Beauty and Fashion

The World's Top-Earning Models

noreply@blogger.com (Vicky Ceelen) — Sun, 31 May 2009 00:45:00 +0000

Less than two years ago, Claudia Schiffer declared that the age of the supermodel was over. Magazine covers and beauty contracts had become the province of celebrities. The industry's newest generation had not quite attained the international, first-name basis fame that Naomi, Cindy, and Christy had pioneered.

A lot has changed in two years. While fashion magazines and retail brands still market their wares with stars from music and movies, models have moved off the runway in equal measure, expanding their brands into fashion, entertainment, and philanthropy. The age of the multi- hyphenate model has replaced the age of the supermodel, giving the top girls more earning power than ever before.

A perfect example is the No. 2 earner on our list, Heidi Klum. While still a successful model at the age of 35 after having three kids, the majority of Klum's earnings are driven by her TV and endorsement career. Klum remains a member of the Victoria's Secret angel entourage as well as host of "Project Runway" and "Germany's Next Top Model."

The German beauty also designs a line Birkenstock sandals and has endorsement deals with Diet Coke, Volkswagen, McDonald's, and LG. Last year, she came out with her own skincare line, In An Instant. Klum earned $16 million from her various ventures.

Returning at No. 1 this year is Gisele Bundchen, who earned an estimated $25 million in the last year from numerous campaigns including Versace, True Religion jeans, Dior, and Ebel watches.

The Brazilian model has rare range--from high fashion to mass market--and measured impact on the success of the brands she represents. She also has her own Brazilian shoe line and tabloid fame on par with movie stars -- thanks in part to her recent marriage to NFL superstar Tom Brady.

The models on our list were ranked according to estimated earnings from June 2008 to June 2009.

The modeling industry was hard-hit by the economic crisis. Prominent fashion labels canceled or downgraded their runway shows, leaving models hoping for a break with fewer opportunities. Declining revenues at major beauty and retail companies left agents with less leverage to bargain for their clients.

But, the economy has increased the value of the versatile yet trademark beauty of those at the top of the industry.

"After a few years of mixed results where the sole obsession was attaching the biggest name or celebrity to your brand, companies are searching for that face that won't muddle their message," says Chris Gay, president of Marilyn Agency, which represents Adriana Lima. "The models that possess that beauty are the faces everyone wants right now, but that's a rare beauty."

The most successful models, including those who have cycled on and off this list, are able to evoke an emotional consumer response. While celebrities hawk everything from cotton underwear to Smart Water, only professional models can walk the Victoria's Secret runway with inimitable perfection and enough accessibility to get plain Janes across the world into the stores. While the uber-successful make millions, the majority make very little compared to the impact they have on the retail economy.

"These are young business professionals at the height of their game, rarer than superstar athletes, who are in an incredibly competitive environment and who have to deliver their skill set at any time day or night," says Ed Razek, president and chief marketing officer of Limited Brands, the parent company of Victoria's Secret. "These are people who can connect to consumers and move product."

As with years previous, the changes on the list illustrate the cyclical nature of the modeling business. The loss of a major contract can have a huge impact on overall earnings, as in the case of Karolina Kurkova, who dropped off our list after her Victoria's Secret contract expired.

Bndchen, though still No. 1, earned $10 million less with the loss of Victoria's Secret and other contracts. Kate Moss' earnings climbed $1 million based on the continued success of her clothing line for the British chain Topshop and several deal renewals.

This year's new girl is Emanuela De Paula at No. 11, who broke through as the face of U.K. retailer Next and is featured prominently in Victoria's Secret campaigns.

Reporting by Lauren Streib, Forbes

Web frenzy over T-shirt

noreply@blogger.com (Vicky Ceelen) — Sat, 23 May 2009 01:22:00 +0000

Something strange happened this week in Amazon.com's apparel section.

For a day or two, a black T-shirt featuring an image of three wolves baying at a full moon claimed the top slot at the online store's clothing bestseller list,, beating out the usual, unremarkable mix of Levi's 505 regular-fit jeans, Crocs clogs and Adidas running shoes.

Three Wolf Moon T-Shirt, Available in Various Sizes

And really, why wouldn't you buy the shirt, which is priced from $7.65 to $17.93, depending on your size? Just read the long and growing list of customer testimonials promising earth-shattering experiences or psychedelic vision quests upon purchase.

