LACOSTE RTW 2010 FALL COLLECTION

Dear readers of sport&beauty. Slowly but surely, Summer is coming to an end and Fall is approaching apace. So, it’s high time to start talking about 2010/2011 Fall Winter collections. To start with, we’re going to dedicate today’s post to Christophe Lemaire’s Lacoste 2010 ready-to-wear Fall collection. In the unveiling of its 2010 Fall collection, Lacoste presented the attendance with a book about the history of the brand of the cocodrile. The first part of the show was inspired in this book where René Lacoste and friends can be seen playing tennis in the 1930, s. Underneath the traditional Lacoste logo, a large golden crocodile, Christophe Lemaire sent down the runway a wearable and wonderfully designed ready-to-wear collection. Lacoste 2010 Fall collection tries to merge the essence of the brand’s own enthusiastic and sporting style with the imagination and sophistication of the runways. In this part of the show, we could admire a bunch of sophisticated designs in grey, stone, and white tones and a set of oversized outerwear garments. Jerseys and knit jackets for boys and knit clothing for girls are a must, all of them wrapped in the classic Lacoste’s charming French style.

Once more, the French brand remains determined in its commitment to harmonize comfort and a distinctive touch of charm. Lacoste’s 2010 Fall Winter collection is aimed at two different goals: give a new approach to its new jackets for men and pay close attention to volume in its women’s designs. Men’s peacoats are oversized and feature big lapels and generous raglan shoulders with a strong touch of relaxing Scandinavian languish. Raglan sleeves are also present in short jackets inspired in work wear. As far as women is concerned, we can see how ankle-ribbed long john leggings provide a good dose of balance and comfort to a large grey peacoat featuring big lapels in vintage volume.

The rest of Lacoste’s 2010 ready-to-wear Fall collection is characterized by a rush of color. The classic green, pink, blue and yellow tones remind us Lacoste’s heritage and point out Lemaire’s attention to detail and tradition. Within this group we can highlight a black convertible funnel minidress paired with yellow leggings and a purple belt (first picture), jackets with or without hood, peacoats, long tube dresses over the classic polo shirt made in double-faced wool to endure harsh winter weather conditions, sweatshirts, polo shirts and, above all, leggings in a wide range of colors: pink, yellow, purple, green… The jewels of the crown are a couple of wool jumpsuits (pink and blue) cinched with a contrasting obi sash with the blue one paired with a long sleeveless coat with shoulders a la Balmain.

Let’s talk a bit about accessories. Obi sashes are almost a must for women. Classic headgear garments such as berets and bowler hats have been redesigned in modern shapes. Berets have reduced their size and bowler hats car be worn tilted to one side as the other end drapes over the face. As far as men’s and women’s footwear is concerned, we have to highlight classic shapes such as sneakers and desert boots redesigned in lively colors and new materials. Women’s desert boots become more fashionable by adding heels while men’s boots come in urban colors such as purple, mustard yellow, and orange.

To finish this post I'll leave you a slideshow with the pictures of Lacoste's RTW designs for this coming Fall Winter season and a video where you can see the fashion show. Best regards.

BEHATI PRINSLOO YOUNGEST VICTORIA'S SECRET ANGEL

Dear readers of sport&beauty. Today we’re going to Africa. We are visiting Namibia to learn about one of the youngest and most promising models in the fashion world nowadays. Today’s guest lives in New York although she was born in Namibia and discovered in South Africa. I’ll give you some more clues. She’s spokesperson for PINK, Victoria’s Secret youngsters fashion brand and has already walked in the 2008 and 2009 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Shows. I think your educated guess is right because we are going to talk about Namibian model Behati Prinsloo, one of the last to sign for the Victoria’s Secret Angels team. Here you are Behati Prinsloo, a real PINK princess.

