The Style Notes
Your guide to the latest in fashion and celebrity style!
You see them everywhere, gracing the covers of fashion magazines all over the world, walking down the
runway during fashion week, posing in countless advertisements and editorials. But how much do you really
know about them? Here you can learn more about today's most popular models! Don't forget to vote for your
favorite at the bottom of the page! Select a model or scroll down to view.
MODELS
Daria Werbowy
Gemma Ward
Hana Soukupova
Natalia Vodianova
Sasha Pivovarova
Jessica Stam
Lily Donaldson
Freja Beha Erichsen
Snejana Onopka
Doutzen Kroes
Hilary Rhoda
Caroline Trentini
Anja Rubik new!
BACKSTAGE PHOTOS
INTERVIEWS
Ali Michael
Rachel Clark
Daria Werbowy
Daria Werbowy was born in Ukraine in 1983 but she was raised in Canada. She
began modeling at the age of 14, but she didn't hit it big right away. She switched
agencies a few 
times and didn't see her career flourish until she was signed by an international agency, IMG. She was
originally supposed to make her debut
in September 2001, but things didn't go
as planned. "I was booked for eight
shows which, of course, never
happened," says Daria. "Afterwards I
tried Paris for six months and that didn't
work. I tried London for two months
and that didn't work. So I quit." She
decided to go back to New York, and her
big break was being in the Prada Fall
2004 ad campaigns. Since then she
has landed coveted campaigns with
Chanel, Missoni, Gucci, Louis
Vuitton, Marc Jacobs and many more.
She is currently the spokesmodel for
Lancome Hynose perfume, and you can
also find her in the current Hermes ads.
Daria's Stats:
Age: 22
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Blue
Height: 5'11
Agencies: IMG
(London, Paris, New
York) and Elmer
Olsen (Canada)
Gemma Ward
Gemma Ward was born in Perth, Australia in 1987. She was first discovered there in 2002 when she was in the Australian television show Search for a Supermodel. Although she didn't even make it past the early rounds, she caught the eye of an agent and was later signed by Vivien's Model Management based in Australia, and IMG in New York. 
Though she is only 20-years-old, Gemma has definitely made a name for herself already. At 16, she was the youngest of nine models picked by Anna Wintour to be featured as the "It Girls" of the modeling world. She was also the first-ever model to appear on the cover of Teen Vogue. She has been in countless magazines, runway shows, advertisements, and editorials.
"She has the look of the moment, the attitude of the momet," Karl Lagerfeld says about Gemma, "She is really the model of the moment." And don't expect her to fade anytime soon, "I really enjoy fashion, and I want to be a part of it for as long as I can," she says.
From left: Gemma off-duty at a benefit in NYC; British Vogue cover
Hana Soukupova
Hana Soukupova is a 22-year-old Czech model. She was born in Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic on December 18, 1985. Because of her height (she's 5'11- though some sources say even taller), she played basketball while growing up, but she was signed as a model when she was 14. In 2001, Hana won the Czech Topmodel competition, one of the most prestigious modeling competitions in the 
Czech Republic. Since then she has appeared in many high-profile campaigns, including Jill Stuart, Carolina Herrera, Escada and Versace. Hana has also been on the cover of nearly a dozen magazines in the last few years.
L to R: Michael Kors, Vogue Italia cover, Anna Sui
Natalia Vodianova
Natalia Vodianova was born in Gorky (now Nizhni
Novgorod), Russia's third largest city. She lived in poor
conditions with her mother and two half-sisters. At 15,
she moved into her own apartment with a friend.
Natalia was enrolled in a modeling agency at this time,
and one day she was spotted by a scouting agent from
Paris. She was told that she could have a great future in
store for her if she could learn English in three months.
Determined, Natalia did just that and moved to Paris
when she was 17. Soon enough, she was signed by the
Viva modeling agency. Many offers followed, including
a Gucci perfume ad campaign.
In 2001, Natalia fell in love with Justin Portman, a British
real estate heir. She gave birth to their first son, Lucas, on
December
22, 2001. The couple were later married in a
lavish ceremony in Saint Petersburg. Natalia
was back on the runway in no time, walking
in over 30 shows for the fall 2002 season.
Later she went on to shoot many campaigns,
including Calvin Klein, Chanel, Gucci, Miss
Sixty, Alberta Ferretti and countless others.
