. We go from page to page and Hana comments: "This is South France - this was in fact a city full of naked people. For instance, we went in the car and saw a woman that rode a bike absolutely naked ... oř v/e saw a completely nudě man entering the drugstore. We did our photos and those naked people just watched," she laughs. Oř she telíš how she did some photos in winter, dressed only in evening robe and how she was frozen, how she always watches the clothes of other girls before the show, that she thinks that most the male models are effeminate. Her albums are kind of diaries. "When I am older and not a model anymore, I will háve something to show to my children. I myself like to browse through the pictures of my mum, how she looked, what she did." It is very nice how seventeen years old Hana, with all her career just before her, thinks about what to show her children in the future.
"Sometimes I think that when I am finished with modelling, I could be a photographer. I love black and white pictures for clearly there is something in them. I think they are much about feelings..." she says when we pass through a large photo exhibition in Municipal library. In the Czech street she yet does not create much commotion. What will happen, though, when the tabloid press starts watching her, when she becomes a celebrity without any privacy? Strange though it may seem this is the most likely way for Hana to follow. This does not necessarily mean that she herself has to change but certainly a lot of things in her life will. Thus only oné question remains unanswered. What kind of personality she will grow into? And I ask her what she would write under her picture on the Hype cover page, how she would like people to perceive her. She thinks for a while and then says: "Hana, the new photographer?"
Source: Czech Hype Mag, October 2003 Thanks to Royal-Galliano from TFS for translation
Tuesday,Dec 27 2005, 06:44:06 AMThe Russians are coming
April 1 2003
By Julia Robson
Grumpy Western models are being eclipsed by newcomers with high cheekbones and a solid work ethic. Models from the former Soviet Union - including Georgians, Ukrainians, Uzbeks and Kazakhstanis - are putting their Western counterparts in the shade. Led by Natalia Vodianova, the 20-year-old who was the star of most of the recent designer shows, including Prada and YSL, they dominated the catwalks of the autumn-winter collections.
This new model army, blessed with high cheekbones, perfect skin, Bambi blue-green eyes, full lips and tall, near-perfect figures, is a refreshing alternative to the medley of grumpy, androgynous mannequins who have dominated in recent seasons.
However, the success of Vodianova - often watched from the front row by her British husband, Justin Portman, the son of Viscount Portman, and her one-year-old son, Lucas - and her catwalk comrades extends beyond the runways. Many of these Russian dolls, whose careers often begin in London, have landed lucrative designer campaigns.
Vodianova is the face of Gucci; Ksenia Maximova, 17, is the face of the latest Valentino adverts and the Gucci scent, Rush. Other names to watch out for (even if you can't pronounce them) include Eugenia Volodina, 19; Kristina Chrastekova, 18; Natalia Semanova, 18; and Natasa Vojnovic, 22. But perhaps the brightest of the new Russian stars is Anne Vyalitsyna, who, like Vodianova, comes from Nizhni Novgorod, an industrial city on the Volga.
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Vyalitsyna, a 16-year-old beauty with strawberry-blonde hair and green eyes, has been chosen as the face of Chanel's new fragrance, Chance. The star of the campaign, which was shot by the respected French art director Jean-Paul Goude, she will be seen on posters from April 4, with her arms wrapped around the scent's round glass bottle.
Vyalitsyna's modelling career began when, aged 15, she won an MTV modelling competition and a contract with the IMG agency. Within six months, she had appeared for Anna Molinari, Chloe and Sportmax.
"I've wanted to be a model ever since I was little, playing with my Barbie doll," she says, in near-perfect English. "It helped (for the catwalk) that I can dance - her favourite pastime is ballroom dancing - but everything is self-taught."
Vyalitsyna, who is an only child and whose parents are both doctors, is now based in New York. "I miss Russian food and my parents, but I love my job," she says.
"I don't have a boyfriend. Most of my friends in New York are Russian models.
"I do feel a bit weird about the money, but I send most of it home to my parents."
Backstage, before the Chanel show in Paris, I spotted her talking to a group of other Russians and wearing the usual model uniform - a combination of flea-market finds and designer freebies.
However, when the designer Karl Lagerfeld appeared, to wish his models luck, of the 52 girls present, he singled out Anne and shook her by the hand.
