BIRGIT KOS

Channeling the great Brigitte Bardot and her modeling idol Linda Evangelista, the Dutch  powerhouse Birgit Kos has already ascended to the heights of the modeling world since getting her start in 2014. Before being discovered at the age of 15 at a shopping mall in Amsterdam with her parents, the tomboy and outdoorsman had no lofty aspirations of modeling at the onset:

“When I was young, I had these really round glasses and really weird short hair. I looked like a boy, actually. Then my hairdresser started to tell me that I should be a model and that I had a pretty face, around 13 or 14. I guess then you start to see it.”

I don’t have to sell my soul
He’s already in me
I don’t need to sell my soul
He’s already in me

Birgit began shooting with a local agency, but was told she had “too much hips.” “They said I could come back when my hips were smaller, says Kos, I was done with it after that.” Birgit’s father saw an advert for the Elite Model Look competition and urged her to give modeling another shot.

I wanna be adored
I wanna be adored

Birgit didn’t win but she landed a contract. Her first two years were slow, doing only commercial work, but Birgit was still grateful for her slow start. “I didn’t do much editorial or walk in any shows, but I am really thankful for that slow start, as it gave me time to really hone my craft.”

I don’t have to sell my soul
He’s already in me
I don’t need to sell my soul
He’s already in me

I wanna be adored
I wanna be adored

Birgit’s career really started to get its legs in 2016 when she landed her first magazine cover for Glamour France January 2016 and scored her first big fashion campaign for Giorgio Armani: “When I started modeling, [Armani] was really the king of fashion for me,” she said. “It was nice to get that [campaign] because after three years of working, you see that you’re going somewhere.”

Birgit walked her first and only show in 2016 for Miu Miu S/S 17. But for 2017, Birgit would go on an Attila the Hun-esque fashion siege, walking upward to 60 SHOWS for everyone from Alberta Ferretti, Fendi, Moschino, Versace, Etro, Saint Laurent, Chloe, Isabel Marant, Tom Ford, Michael Kors, Ralp Lauren, as well as gracing some of her first covers for Vogue Japan, Germany and Russia.

Adored
I wanna be adored

“At first I was really relaxed about it and thought, ‘OK, I’ll try the modeling thing for a bit.’ Then when I started getting contracts, I was like, ‘Holy shit! I can actually do this.”

Birgit would be bestowed with another modeling milestone for her already stellar fashion career when in 2018 she landed her first fragrance campaign for none other than Hugo Boss, a moment in her life where she was ecstatic with glee and disbelief:

“I called my mom and said, ‘Do you know who I’m doing a commercial with? What if it’s like Fifty Shades of Grey?’ ” She laughs. “But Jamie is so cool, it wasn’t that way at all.”

Today, Birgit has 24 fashion magazine covers, 16 of which are for Vogue, 55 editorials, has walked in at 156 shows, is a Top 50 Model according to Models.com and in 2017 was nominated for Models.com Industry Award for their Women’s Breakout Star.

You adore me
You adore me
You adore me, I wanna, I wanna
I wanna be adored

“It’s impossible to pick a single career highlight. Honestly, I am just really grateful for every job I get.”

Birgit draws most of her inspiration from her modeling icon Linda Evangelista as well as her favorite photographer, the legendary Peter Lindburgh:

“She [Linda Evangelista] embodies what a model should be. She is a chameleon and can step into any character. I always hear from all the great photographers that she inspired them enormously. That’s what a model should be, a muse.”

When Birgit isn’t being a stellar top fashion model, she enjoys the quiet and slow pace life of countryside living in Zurich, Switzerland with her longtime boyfriend Sven. “Zurich is a really vibrant, beautiful old city with a nice relaxed pace of life. When I’m not away for work, I love taking our dog for walks in the open fields and forest.”

Birgit is also quite the outdoorswoman. She thrives the most in the wild, doing outdoor activities: “I really like nature. I like to do sporty stuff outdoors…hiking, walking, snowboarding.” Birgit loves the outdoors so much that she could envision herself as a travel agent, exploring parts of Africa like Namibia and helping with wildlife conservation.

Wanna
I wanna, I wanna be adored
I wanna, I wanna, I wanna be adored
I wanna, I wanna, I gotta be adored

But one of the things Birgit adores and cherishes the most, is fellow model and best friend, the one and only Luna Bijl! The two have been friends for years and they first met during a shoot for H&M in Mexico. Luna: “It immediately clicked between Birgit and me.” Birgit: ‘Luna is super social. She talks easily, so it was fun from the first minute. ” Luna: We have the same standard when it comes to working.