Behati Prinsloo was born on May 16, 1989 in Grootfontein, Namibia. The daughter of a Nambian Minister, Behati wanted to be a marine biologist and had never given a thought to the idea of becoming a model. However, her life would change in 2005 at the age of sixteen. While in a supermarket during her holidays in South Africa, Behati Prinsloo was approached by a photographer who asked her if she was a model. Some days later, Behati dropped at the model agency where Sarah Doukas (the founder of Storm Model Management who also discovered Kate Moss) immediately realized that Behati had everything to became a top model. Soon after Behati moved to London, signed her first contract and started her new career as a model. Here you are Behati’s data and measurements:

Full name: Behati Prinsloo

Date of birth: May 16, 1989 in Grootfontein, Namibia

Height: 178 centimetres (1.78 m)

Weight: 55 kilos (115 lbs)

Measurements: 81-64-87 (EU) : 32-25-34 (US)

Hair color: brown

Eye color: hazel

Dress size: 36 (EU) : 6 (US)

Shoe size: (EU) 39 : (US) 8.5

Agencies: Supreme Management, Women Management - New York, Storm Models - London, D Management Group

Behati Prinsloo made her debut in September 2005 in Paris and Milan walking for Miu Miu and Prada’s Spring Summer fashion shows. Besides her catwalk work, Behati also appeared in a Vogue UK editorial photographed by Paolo Roversi and starred in Kurt Geiger’s Fall ad campaign. Finally in December she was photographed by Miles Aldridge for Vogue Italy.

Behati started 2006 in style. In February she walked the runway in Milan and Paris for Alessandro Dell’Acqua, Fendi, Alexander McQueen, and Chanel’s Fall Winter fashion shows. In March, the Namibian model appeared again in Vogue UK although this time she was photographed by the famous Peruvian photographer Mario Testino. During the same year Behati became the spokesperson for Nina Ricci, signed for H&M, walked the catwalk for Anne Valerie Hash, Chanel, Elie Saab, and Jean Paul Gaultier’s Fall Winter fashion shows in Paris (July), was photographed by Juergen Teller for Marc by Marc Jacobs, and finally was chosen by WMD and Style.com as a fashion rising star and one of the eight most promising newcomers of the season.

The following year Behati Prinsloo extended her contract with Marc by Marc Jacobs and starred in Hugo by Hugo Boss ad campaign and Neiman Marcus’ catalogue. In February 2007 Henry Holland dedicated the charming Behati a funny t-shirt of his Fall collection featuring the inscription: “Fancy a screw. Behati Prinsloo?” Perhaps Behati Prinsloo wasn’t very popular yet but this controversial t-shirt greatly boosted her popularity. In September 2007 Behati starred in Tommy Hilfiger’s Fall ad campaign alongside the Canadian model Coco Rocha and closed in New York the Lacoste’s Fall fashion show and in October walked trudged the runway in Paris for the Akris, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, and Stella McCartney’s Spring fashion shows.

2008 was a frantic year for our new friend Behati. She started the year starring in Gap and DKNY’s Spring Summer ad campaigns and replacing Natasha Poly as the spokesperson of Nina West. In February Behati appeared in Vogue Italy alongside the legendary ballet star Mikhail Baryshnikov, walked for Carolina Herrera, Hervé Léger, Narciso Rodriguez, Zac Posen, MaxMara, and Chanel’s Fall Winter fashion shows in New York, Milan, and Paris and signed a contract with Victoria’s Secret to become spokesperson of the sub brand PINK. In April Behati appeared in a Harper’s Bazaar editorial, starred in Virgin’s “Rich Girls” videoclip and appeared in Victoria’s Secret catalogue alongside fellow models Rachel Clark and Chanel Iman. In September Behati is featured in Vogue Germany and opened Yigal Azrouel’s Fall Winter fashion show in New York. Finally in December Behati Prinsloo made her dreams come true when she made her debut in the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show alongside the beautiful Victoria’s Secret Angels.

