Russian supermodel Irina Shayk
Catwalk star cosies up with big cats.
Russian supermodel Irina Shayk has been through what she describes as “the scariest group shot in her life”. The 26-year-old hottie was photographed strolling around Zambia, in Southern Africa, with three cheetahs.
This latest photo shoot for the Sports Illustrated swimsuit magazine produced her “best pictures ever”, the brunette purrs.
“When people see the picture of me with the cheetahs, they are going to think it’s Photoshop. But trust me, for Sports Illustrated, we don’t do Photoshop,” the beauty said, adding she was going to miss Zambia.
The girlfriend of one of the highest-paid footballers in the world, Real Madrid’s Christian Ronaldo was photographed by Canadian heartthrob Derek Kettela, a fan of active sports.
Shayk made her name as the first Russian supermodel to appear on the cover of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue last year.
Slavic beauties
Slavic beauties come out on top.
Their reputation precedes them: the allure and charisma of Russia’s supermodels is lauded by designers and photographers worldwide. Now, two Russian beauties have made it to Vogue’s prestigious Top Ten Models of 2011 list.
The Slavic sirens – Natasha Poly and Sasha Pivovarova – have featured in ad campaigns of the world’s top luxury brands, and slinked down the catwalks for leading fashion designers.
Earlier this year, 26-year-old blonde Poly posed naked for the legendary Pirelli Calendar, along with Fifth Element star Milla Jovovich and Kate Moss.
Her blue-eyed peer Pivovarova made her name as one of Russia’s best-known models and Miuccia Prada’s personal favourite.
Both lovely ladies are based outside Russia. Poly is married to a Dutch businessman and lives in Europe, while Pivovarova and her Russian photographer-husband, who once launched her career in fashion, have been living in America.
Marina Linchuk
Russian supermodel to embody La Dolce Vita.
She is tough, sexy and cool. Victoria’s Secret angel, blonde Russian beauty Marina Linchuk, has taken part in the new ad campaign for one of the oldest and most revered Italian luxury brands.
The New York-based supermodel got the coveted job when she was at a party celebrating the opening of the “Coat! Max Mara, 60 years of Italian fashion” exhibition in Moscow. Linchuk managed to charm the captains of the legendary brand to the point where she was offered a contract straightaway.
The long-legged, long-haired Russian siren showed off a range of emotions during her photoshoot of the brand’s spring-summer collection as she appeared changing dresses like gloves, and in different images.
The 24-year-old beauty went from wearing a cheeky sailor’s striped T-shirt and a sea beret to a Black Swan glam dress with a flirty petite voile.
But in fact the blue-eyed Marina is not as innocent as she looks. Beware: when she is not on the runway, she can be found in… the boxing ring. Boxing and snowboarding are her hobbies. She is always a little on the edge! It takes more than a pretty face to be a model.
One of Russia’s most successful supermodels, she comes from the Belarusian capital, Minsk. Her career, however, got started in Moscow, in IQ Models agency.
Her breakthrough came after a photoshoot with one of the most iconic fashion photographers of all time, America’s Steven Meisel, the man who took pictures of Madonna for her 1992 book Sex.
Since then she’s graced the catwalks for some of the world’s most revered fashion brands and appeared on magazine covers of the major “fashion bibles”.
In 2009 she was invited to appear in “Miss Dior Chérie”, a video clip directed by the Oscar-winning creator of Lost in Translation, Sofia Coppola.
Her private life is as glitzy as her fashion career with her Brooklyn-born boyfriend, DJ Sal Morale, spinning around the clock.
Silk dress
Few people know the story behind this sexy silk dress, how it became so popular in 1920s before disappearing after the revolution and is finding a new life today.
In the trailer of Zhang Yimou’s latest film “The Flowers of War” one of the most memorable scenes involves 13 swaying women wearing qipao dresses.
