Northern Women in Chanel
384 pages of Scandinavian babes wearing Chanel couture.
When Swedish couple Ingela Klemetz-Farago and Peter Farago pitched the concept of a tome dedicated to top Scandinavian and Baltic models wearing Chanel couture to CEO of Chanel's Baltic division, the fashion house lost no time in granting them unlimited access to the Chanel archive. The stylist and her photographer husband recently spent a year travelling the globe with suitcases full of Chanel couture, photographing the world's top Northern beauties in their equally ethereal Scandinavian landscapes.
Arctic plains, glaciated lakes and ancient forests provide the backdrop for these women, who are apparently as tough-minded as they are lithe of limb - in one shoot Theres Alexandersson poses pensively on a sheet of ice clad in nothing but a sleeveless shift. Furthermore, all the models and stylists working on the shoot gave their services for free. But if there's any label you can still appreciate while freezing half to death on the edge of a glacier, it's Chanel. The 300 looks shot in the Farago's labour of love include pieces from Chanel's recent RTW collections, plus one-of-a-kind couture dating back to 1920.
Many of the models have played muse to creative director Karl Lagerfeld (who wrote the tome's preface). Current muse and cat impersonator Freja Beha Erichsen snagged the cover, with the 384 pages graced with the otherworldly beauty of Northern, Latvian, Lithuanian and Estonian models Helena Christensen, Carmen Kass, Ginta Lapina and Siri Tollerod. Purchasing the book probably won't leave you with much cash left over to traverse the Arctic plains any time soon, with only 2112 copies being produced. But if you do manage to snag a copy, you can rest easy about spending your life savings on it - all proceeds are going to Save the Children.
Words: Hannah Ongley
