Earlier in the year, there were online whisperings about model agencies getting desperate to find the new Lara Stone. As the most in-demand model in the world, her booby, gappy-teethed, doe-eyed look has become virtual gold dust, but she is a supermodel, not superwoman, and can't do EVERY shoot going.
The industry loves Laras lady lumps so much, they make her get 'em out in every shoot. Do you know how hard it is to find a pic of her that doesn't feature naked boobies??! (Shot by Mario Testino for December Vogue)
Therefore, agencies are keen to capitalise on this 'bombshell' look, and are either signing looky-likeys or 'moulding' their current girls into mini Laras. Jezebel even compiled a gallery of Lara-alikes which is just downright spooky. Stylists, make up artists and photographers are clamouring to recreate the curvaceous Dutchwoman's knockout body and sultry stare as well as her marshmallow pout and trademark gap tooth smile. Apparently, Tyra Banks even encouraged a contestant to emphasise the gap in her front gnashers, as it would help her get more work. Just take a moment to contemplate the insanity of that notion.
Now, let's look at the reality of this craze. Fashion has been obsessed with the 'bombshell' for a while now, and that is partly due to Lara's stratospheric rise to the top. Men everywhere started to fancy fashion models again, due to the fact that some of them actually had curves. Let's face it, the blueprint for sensual, sex-pot beauty was cemented a long time ago when a certain Brigitte Bardot made everyone's jaw drop.
Bardot: sex appeal, bottled.
So now that we have our modern day Bardot obsession, every magazine cover screams out 'the return to curves!' 'the new body shape' or even, in the case of LOVE magazine, 'tits are really in the air this season'. All great, positive statements, except for one small thing: if this curvaceous, real woman body shape was really the ideal look for any fashionable woman, then people wouldn't be writing about it. It wouldn't be news. Just as the universal truth states that thin is really in, and slim is the way all women want to be. Nobody writes about it, it's just the way things are. Fashionable women aren't rushing off to get boob jobs; they are simply continuing their everlasting quest for thinness, no matter what fashion magazines are writing about.
I have a unique perspective on this, as fashion insider, and a girl with an hourglass body/sizeable bazoomas. I get so ANGRY when editors comission stories about 'the new feminine form' whilst continuing to employ pre-pubescent models to wear sample size clothes in shoots. Only last night, a stylist friend was telling me how a luxury fashion house sent a 14-year-old model home for being too fat for their samples. In my humble opinion, that doesn't sound like an industry that has changed it's ideals about bodyshape.
People go mad for the incredible beauty of Lara and the Lara-alikes, not because they are the ideal body shape in fashion-land, but because they are a NOVELTY. They have breasts! They look like they would be fun to play with! But they are still novelty items; sexual goddesses that help to sell magazines because they stand out from the androgynous model norm.
When you see a catwalk of size 10-12 models with DD cup boobs, then 'bombshell' will truly be back in style. Until then, we should celebrate the few that have got an inkling of sultriness about them, not just because they look like Lara, but just because they are smokin' hot!
Georgia May Jagger
Country of Origin: United Kingdom. Age: 19 Stats: 170cm tall. B: 81cm W: 66cm, H: 86cm
Georgia for Hudson - I'm not male, but "phwoarrrrrr" is the only appropriate response.
Georgia is a genuine hottie with rock n'roll running through her veins - daughter of a Rolling Stone and a supermodel. You could say her beauty was somewhat destined in the stars. She is studying photography, designing a range for Hudson jeans, and has a bit of cheeky personality going on, which is nice. If she wasn't a model type, she's be a marine biologist or tightrope walker, apparently. Personally, I think her pout is sexier than Lara's (controversial!!!)
Daphne Groeneveld
Country of Origin: Netherlands. Age 16 Stats: 5’10”5, B: 32, W: 23.5 H: 34
The face of Givenchy campaign, and a Paris Vogue covergirl. Not bad for someone who is still at school. She has the face of a sex-bomb, but the body of the skinny teenager she really is, which is why fashionland loves her.
Ashley Smith
Country of Origin: Texas, USA. Age: 19 Stats: 5’8”5, B: 32, W: 24, H: 34
Regarding the gap in her teeth, she says “Yeah I thought about it a lot when I was little, I even went to the dentist to get it fixed, but I’ve never actually had all the money in one place to be able to do it. Now it makes me money!”. Regarding her comparisons to Lara Stone “I don’t mind. I think she has cleared an amazing path for me! But I AM my own person and have many different things to bring to this industry. I do often want to meet her though. It’s so weird to think I know this girl that I’ve never met!”
Mert and Marcus say they “are in love with her”. She is the face of Topshop.
Hailey Clauson
Country of origin: California USA. Stats: 5’11’’. B:33 W:24 H: 34
(Shot by Sameer Khan)
Hailey started modelling at 12, and quickly became the face of Wildfox. She is now the face of DSquared2 and Gucci.She documents her model life in a personal blog, which is enjoyable! www.haileyclauson.blogspot.com
It is worth noting that most of these girls are still uber-skinny by real life standards, but at least their inherent sensuality is encouraging a return the Bardot standard of beauty. Civilians have always appreciated a gorgeous woman, and eventually, fashion people will catch on that these girls aren't novelty, they're normal!