Pronounced “chee pow” and also sometimes referred to as a cheongsam, the dress is both extremely feminine and subtly sexy. It is the embodiment, in some people’s eyes, of a kind of classic Chinese sex appeal.
Before Zhang Yimou’s film, the form-fitting dress was worn by the elegant Maggie Cheung in Wong Kar Wai’s “In the Mood for Love,” and also in Ang Lee’s “Lust, Caution.” It has also made an occasional appearance wrapped on a Western celebrity, including Nicole Kidman and Jennifer Lopez.
But what Western spectators do not know is that today, except for a few ceremonies, its use in China is mostly limited to restaurant waitresses and airline attendants.
Ordinary Chinese women simply do not wear this kind of dress anymore.
In the past couple of years, many people have become nostalgic for China’s Republican era, thanks, perhaps, to a few popular television series set during the pre-civil war era, when upper-class ladies and socialites wore such gowns.
Although the stylish and often tight-fitting dress was created in the 1920s in Shanghai, the traditional qipao, meaning the garment of the Banners People, chiefly the Manchu, was a garment worn by the mandarins: men and women of the Imperial court.
It came in the form of loose vest all the way down to the feet, worn on top of a long-sleeved blouse. It was later transformed into the gown with sleeves that became the prototype of the modern qipao.
Women’s
Women’s Lib and Prostitutes
In the old Shanghai where the vanguard of the women’s liberation movement took the lead in China, the missionaries and merchants opened schools for girls. It’s said that it was these female students who initiated the fashion. They wore plain, simple but elegant qipao. They represented the new intellectual aesthetic. The dress quickly became popular with the celebrities of the time.
But it is also said that another category of women gave the cheongsam new life in Shanghai: older prostitutes.
This is an interesting theory. In the first half of the last century prostitutes led Shanghai’s fashion taste. The prostitute was the fashion model of her time.
In pre-war Shanghai the competition among prostitutes was intense. Russian and Japanese girls flooded in looking for riches.
The Chinese girls were forced to use their traditional dressmakers’ talent to fashion a dress that did wonders for the figure, making each girl tall and elegant, the tight fit also worked wonders on men’s imaginations.
No matter which version of the story is true, they confirm the most important quality of this garment – it has a different effect on each woman, either graceful or flirtatious, all depending on who’s wearing it.
Although it was first created in the 1920s, it was in the 1930s that the qipao benefitted from some Western tailoring influence.
More structural than the Chinese original, it boasts a lower waistline and darts at the bust and the waist for a tighter fit, while the shoulder seam and fitted sleeves
completed its devastating effect. Softer shoulder pads rendered the look even more feminine than the original with its more angular shape.
From that time to the present, China has failed to produce much stylistic influence on the clothing world.
After the revolution, female fashion disappeared altogether in China. Women basically wore military fatigues. Only in the past 20 years has this started to change.
Recently, in Beijing, there was an exhibition called a “A Hundred Years of the Qipao.” The exhibition shows the birth of the Republic of China cheongsam, how slits and
Western-style tailoring modified it, and then in the 1940s, the final variations of the gown prior to its almost total extinction.
Artists
The Celebrity Effect
In pre-war Shanghai famous artists tried their hand at designing qipao. A female painter, Tang Ying, not only owned countless gowns herself, but also ran a fashion company that exclusively sold these dresses.
As the “Paris of the Orient”, Shanghai had already been prominently featured in in women’s fashion magazines. And because the cinema production center was also in this city, Shanghai rivaled Hollywood for glamour.
The most famous woman associated with qipao was Soong Mai Ling – the former First Lady of the Republic of China and wife of Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek.
Soong came from a wealthy family and spent her teenage years in America before she went back to China. When she returned to the States during the war along with Chiang to promote the Chinese cause, she charmed many American politicians, including President Roosevelt, with her well versed English and Western culture — and her graceful but restrained array of Chinese qipao.