Behati Prinsloo started 2009 making a photo shoot for Lacoste alongside fellow models Alyona Osmanova and Hyoni Kang. In January, Behate made it to the cover of RUSH magazine and in February she opened Christian Siriano’s Fall fashion show in New York. Back to the magazines, in April the Namibian model appeared in Vogue Spain photographed by Alix Malka. She returned to the catwalk in September in New York walking for Behnaz Sarafpour, Diane Von Furstenberg, Lacoste, and Zac Posen’s Spring Summer collections. The following month Behati appeared in Flair Italy and in November she repeated participation in the greatest show on Earth, the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show.

At the beginning of 2010 Behati Prinsloo moved from Supreme Management to Women Management. In March Behati made it to the cover of Elle France and in May appeared on the cover of Marie Claire South Africa alongside models Candice Swanepoel and Heidi Verster. This season Behati has walked the runway for Behnaz Sarafpour, Diane von Furstenberg, Lacoste, Milly, Tibi, and Zac Posen’s Spring Summer fashion shows and Arise, African Collective, Diane von Furstenberg, Georges Chakra, and Lacoste’s Fall Winter collections. Finally Behati has appeared in the summer issue of i-D magazine. As you can see Behati is very busy and doesn’t have a minute for herself.

Talking about her personal life, Behati is dating model Jamie Strachan with whom she’s currently living. She’s good friend with Canadian model Coco Rocha that often writes about Behati on her blog. Behati is ranked 13th on models.com’s list of the world’s sexiest models. In addition to starring in the aforementioned videoclip, Behati has also appeared in the first episode of MTV’s reality show “The City”. Talking about her hobbies, she likes basketball. We’ll finish today’s post with a slideshow with pictures of Behati Prinsloo and some videos so you can see her live. Best regards.

VICTORIA'S SECRET ANGELS

Dear readers of sport&beauty. Today’s post is dedicated to the best team ever in history. Having said that, you’ll probably think we’re going to talk about basketball, soccer or Formula One racing. Not at all. Today we’re not talking about sport, we are talking about beauty. The team we’re referring to is composed of the gorgeous and stunning Victoria’s Secret models also known as the Victoria’s Secret Angels. The starting line-up is amazing: Adriana Lima, Alessandra Ambrosio, Doutzen Kroes, Marisa Miller, Karolina Kurkova, Isabeli Fontana, and Heidi Klum amongst others. I love Victoria’s Secret Angels and I never miss the annual Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, the greatest show on Earth. When I die I want to go to Victoria’s Secret heaven and be surrounded by such beautiful angels as the Victoria’s Secret Angels.

Let’s talk a bit about the origins of Victoria’s Secret. Victoria’s Secret is a product of masculine shyness. The American lingerie giant was founded in 1977 by Roy Raymond (a student at Stanford Business School) in San Francisco, California. Raymon was usually very ashamed whenever he had to go to a shopping mall to buy lingerie garments for her wife. Roy opened his first lingerie store at Stanford’s shopping mall. Shortly after opening Stanford’s store, he produced a catalogue for mail sale and opened three new stores. Roy’s stores were aimed at creating a comfortable atmosphere for men trying to purchase quality lingerie for their wifes or fiancés by embellishing the stores with wooden walls and Victorian details and employing gentle shop assistants. Instead of the usual shelves with bras and panties of all sizes, Roy placed exclusive lingerie outfits displayed in frames on the walls. This way, men were able to look round the different designs while the shop assistants helped them to estimate the appropriate size. The truth is that I quite like the idea. In 1982 and after five years running the business, Roy Raymond sold Victoria’s Secret to “The Limited” company.

“The Limited” preserved the original Victoria’s Secret brand image and in the 1980,s the lingerie brand started to expand across US shopping malls. The key to Victoria’s Secret success was that they were able to sell a great variety of products such as shoes, evening dresses and perfumes through their mail catalogue which was updated eight times per year. At the beginning of the 1990,s Victoria’s Secret had become the largest American lingerie brand and reached a sales turnout of $ 1 billion. Currently Victoria’s Secret has far more than 1000 lingerie stores across the US. The lingerie giant delivers more than 400 million catalogues per year. If you haven’t got yours yet don’t worry because you can buy online at Victoria’s secret.com. From 2006 Victoria’s Secret catalogues are more environmentally friendly than before for they use a 10% of recycled paper.

