A Model Professor

By STEPHEN HEYMAN

September 21, 2011, 4:34 pm

Greg Kessler The sociologist Ashley Mears (left) posed, quite convincingly, among models backstage at a Diane von Furstenberg ready-to-wear show in 2007. At the time, she was studying for her Ph.D. at New York University.

At a time when tree climbing and the “Lord of the Rings” language Elvish are both taught at the university level, who could argue that the world of fashion modeling is not also worthy of academic scrutiny? Ashley Mears, a young assistant professor of sociology at Boston University, just came out with her first book, “Pricing Beauty” (University of California, $27), which succeeds at dissecting the multibillion-dollar global modeling industry not only through traditional methods like interviews and data analysis, but also by resorting to a more gonzo means of academic inquiry. To study models, Mears actually became one.

134 Minutes With Sara Ziff

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PHILIPPE POURHASHEMI INTERVIEWS IRIS VAN HERPEN

http://dianepernet.typepad.com/diane/2010/05/philippe-pourhashemi-interviews-iris-van-herpen.html

Wednesday, 05 May 2010

PHILIPPE POURHASHEMI INTERVIEWS IRIS VAN HERPEN

A backstage photograph from Iris van Herpen's last show, shot by Steven Dahlberg

Dear Shaded Viewers,

It is rare in fashion that you meet new talents so utterly immersed in their own world and passionate about their work that the encounter leaves you feeling joyful and inspired. Iris van Herpen is one of them. The Arnhem-based, Dutch designer clearly has a mind of her own. She shows her collections in London and has enjoyed growing attention both from press and buyers over the past year. She may appear frail and fragile, but her imagination has no limits. Iris is on a total creative trip and her strength is to take you there along the way. I can’t even begin to describe what she does, as the shape of her clothes and techniques she uses defy conventional logics. She is exactly what fashion needs right now: a true visionary, with a longing for beauty and complexity.

The Future Of Fashion, Part Three: Hedi Slimane

http://www.style.com/stylefile/2010/02/the-future-of-fashion-part-three-hedi-slimane/

February 23, 2010 8:43 pm

As we enter a new decade, the fashion business, like the rest of the world, is encountering significant economic and technological change. In this new series, Style.com’s editor in chief, Dirk Standen, talks to a number of leading industry figures about the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.

Color Lines on the Catwalk

http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1838865_1838862_1838743,00.html

By Ling Woo Liu / Hong Kong Thursday, Sept. 04, 2008

Rising modeling stars in Burberry trenches. From left: Eugenia Mandzhieva, Du Juan and Hye Park. George Lange for TIME

In many ways, this year's competition for Ford Supermodel of the World was like its predecessors. Gorgeous models from around the world gathered in New York City in January for the modeling industry's biggest event. For one week, contestants were mascaraed, moussed and molded into fearless divas on the runway. But this year's winner, 20-year-old Hyoni from South Korea, underlined a change in an industry that has been notoriously slow to embrace diversity. Hyoni, whose real name is Kang Seung-hyun, is the first Asian winner in the 27-year history of the competition. Since her victory, which earned her a $250,000 contract with Ford Models, Kang has walked in nearly 20 shows and shot ads for Benetton and Lacoste. "Fashion is changing," she says. "Many designers know Asian girls can be high-fashion models too."

Foreign models flock to China, which embraces a Western vision of beauty

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/25/AR2009122501766.html?wprss=rss_print/style

By Keith B. Richburg
Saturday, December 26, 2009; C01

BEIJING -- China's Next Top Model may well be a blue-eyed Canadian blonde named Nicole.

Nicole Vos, 19, has been modeling in Canada for four years and was doing runway shows for Toronto Fashion Week when "my agency one day just told me that I'm going to China." Now just halfway through her three-month contract in Beijing, Vos has been photographed for catalogues, magazines and commercials.