Out of all of the dozens of new faces in the fashion industry today, Birgit Kos is easily one of the most distinguished. She has this classical Hollywood aura about herself like Brigitte Bardot and many of her modeling shots look like they’ve could have been photographed by Helmut Newton himself. She has such an look of sophistication and air of being totally nonchalant.

“If you want to be a model, I think one of the most important things is to stay yourself. People love to see your personality, they love to see you for who you are. They don’t want to see a facade of something that you feel like you have to be.”

It’s really remarkable what Birgit has done in her career, especially considering the slow start she had. But she’s been a hit ever since and as a modeling virtuosa, her artistry and versatility are almost second to none.

I wanna be adored

She rather be reading her favorite book in the confines of her Zurich wildlife abode than tend with the mortal coil of big city life. She’s as outdoorsy and easygoing as they come, she’s everything you could ask for in a top model with beauty and grace. A heart for wildlife and a Superlove to totally adore, Birgit Kos.

The Patrick Mahomes of modeling is back at it again, and this time for the fine people at Mango for their Romantic Vibe Collection. I think this is one of my favorite collections I’ve seen Luna model. It’s pretty modest and vibrant. I hope Andy Reid doesn’t have Luna the gunslinger throwing too much this off season lol. Love ♡ Luna ♡

Rianne van Rompaey is just the coolest! I swear she’s every Roald Dahl, Dr. Seuss, Lewis Carroll, Tim Burton character rolled into one with a healthy dose of Mel Brooks and a smidge of Robin Williams’ wit. She was so amazing during fashion week. It didn’t matter if it was for Givenchy, Chloe, Chanel, Miu Miu, Valentino or Prada, Rianne looked phenomenal and her outfits were really cool too.

Pictures from WMagazine, photography by Karim Sadli.

Among Rianne, Luna Bijl, Fran Summers, and Birgit Kos, it’s like we have the most talented and amazing models today. It’s like picking between your favorite punk or thrash metal bands in their heyday, you just couldn’t go wrong. In a world of Hadids, Ratajkowskis, Jenners, and Gerbers, it’s pretty cool we have someone in Rianne, who like a cape crusader is a beckon for those who are different and sometimes strange lol.

“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” – Oscar Wilde

Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice!

Bride of Frankenstein

The Monster Mash

Alrighty Then! Rianne Ventura Pet Detective!

Photography by Inez And Vinoodh for Chanel

“Treasure your weirdness — And really in life in general, I think you should just be your crazy self and it’ll be ok.” -Rianne van Rompaey, Vogue Italia.

Kid, you soiled the samples
That’s a decade of collected data

F*ck you at $12.50 an hour
I should’ve started a chemical fire
I should’ve burned this f*cking place to the ground
To the ground
To the ground

LOL, I can’t stop laughing, I love Drug Church rofl

The one and only Luna Bijl is back at it again for Free People by the masterful Andreas Ortner.

FRAN SUMMERS

From the small civil parish of Richmond, North Yorkshire, Francesca Summers, who has already been compared to English icons like Jean Shrimpton and Twiggy, has been nothing short of sensational since embarking on her fashion journey in 2016, enamoring many in the industry with her witty personality and tenacious optimism.

There’s every good reason
For letting you go
She’s sneaky and smoked out
And it’s starting to show

“My personality in five words: Fun, positive, outgoing, hopefully friendly, all over the place.”

As a shy child and student of drama, Fran delighted in shows like Ugly Betty and America’s Next Top Model. But the same love for such shows made Fran reluctant to attempt anything like modeling. “I used to watch Ugly Betty and America’s Next Top Model, so I was scared to even start modeling. But it’s totally more chill than that.”

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious

But it wasn’t until she was 15, when visiting her older sister in London, wondering around the Mac cosmetic store that a make-up artist named Naima, asked Fran if she ever thought about modeling. Fran amused by the idea decided to tag along with her sister and Naima on their day off to Storm Management.

I’ll never let you go
I’ll never let you go
I’ll never let you go

“I thought it would be laughs and giggles to be turned down,” says Fran. “Then we walked in and they handed me a contract.”

Two years later, Fran made her runway debut in Christopher Kane’s spring/summer 2017 show, a moment in her life where she readily admits she was overcome with nerves, went the the wrong way in rehearsal, yet getting to walk in Crocs squelched most of her anxiety during the show. “We got to walk in Crocs,” she says. “It was a dream.”

I’ll never let you turn around, your back on each other
That’s a good idea, break a promise to your mother
Turn around, your back on each other

The following year in 2017, Fran appeared in almost 20 shows. She walked for everyone from Prada, Dior, Saint Laurent, Chloe, Givenchy, Celine, Valentino, Alexander McQueen, Miu Miu, and Louis Vuitton. Fran even had her first editorials for the Go-See and Society Girl, but the following year would eclipse even that.