Now it’s time to start talking about the gorgeous Victoria’s Secret Angels. Victoria’s Secret gained notoriety in the early 1990,s after starting to sign world class top models for their ad campaigns and commercials. These Angels are the most visible members of Victoria’s Secret team and the spokespersons of the lingerie brand. The Angels made their debut at the fourth Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show held in 1998. Natane Adcock, Tyra Banks, Naomi Campbell, Laetitia Casta, Carrie Salmon, Bridget Hall, Tricia Helfer, Jaime King, Heidi Klum, Karen Mulder, Astrid Muñoz, Chandra North, Daniela Peštová, Rebecca Romijn, Chrystele Saint Louis Augustin, and Stephanie Seymourare were the Angels that participated in the aforementioned event. What does it take to become a Victoria’s Secret Angel? It’s clear that to become one of them it’s not necessary to be good at Maths, History or Chemistry. Candidates must have a statuesque figure and great energy and personality. According to Edward Razek, Victoria’s Secret Angels should be able to entice women as well as men. Shouldn’t these gorgeous models seem attractive to me I would really start getting worried about it.....

Let’s stay in Victoria’s Secret heaven for a while. In May 2007 Victoria’s Secret Angels amongst whom I will highlight Adriana Lima, Selita Ebanks, Alessandra Ambrosio, Izabel Goulart, and Karolina Kurkova were included on the People magazine’s list of the 100 most beautiful persons in the world. The Angels are also amongst the highest paid models in the world with their annual multimillion contracts. Another distinctive feature of Victoria’s Secret is its annual show, the renowned Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. The show that dates back to 1995 has since been considered as the world’s most important lingerie show. In 2000 the show was held in Cannes (France) to help raise funds for the fight against AIDS. In 2001 the Show was first broadcasted on TV by the ABC which was quite controversial for the Federal Communications Commission received lots of complaints. In 2004, and instead of the classic show, Tyra Banks, Heidi Klum, Gisele Bundchen, Adriana Lima and Alessandra Ambrosio were on tour across the US visiting New York, Miami, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles.

It’s during the annual show that Victoria’s Secret unveils their lingerie collections and the legendary and multimillion-dollar worth “Fantasy Bra”. In the 2006 Show, Victoria’s Secret introduced PINK, a brand especially intended for youngsters. From the beginning, the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show has turned into a luxurious event featuring elaborated costumed lingerie outfits, and varying music and designs matching the different themes within the Show. The Show is attended by hundreds of celebrities and features special performances each year (Seal, Ricky Martin, Justin Timberlake,….). The Show's most important feature is the giant wings worn by the models as well as other wings of different sizes and shapes (butterfly, peacock, devil,…). In the early years, most of the lingerie outfits presented during the show were not available at Victoria’s Secret stores but from 2005 the Show was especially redesigned to show garments that could be purchased through Victoria’s Secret mail catalogue. I think now we know quite a bit about Victoria’s Secret and Victoria’s Secret Angels. To finish the post I’ll leave some pictures of the last Victoria’s Secret Fashion Shows and a video where you can see Justin Timberlake performing live during the Show. Best regards.

DAVID GANDY D&G MALE MODEL

Dear readers of sport&beauty. Continuing the series dedicated to the best male models, we’re going to talk about one of the most famous and sexiest amongst them. Do you remember Dolce& Gabbana’s Light Blue TV commercial? Wonderful Italian music (Parlami d’amore Mariu) , the blue Mediterranean sea, a cliff, a rubber boat, a hunky black-haired male model in a minuscule white swimsuit and a gorgeous girl in a white bikini swimsuit? The female model was Marija Vujovic but is someone able to tell me who the male model was? He’s British model David Gandy, one of the most desired men for women and also men. Today’s post is going to be about the hunky model David Gandy, Dolce&Gabbanna's model and starring of Dolce Gabbana’s Light Blue ad campaign. In the 2010 version of Light Blue ad, David Gandy has a new female counterpart. Dolce& Gabbana replaced Marija Vujovic by Anna Jagodzinska. Anyway, let’s talk about David Gandy, iconic D&G male model. Here you are our handsome and hunky guest.

