>> In the latest round of Spring 2011 ad campaigns to pop up, Crystal Renn nabbed a starring role in Jimmy Choo's colorful, colorblocked set shot by Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin; Baptiste Giabiconi sprays Freja Beha Erichsen and Stella Tennant in their Chanel suits with a water hose; and Ellen von Unwerth, who first found fame photographing Claudia Schiffer for Guess, is back for another round with the brand.
>> Candice Swanepoel is hitting mailboxes as we speak, solo on the cover of the new Victoria's Secret swimsuit catalogue, but she's joined by a few of her fellow Victoria's Secret models— Lily Aldridge, Erin Heatherton, and Lindsay Ellingson — on the February 2011 cover of GQ UK, for the magazine's annual Victoria's Secret collector's edition. Swanepoel seems to be on heavy rotation for Victoria's Secret as of late — she was also on the cover of the holiday catalogue. [GQ UK]
>> Intel followed The Sartorialist's Scott Schuman around just before the holidays to produce a seven-minute short documentary on how he works. As the film shows Schuman going for a haircut, walking around Manhattan and stopping people on the street for photographs, he talks about how street photography is something he wants to do for 30 or 40 more years to come, and how he imagines his chronicle of photographs and the subsequent comments they get "will look very interesting a hundred years from now," as attitudes and tastes change.
>> Sarah Burton started working for Alexander McQueen when he was based at a "tiny studio," she tells British Vogue in its February 2011 issue: "At the interview, I remember Lee asking me, 'Do you believe in UFOs?'"
She owes her design knowledge to McQueen, she says: "Everything I know, I learned here. If you didn't know how to do something, Lee made you take on the challenge and would teach you how, or leave you to figure out how to do it yourself. He once handed over a bias-cut houndstooth dress and said, 'Now, put a zip in it,' then left for the weekend!"
But despite that, and the fact that McQueen CEO Jonathan Akeroyd, Gucci Group CEO Robert Polet, and PPR CEO Francois-Henri Pinault all implored her to take the head job at McQueen's label after he died in February, 36-year-old Burton spent weeks deliberating the decision. "For quite a long time I didn't want the job," she explained. "I thought: how would I ever even begin to begin? Lee's mind was so different to everyone else's. I knew there was no way I could pretend to be him; but I had to ask myself, what did Lee work for? For all this to close down? I thought about what I wanted. What was best for me. Like many women my age, I do want children, but I came to think that that's not a reason not to take up a challenge. In the end, I decided to just get on with it: do my best."
There will, of course, be pieces of the McQueen legacy that will remain McQueen's alone. "I could not take on the shows!" Burton laughs. "But I wanted the catwalk to be intimate, to be about the craftsmanship, the designs. People ask: what's Sarah about? But I've worked here so long, there's been a big part of me in those collections all along the way. I'm not going to wipe the slate clean. That would be wiping me away. There will always be McQueen elements, but at the same time, you can never stay still and have to stay true to yourself. That's what Lee drummed into me: you have to be able to stand behind your work."
>>Black is a great staple, but we love it even more when paired with nudes and oatmeals. This street-snapped Norwegian cutie showed off the sleek color combo with Acne boots, black high-waisted shorts, tights, and a wrap cardi. Get the same look with our choice picks from Celine, Gap, Splendid, and Acne.
Left to right: French Connection Little Bay Shorts ($50, originally $148), Delia's Skinny Braid Belt ($20), Bebe Floppy Hat($49), Falke Tights ($44), Celine Camel Bowler Bag ($1,800), Acne Pistol Short Booties ($497), Gap Tuxedo Shirt ($25, originally $60), Splendid Cardigan ($34, originally $68)
Photo courtesy of the lookbook.nu