You say that I changed
Well maybe I did
But even if I changed
What’s wrong with it?

I’ll never let you go
I’ll never let you go
I’ll never let you go

In 2018 alone, Fran walked in up to 80 shows, graced her first cover for Vogue Italia, worked in a Prada campaign, opened for the Valentino couture autumn/winter 2018 show, and appeared in at least 26 editorials, including Vogue, Interview Magazine, Love Magazine, The Sunday Times Style Magazine UK, and i-D Magazine.

I’ll never let you turn around, your back on each other
That’s a good idea, break a promise to your mother
Turn around, your back on each other

Today, Fran is one of the most in demand fashion models around, is already among the top 50 according to models.com and has walked in over 200 shows to date. Fran was featured on the cover of the Wall Street Journal, which included an article detailing her rise to stardom.

Managing directors, fashion journalist, and stylists alike, sing the praises of Fran and laud her timeless look and natural aptitude for modeling: “Fran has one of those extraordinary faces that would be gorgeous in any decade,” says Storm managing director Sarah Doukas, who discovered Kate Moss. “She is the most fun, interesting and engaged-in-life person.”

“She has the natural walk-in-the-room beauty that stops people dead,” says Vogue’s Kate Phelan, “but also an ability to interpret fashion that’s highly unique. She’s one of those girls who will be defined alongside other famous British models.”

“There is something about Fran that feels very refined and elegant, while remaining fresh and relatable” says Clare Waight Keller, who cast her in the final, Audrey Hepburn-inspired look in her autumn 2018 Givenchy couture show. “I felt that casting a confident woman with timeless allure and natural attitude would bring that iconic dress into 2018.”

And now our friends are gone, are gone
And all the time moves on and on
And all I know is it’s wrong, it’s wrong
And all I know is it’s wrong, it’s wrong
(It’s wrong, it’s wrong, it’s wrong, it’s wrong)
If there’s a reason, it’s lost on me
Maybe we’ll be friends, I guess we’ll see

Fran’s optimistic attitude and drive stem from her hardworking and loving parents Keith and Sandra, who own a carpet and flooring business. Fran values her dad’s life advice above all else and told her growing up that being nice doesn’t cost you anything and your attitude ultimately dictates the environment around you.

“He has been the nicest person ever [talking about her father] and he told me growing up that being nice costs nothing.”

Fran as a model is such a one of a kind talent. On the runway, she has this look of dead seriousness; I don’t even think she blinks. When she walks it’s so controlled, her struts are even restrained. She knows how to sway her hips if she wants to, it’s as though she has perfect muscle control. Whatever character she’s playing for the show that day, she’s perfectly into and brings tremendous energy to the audience.

I’ll never let you go
I’ll never let you go
I’ll never let you go

I also really enjoy her editorial work and characters she’s able to tap into. She can be really silly and colorful like she’s performing in a musical, then there’s times where she can take a more serious tone like in her editorial for Vogue Paris where she dresses up like the Wicked Witch. Fran can also be very sultry like she’s a femme fatale or in a Victoria’s Secret campaign.

As versatile and remarkable Fran the model maybe, Fran the person is even more spectacular. The everyday Fran buys her clothes from charity shops (pretty much the equivalent to Goodwill or thrift stores in the US), sports fanny packs and carries around Bisto gravy granules in her handbag.

You can see in clips on YouTube like from FORD Models and British Vogue just how funny of a person she is. She has this witty way of talking and gesturing, like she’s roping you into a punchline but there really isn’t a punchline, she just ends up laughing at herself, but the delivery is still funny, and she’s great at holding your attention.

“Just be kind. Being nice is nice and it makes you feel nice.”

You could probably fill an entire book with all the great and positive things there are to say about Fran. Out of all of the new faces in the fashion industry, Fran’s personality might be the most captivating and her zeal and tremendous optimism is so infectious. You just can’t help but love Fran Summers.

In an uncertain time where dread stifles the air with viruses, war, and disease, one young woman with a Yorkshire accent, has plenty of love and optimism to spread around. She’s nothing short of being “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” with all the wit of a Monty Python skit and the zaniness of a Simon Pegg movie, a Superlove to never let go, Fran Summers.

I remember the stupid things
The mood rings, the bracelets and the beads
Nickels and dimes, yours and mine
Did you cash in all your dreams?
You don’t dream for me no, you don’t dream for me no
But I still feel you pulsing like sonar from the days in the waves
That girl is like a sunburn I would like to save
That girl is like a sunburn I would like to save
She’s like a sunburn, she’s like a sunburn