First of all we’ll say that, although he looks like a real latin lover, David Gandy is British. David Gandy was born in 1980 in Billecary, Essex, England. His father, a businessman, is English and his mother is Scottish. David grew up in the neighborhood of Fulham in Southwest London where he started studying multimedia marketing at Gloucestershire University. The reason why David Gandy became a model is that some friends of him sent one of his pictures to a TV contest of the ITV channel. The contest consisted in finding the most attractive member of the audience and the price was to work for a year for the agency Select Model Management. David won the contest with the 53% of the votes, gave up his studies and his job as a car tester for the car magazine Auto Express, and started to work for Select Model Management, one of the leading British model agencies. During the following five years his career was far from successful. He attended numerous castings but was systematically rejected because he was too hunky for the likes of the public at that time. David survived by doing only catalog work for some British minor brands.

However, such wonderful face and body were to succeed sooner or later. His prodigious physical appearance led him to the most important fashion capitals such as New York, Milan and Tokyo. David’s big break came when he was hired to become Carolina Herrera’s “Chic for men” fragrance spokesperson. This opportunity was the watershed in David’s career and placed him in the launch pad for stardom. Since then, David has worked for Gant (Spring Summer 2005 and Fall Winter 2005-2006), Massimo Dutti (Fall Winter 2005 and Spring Summer 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009 alongside lithuanian model Edita Vilkeviciute), Zara (Spring Summer 2007), Dolce Gabbana (2008, 2009, and 2010). As the icing on the cake, the British hunk starred in Dolce&Gabbana’s Light Blue ad campaign. Here you are some David’s pictures for Gant, Massimo Dutti, Dolce&Gabbana and Zara ad campaigns.

What does David Gandy usually do to achieve such a wonderful body? He goes to the gym four days a week and does some jogging the other three. I think he exercises more often than some professional football players. Besides, he also uses some face creams to keep wrinkles and eye puffs away. In Dolce&Gabbana’s commercial he could look like a bit of a narcissist, but nothing further from reality. David loves cars and has a Porsche from the 60,s, a Lotus Elite and an Audi T2. Here you are his data and measurements:

Full name: David Gandy

Date of birth: 1980 in Billecary, Essex, England

Height: 188 centimetres

Eye color: blue

Marital status: single

As far as his private life is concerned, David Gandy claims that apart from a three-year relationship with a model (that turned into a nightmare), he’s single. David keeps on asking his female flatmates why women never talk to him. The answer he usually gets is that women become shy in front of him. David is quite frustrated that, when he goes to a bar, the ones who talk to him the most are the bouncers. After the famous Light Blue ad, David Gandy starred alongside Gisele Bundchen in a wonderful magazine editorial and graced the cover of the gay magazine “V man” where he was portrayed showing off her attractive muscular body. Besides, he's also appeared in editorials or the cover of DV Man, V Magazine, GQ Style Russia, American Vogue, Hercules, or Fantastic Man amongst others. I will finish this post leaving a slideshow with the best pictures of David Gandy and the videos of Dolce&Gabbana's Light Blue fragrance. Best regards.

MARYNA LINCHUK VICTORIA'S SECRET ANGEL

Dear readers of sport&beauty. Today we’re presenting a fashion model whose face will ring the bell for most of you (she walked the runway in the last Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show and starred in the “El Corte Inglés” 2009 Fall TV commercials). However, most probably you’ve never heard her name so far. We’re referring to the gorgeous Byelorussian fashion model Maryna Linchuk (or Lynchuk). Our statuesque guest was born in Minsk, Byelorussia, has piercing blue eyes, Germanic shoulders and a carved face that conveys positive energy through all the pores of her skin. Here you are one of my favorite topmodels nowadays, the Byelorussian model Maryna Linchuk. She’s not bad, isn’t she?.