"I bought this shirt and instantly old girlfriends started calling me again," wrote one reviewer."My doctor says the cancer has gone into remission," wrote another. "

Thanks for changing my life!"The shirt's page at Amazon.com had quietly existed for years without much comment, but after a snarky link from CollegeHumor.com, the "Three Wolf Moon" shirt suddenly sprouted hundreds of five-star ratings.

Reviewers have dreamed up epics about its powers, weaving fantasies involving everything from the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland to the pop group Duran Duran.

As the joke caught on and got passed around the Web, Photoshopped spoofs of the shirt started appearing online -- featuring corgi puppies, spiders or haddock instead of the now-famous wolves.
CollegeHumor.com, a comedy site started in 1999 by a couple of high school friends who grew up together in Timonium, Md., also claimed victory this week for rigging an online poll run by the state of Nebraska to select a new license-plate design.

The site urged its readers to vote for what it deemed the most boring design available to Nebraska drivers. That gray-and-white plate won.Officials in Nebraska said they monitored Web traffic to screen out visitors coming directly from the humor site, but CollegeHumor.com was still, credibly, claiming the joke a success this week.

"Together we pranked the entire automobile-owning population of Nebraska," wrote a CollegeHumor.com editor, in a Wednesday posting. "Congratulations."

This type of online rabble-rousing appears to be catching on more than ever over the past year, said Tim Hwang, the organizer of ROFLCon, a convention dedicated to celebrating Internet memes.

After all, another Web-based prank crossed over into the real world just last month when a 21-year-old college student, known by the online moniker "m00t," sailed to the top of Time's "most influential person" list in an online poll, beating out the likes of President Obama and Oprah Winfrey.

Gathering nearly 17 million votes, the world's "most influential" person is the founder of another jokey Web culture site, 4chan.org, whose proprietor is known offline by the name Christopher Poole. If you don't get why the shirt, and its reviews, are so funny, don't worry.

CollegeHumor.com co-founder Josh Abramson said it's a case where the shirt is so uncool that it's cool."A lot of things that become popular on the Web are based around just being ironic and being an inside joke," Abramson said.

"This resonates with a geeky, hip crowd that is very Web-savvy. When something resonates with that circle, crazy things can happen."Abramson said his team had considered licensing the wolf shirt for sale.

CollegeHumor.com, which had 7 million unique Web visitors last month, also has an online store that sells T-shirts with ironic catchphrases and designs, called BustedTees.com. But it appears that the site may have been a bit slow to catch on to its own meme.

"We're kicking ourselves that we didn't," he said.The New Hampshire company that makes the "Three Wolf Moon" shirt said that it doesn't generally mind being the butt of this joke."You have to be able to laugh at yourself," said Michael McGloin, a partner and art director at the Mountain, who added that he finds some of the reviews to be "freaking hilarious."

The company certainly doesn't mind the shirt's recent uptick in sales: "Three Wolf Moon" is sold out, and the Mountain has started printing up a fresh batch.

It seems that the wolf theme was growing in popularity even before the Internet hipsters descended, McGloin said."Wolf shirts are super hot right now," he said. "It's the year of the wolf, I guess."

Click now to Three Wolf Moon T-Shirt

By Mike Musgrove, Washington Post Staff Writer

Xbox-inspired shoes do nothing, cost $2,500

noreply@blogger.com (Vicky Ceelen) — Tue, 19 May 2009 03:41:00 +0000

Yup, they cost $2500.

Some console fans will spare no expense to show their loyalty to their chosen brand, but we're guessing the $2,500 price tag of these one-of-a-kind Xbox-themed sneakers will make even the most committed Microsoft devotee think twice.

The custom shoes -- which aren't endorsed by Microsoft or Nike -- are handmade by Sole Junkie, a California-based artist who specializes in customized sneakers.

And they're not the most expensive ones he's ever made. "I have made shoes with 22k gold and diamonds on them," he told us in an interview. "I look at my creations as functional art...not just ordinary sneakers."