According to her agent, Duncan Ord, a co-director of IMG, Vyalitsyna's meteoric rise - in the past month, she also appeared at the Dolce & Gabbana, Prada, Fendi, Gucci, Versus and McQueen shows - is not simply down to her enviable genes, but also her Russian roots.
"Russians have a work ethic like no other nationality," he says. "Photographers and designers love their look, but everyone loves their attitude. They are rarely late. They are totally committed to their work and, no matter how young they are, they understand the nature of the business." Melissa Richardson, a partner of the Take Two agency in London, which represents Vodianova, agrees. "When you bring girls from certain countries into the Western market, they are clueless. Russian girls are extraordinarily mature, as well as charming and beautiful. They are grateful for what this business gives them and never lose sight of reality," she says.
"Russia has become a popular scouting ground because it's opened up over the past few years," Ord says.
"These girls want out of Russia. They are hungry to work and determined to succeed. Put alongside girls from other countries, they shine."
source: lakomka (theage.com.au) from TFS
Friday,Dec 23 2005, 10:28:58 AMThe europian supermodel’s eye is caught by Kazan
The europian supermodel’s eye is caught by Kazan fur coat
Eugenia’s life – a fairytale about snow – white. From Kazan schoolgirl to one of Valentino’s fav models. Every famous photographer wants to work with Eugenia, but every designer wants her to show his clothes. Eugenia Volodina is known in model business simply as Eugenia. She is constantly away from home, but in her thoughts she is always in Russia.
,,I like national clothes and Gucci ‘’
We met Eugenia at presentation of one kazan clothing company fashion show. We were told that Eugenia in her early days had also walked down this runway. With biggest joy she accepted the oppertunity to visit this fashion show. On her stole, as the other guest, she had meat and fish meals, desert and fruits. As to drinks – still water and juice. From stronger drinks – brandy and champaign. But Eugenia eschawed alcoholic drinks. All evening with intrest she looked at the models and the new collection. Most of all she liked national clothes, the way latest tendences were mixed with national motive. And ofcourse, women’s best friends, fur coats.
- Tell us please Eugenia are there any common tendencies in Europe?
- A bit, - warmly smiled Eugenia. – At the moment a lot of designers uses Russian motive in their collections. I so liked the national clothing in this fashion show. It’s truly beatiful. Them (in Europe) dont have that.
- What do you prefer yourself to wear? Any favourite brands?
- I wear different clothing. Few years ago i liked Gucci. But now i wear a lot of other designers. Even not in one style.
- Maybe you have desire to own smth from this collection?
- Oh, yes. I extremly loved one fur coat. Silvery one. It was the first or the second in collection. Зоя Сафина is the designer. I admire everything she does. I have always liked the clothing she designs. Even in those years when i worked here in «Ильдане».
The fur coat was truly beautiful. Soft, furry and ‘’you can wear it on both sides’’. This miracle costed – 80 thousand roubles (
how many is that prox in $ ?) For a model who has earned 1 million dollars for a year that isnt so expenssive.
В Казань сбежала к любимому (?)
Despite of her fame she still is absolutely simple and opened person. Perhaps thats why she became firends with Valentino. Not even his favourite model, but also face for his new fragrance.
- At first, when i cam to casting, it was a bit difficult, but after some time we became good friends, - tells Eugenia about the famous designer. – For him i am like a daughter. I have been to his flat, he invited me. He is superperson indeed. At the moment i live and work in Paris. But i have never forget Russia.
Zenya loves Kazan so much that when she has the samellest possibilty she flies home. She escapes from busy cities, just to enjoy the quiet streets of her country, but not only for that.
- Here all mine relatives live. And mine biggest love. That why i try to go home every month , admits Eugenia.
Dossier «КП» (?)
Eugenia started to work as a model while she was at school. After she graduated, one of Russian agencies sent her to Paris. Then she didnt think about famous shows and magazines. She simply wanted to work in fashion world. But it turned out 20 years old russian beauty was meant for fashion world. After working in Europe for half a year, without problems she got Gucci campaign. For every designer she is a favourite model. Europian press calls her as «женщина-вамп», «амазонка» и «богиня».
I simply work from day to day ,trying to do everything as good as i can, - tells us our supermodel.
[pda.kp.ru] - (Many thanks to MissDIOR who has translated it so beautifully.) 17th Dec 2005.