Maryna Linchuk did her first photo shoot aged 19 and, since then, she started her unstoppable rise in the modeling world. Her innate ability to stand in front of the camera and her way to trudge over the catwalk make Maryna seem a veteran model. The start of her modeling career dates back to 2004. Maryna Linchuk was sixteen years old when she started working for iq models Moscow. Her first years as a model were far from easy and she had to accept the offers she received to appear in the catalogues of several local fashion firms. Nevertheless, Maryna managed to get through this tough start. Her career reached a watershed when she was given the opportunity to sign for DNA Models. Maryna moved to Japan where she worked as a catwalk model for two years before returning to Russia in 2006 with renewed energy. Here you are the data and measurements of this spectacular Byelorussian model:

Full name: Maryna Linchuk

Date of birth: September 4, 1987 in Minsk, Byelorrusia

Height: 180 centimetres (5 ft 11 in)

Measurements: (EU) 84-60-88 (US) 33-23.5-34.5

Hair color: brown

Eye color: blue

Dress size: (EU) 34 (US) 4

Shoe size: (EU) 43 (US) 10.5

Agencies: IQ Models, Nbp Nothing But People, Viva Model Management, Bravo Models, Modelwerk, Why Not, Models 1, UNO.

No sooner had Maryna returned to Europe than she made her debut in London walking the catwalk for unknowns designers such as Jens Laugesen o Bora Asku. Nevertheless, her big break came when she walked the runway for Alexander McQueen, Stella McCartney and Givenchy in the Paris Fashion Week. The Byelorrusian model made the most of it and started to be a familiar face on fashion magazines appearing in Harper’s Bazaar and gracing the covers of Vogue Portugal (2006) and Vogue Italy (alongside fellow model Magdalena Frackowiak in 2007). In 2007 Maryna Linchuk walked the runway for Helmut Lang, Donna Karan, Christian Dior and Isabel Marant and starred in ad campaigns for Bloomingdales, Benetton, and Kenneth Cole.

2008 would be her great year. The Byelorrusian model walked the runways for top designers such as Jean Paul Gaultier, Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent, and Valentino amongst others and starred in ad campaigns for Mulberry, Dsquared2, Y-3, Mango, Versace, Donna Karan, GAP, and Belstaff (along with fellow models Lara Stone and Isabelli Fontana). As the icing on the cake she was chosen as the spokesperson for the new Escada fragrance and joins Victoria’s Secret angels team walking the runway in the 2008 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show.

In 2009 Maryna Linchuk went on adding new successes to her resume. The Byelorussian model walked the catwalk for the most renowned designers such as Alexander McQueen, Stella McCartney, Lacoste, Dsquared2, Marc Jacobs, Donna Karan, John Galliano, Ralph Lauren, DKNY, Louis Vuitton, Yves Saint Laurent, and Tommy Hilfiger and showed up again alongside Victoria’s Secret angels in the 2009 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. Besides, she became the new face of Dior’s fragrances Miss Dior Cherie, and Dior Addict, Dolce&Gabbana, GAP, and H&M. Finally she starred in “El Corte Inglés” 2009 Fall TV commercial.

2010 has been another frantic year for Maryna Linchuk. The Byelorussian model has trudged the runway for the ready to wear Summer collections of Balmain, Christian Dior, D&G, Dolce & Gabbana, Donna Karan, Gucci, Hermés, John Galliano, Karl Lagerfeld, Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs, Max Mara, Michael Kors, and Stella McCartney and for Christian Dior’s couture summer collection and has started to appear in Fall shows walking for Carolina Herrera, Derek Lam, Diane von Furstenberg, Ohne Titel, Ralph Lauren, and Willow. Maryna is also a familiar face on the fashion magazines. She’s graced the pages of “Tatler “Russia (February 2010), “Numero” Japan (March 2010), and “Elle” Russia (March 2010). To finish our post about this real Byelorussian stunner I’ll leave you a slideshow with some pictures of her and the videos of “El Corte Inglés” 2009 Fall TV commercial and Dior Addict and Miss Dior Cherie fragrance commercials. Best regards.