The Victoria & Albert Museum in London asked her to donate one of her qipao gowns as their exhibition piece just before she died.
After the Communist Party took power in China, the wives of the party leaders continued to wear the qipao for a while. Wang Guangmei, wife of the former People’s Republic Chairman Liu Shaoqi, wore a qipao on a state visit, one of the crimes for which she was later brutally “criticized” during the Cultural Revolution.
The qipao continued to be popular in Hong Kong and in Taiwan where many Chinese Nationalists and their families fled after Mao took power.
But on the mainland, the dress had totally vanished until its reappearance over the past 20 years, worn by female Chinese leaders at solemn occasions, or stars on the red carpet.
And yes, you will also see them worn in China by receptionists, waitresses and masseuses. The glaring red versions with a high slit to reveal the leg have also made the qipao, alas, a sign of cheapness and vulgarity.
Natalia Vodianova
‘The Sunday Times’ Rich List 2012 Includes Rosie Huntington-Whiteley… And Natalia Vodianova.
When it comes to staggeringly wealthy models, Brazil’s got Gisele and Adriana. The U.S. has Kathy Ireland (yep, the former model has a $2 billion retail empire). But England boasts Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Lily Cole and even Natalia Vodianova (they’ve claimed the Russian model as their own).
England’s The Sunday Times revealed these names and more as it prepares to publish its annual Rich List 2012, in which the names of the 1,000 richest people in Britain and the 250 wealthiest in Ireland find their way to the general public. Among those 1,250 names, sixty are 30 years old or younger.
So who in fashion made the cut? The Sunday Times carves out a “Models” category, although many on the list are celebrity spokesmodels like Emma Watson and Keira Knightley. Among the real fashion pros, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley earns a first-time spot with £5 million while model/actress Lily Cole ranks with £8 million. The standout fashion name is Natalia Vodianova, who was born in Russia but now resides in the UK with her £16 million.
Missing from the “Models” list, of course, is Britain’s richest fashion couple: the Beckhams. Last year the pair ranked as England’s wealthiest celebrity couple with a combined worth of £180 million, mirroring America’s wealthiest celebrity couple, also a football-fashion pairing: Gisele Bundchen and Tom Brady.
The Times noted back in 2011 that the Beckhams’ continued success would push their then-£180 million value closer to £200 million in the 2012 Sunday Times Rich List.
In conclusion, marrying a footballer and starting your own line is apparently way more lucrative than posing for covers, runways and fragrance campaigns. Rosie, Natalia and Lily, take note.
Scots model
Catwalk boob blunder pays off for Scots model as offers of work flood in.
SCOTS model Tottie Greer has become a star in the US – after a catwalk “wardrobe malfunction”.
Tottie, 26, was modelling at this month’s Dressed to Kilt event in New York when her dress’s plunging neckline slipped – baring a little more than she’d intended.
But the Glasgow girl soldiered on bravely despite her embarrassment, and the star-studded audience including Kelly Brook and Matthew Modine applauded her courage.
And offers of work have been flooding in since the photo of her mishap was seen across America.
Tottie laughed as she admitted: “When my dress slipped, I feared the worst.
“But the audience were great and clapped and cheered me.
“I didn’t try to adjust the dress and carried on walking.
“It’s been very positive for me and not done my career any harm at all. Had it been a more serious fashion show, it could have worked against me.
“But it also helped that so many of the audience were fellow-Scots.”
Tottie was born and bred in Glasgow, where architect dad Robin and teacher mum Evelyn live in the city’s west end.
Big sister Emmaand her husband run The Swan Inn in Lennoxtown, north of the city.
And Tottie’s outfit for Dressed to Kilt was made by Scots designer Iona Crawford, a close pal.
Tottie worked for the Model Team agency in Glasgow before leaving for London in 2006.
From there, she moved to Los Angeles, where she modelled for top designers including Phillip Lim and met stars including Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Cruise and Ashton Kutcher.