That would be functional in shoe terms, not in a gaming sense. Although you might hope that the $2,500 price tag would buy you cool Xbox interactivity, there's no hidden hard drive or controller functionality. Instead, the Xbox logos light up, courtesy of embedded fiber optics and a hidden switch.

According to Sole Junkie's eBay auction, "These are an exclusive pair...only one of its kind. Patent leather back with embedded fiber optic wiring in the shape of the XBOX logo. Battery placement is in the tongue as well as on and off switch that has 2 settings: Strobe or Constant light functions. Gradient lime swoosh faded to black. The toe is painted in a surreal Tiger Camouflage with accents of lime and bright green. These are a men's size 11."

Will they sell? He seems confident. "I have had offers already. They mention the beauty and artwork in it, not the price tag. Don't know how serious the buyers are so far."

But surprisingly, many Xbox fans aren't overjoyed at his work. "The video game community hates the price and the fact I may have taken a beloved iconic gaming system and butchered it," he told us. "On the other hand, I've had very positive responses from others...more than negative ones."

So, $2,500 shoes that do nothing? We'll pass. But if your collection of gaming memorabilia isn't complete without this unique footwear, don't let us stop you from jumping in.

by Mike Smith

What Were They Thinking?!

noreply@blogger.com (Vicky Ceelen) — Sat, 16 May 2009 03:37:00 +0000

Love Jennifer Hudson. Hate the incredibly unflattering zippered harem pants she wore while performing on the "Today" show.
Post comments at OMG

The Advantage of Attending a Fashion School

noreply@blogger.com (Vicky Ceelen) — Wed, 13 May 2009 15:06:00 +0000

Believe it or not, there is money to be made in fashion. The general public have, over the years become totally obsessed with the glitz and glamour of Hollywood. This has encouraged the fashion houses to evolve into a multi billion dollar industry. You can have instant popularity in fashion if you can come up with the right combination of things, (right choice of endorser, right choice of ideas, innovative and creative sense of fashion and the likes).

Of course it will not be easy, the fashion industry is an extremely difficult business to get into. You will need to have a full understanding and knowledge of the industry, and also influences which will provide you with maximum exposure which you need to deliver your creations into the industry. However, becoming a success will really be down to your own brilliance in designing, this is what will give you centre stage.

You may well have the talent. This is something which cannot be taken from you. It is of course, in your own interest to let your talent turn into a passion. But, your talent and skills will not be enough. You will have to be willing to take instruction, this will enable you to hone your special features and direct them specifically towards becoming the best you can be.

This is basically why fashion schools exist and continue to serve your artistic talents. They provide guidance and supplemental training to bring out the artist in you, and to help you achieve your creations. Online fashion schools have been gathering fame in the fashion industry for some time now, however hands on training and face to face instruction still cannot be equalled even by the best online schools.

As you are now considering entering a fashion school, it will be expected that you be knowledgeable enough on the fundamentals of fashion designing and basic awareness on designing. However, it is not expected that the student should be able to produce ramp quality creations initially. Instead, you are expected to bring out the brilliance in simple designs and create concepts that you may have patterned on the works of some great fashion designers or better yet, designs of your own concepts.

Remember that fashion designers can only make a name for themselves in the industry, when they have produced something genuinely creative that can cater for the present fashion scene, while having the originality and good sense of distinction from other fashion trends.

You may not be possess this talent at the moment. But the thing is, a good fashion school could bring out the best in you and in your creations. Initially, you may be producing concepts which will be considered rubbish, but this will change with the good learning you have acquired from a good school.

Some people may contend that even without proper education, an artist can create fashion trends that will be embraced by the public. Yes, that may well be true. But you must remember that there are very few individuals who have made it into the fashion scene with little or no formal study. Besides, even the trends in fashion change. What may have been true before is not likely to be true now. A formal schooling would update you with the most recent trends and the analysis of past styles that have recreated the industry.

A fashion school, like any education establishment will help you seek out your own niche. You may have creative ideas lurking in your mind but these free flowing ideas would be turned into nothing if not properly directed. Moreover, the experience of instructors in the fashion schools would be passed down to you. Therefore, you are quite unlikely to encounter the same pitfalls they have experienced themselves.

By: Monica McLean
http://www.articlesbase.com/fashion-articles/the-advantage-of-attending-a-fashion-school-422735.html