Tottie moved to New York last year, setting up home in a 50th-floor Manhattan apartment with her Russian fianancier boyfriend Maxim Serezhin.
Roberto Cavalli, who designed clothes for the Spice Girls, is one of her neighbours.
Tottie’s modelling career is going from strength to strength. But she’s also hoping for a career in films after becoming friends with legendary producer and Miramax supremo Harvey Weinstein in LA.
She’s training to be an actress at New York’s Stella Adler school, where Marlon Brando and Robert De Niro studied.
And as well as her plans for a new career, she has a new name.
She’s decided to change it to Greer Sloan because so many other models, particularly girls from Russia, have names similar to Tottie.
Supermodel
‘Cinderella supermodel’ makes it to the ball.
From rags to riches. Russian ‘Cinderella supermodel’ Natalia Vodianova has made it on to The Sunday Times Rich List of British fashion stars. The British-based supermodel, who turned 30 earlier this year, is reportedly worth £16m.
The Russian is known for her fairytale story. Brought up in Nizhny Novgorod in a poor family with a disabled sister, Vodianova enrolled in a modeling academy at the age of 15 to become one of the world’s most sought-after supermodels.
The millionaire model is also lauded for her Naked Heart charity foundation constructing thousands of playgrounds for children across Russia. She is a mother of three children, and recently split from her British husband of nine years, Justin Portman. Vodianova’s new beau is Antoine Arnault, son of billionaire LVMH head Bernard Arnault.
Vodianova’s companions on the list of the wealthiest modeling stars are Keira Knightley, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and Emma Watson, among others.
Star
Porn star doesn’t mean prostitute:Sunny Leone.
Adult movie star Sunny Leone, the newest and perhaps, um, ’sexiest’ entrant to the ” Bigg Boss” house, says that ‘porn star’ doesn’t automatically mean ‘prostitute’. The curvy babe, originally Karen Malhotra, born to Indian parents, took the US adult entertainment industry by storm, but never planned to become a porn star. But the money was just too good, she says.
“My parents, who are originally from Punjab, were completely shocked when they found out I was in the adult entertainment industry. Their reaction was what I expected, and I was prepared for it. When my father realized what I did, he said, ‘You didn’t even ask us before you did this! But whatever you do, make sure you do it well.’ My mother was also stunned when she found about my lesbian lovemaking videos, but she accepted it. And the fact that my work didn’t change me as a person worked in my favour. My parents soon realized it and respected me for who I am and my decisions. So there was never any question of being disowned by my family,” she says. Have her parents seen any of her hardcore adult videos? “Of course not! Whose parents would do that?” she asks.
Sunny says it’s ignorance that makes people equate adult stars with prostitutes. “I think India doesn’t have an adult entertainment industry – that’s why people have no idea what it is. I ran a company that took care of the deals I sealed with firms to sell and share my content online and to other media. Running a company was hard work. I’d work for about 60-70 hours a week. It wasn’t a party. I have only one partner. So that way, I’m very restrained in the real world,” she says.
Isn’t it true that she lost her virginity when she was 16? “Yes. The guy played basketball in high school. He was as old as me. We just liked each other. Losing my virginity at 16 was just about making a choice that I wanted to make at that age. Since my parents have lived away from India for many years, their thought process is different. They’ve always let me take my own decisions. I don’t regret anything that I’ve done so far. I have no regrets about who I am. I have a nice life, great family, great friends and make a good living,” she says.
Sunny says participating in “Bigg Boss” will make people realize she isn’t the cliched ‘adult star’. “I grew up in a regular Indian household; I’ve been taught to be a good person. I want Indian people to know that. And I’ve always been interested in Bollywood, so with this show, I might get good roles in Hindi films,” she says.
Now that she’s in India, will she also visit relatives in Delhi? “I last came to Delhi this year in February. I’d like to come back soon. But I wasn’t born here, like it says online – I was born in Canada,” she says.