The 5'9 model had her second child, daughter
Neva, in March of 2006. But don't think
motherhood is going to slow down her career.
To date, she has appeared on the cover of
nearly 40 magazines; most recently the
August issue of W. Vogue also named her one of the Best Dressed Originals in their January 2007 issue.
Clockwise from top left: Mer Du Lord Spring 2002 campaign; Natalia and her husband; U.S. Vogue March 2006
Sasha Pivovarova
Sasha Pivovarova was born in Moscow, Russia in 1986. She began modeling after a friend introduced her to a modeling agency. "My friend who is a photographer showed my photos to IMG in New York and they liked me," says the 5'9 model. "That's how it started."Her first show was Prada, which was followed by the Fall 2005 campaign for the brand. During the Spring 2006 season, she walked an impressive 60 shows. Besides modeling, Sasha has another passion: drawing. "I was born an artist," says Sasha, who is often seen sketching backstage at shows. She even hopes to own her own gallery someday.
From left: W Jewelry cover; editorial for Vogue
Jessica Stam
Jessica Stam was born in Canada in 1986. She was discovered in a coffee shop in 2001 by an agent from IMG. Stam's career took off when she appeared on the cover German Vogue, and since then she has graced the cover of countless others. She is a natural redhead, but she dyed it blonde before the spring 2006 shows, where she walked a total of 54 shows. She has been in nearly 30 campaigns; most recently Dior and DKNY. 
From left: Numero August 2004; BCBG Fall '05; BCBG Spring '06
Lily Donaldson
Lily Donaldson was born on January 27, 1987 in
England. She was scouted by Select model agency
while shopping in Camden in 2003. In only three
short years, Lily has become of the leading models,
even scoring a nomination for Best Model at the
British Fashion Awards in 2005. She has also landed
an impressive number of campaigns including Dior,
Chanel, and Roberto Cavalli. With regular 
appearances in Vogue and
a fixture on the runway,
Lily is one of the most
sought after models in the
industry (alongside good
friend Gemma Ward, of
course).
From left: Editorial for Vogue; Lily backstage; modeling for Narciso Rodriguez
Freja Beha
Freja Beha Erichsen was born in
runway debut for the Fall 2005 collections, she has been one of
the most in-demand models. Freja (pronounced fry-ah) has
appeared in advertisements for Balenciaga, Jil Sander, Pringle
of Scotland, Gap, and Gucci. Her agencies include IMG New York
and Paris, and Unique Models in her native Denmark. Besides
modeling, Freja also enjoys music and writing lyrics in her spare
time. "I really like women who can express themselves through music," she says.
From Left: Vogue China June 2006 cover; Freja at Chanel; Pringle of Scotland advertisement
Snejana Onopka
Snejana Onopka is an
Ukranian model. She was born
in 1986 and was discovered by
a scout at the age of fifteen
while she was living in
capital,
over 100 runway shows in her
relatively short career, not to
mention been on the cover of I-
D, Numéro, and Italian Vogue
twice.
In a recent interview, she says
she owes her success to
photographer Steven Meisel. “I
think he’s the best
photographer. He did two
Italian Vogue covers for me; he
did so much, so that’s why I’m
here.”
From left: Italian Vogue cover; Snejana at Missoni
Doutzen Kroes
Doutzen Kroes is a Dutch model from
Calvin Klein’s fragrance. In addition to these high-fashion campaigns, Doutzen also appears regularly in the
From left: Doutzen at Karl Lagerfeld; W Jewelry cover; at a Versace event
Hilary Rhoda
20-year-old Hilary Rhoda is sure making a splash in the fashion industry. The American hasn't even been around for two years, but has already landed coveted ad campaigns, editorials, and magazine covers. Born in Maryland, Hilary grew up playing all kinds of sports- including field hockey, lacrosse, and tennis. But after graduating high school, she moved to New York to concentrate on modeling.
For her first runway season ever, Spring 2006, Hilary appeared at all the right shows and earned herself a spot on Style.com's Top Ten Models list for that season. Since then, her career has skyrocketed. She has walked for almost every high profile designer and has been on several covers worldwide- including French Vogue, Numéro, Italian Vogue, and W Korea. Most notably, Hilary appeared on American Vogue's May 2007 cover as one of "the world's next top models". She is also one of the most in-demand models for ad campaigns; she has been the face of Donna Karan, Balenciaga, Ralph Lauren, and, most recently, Estee Lauder and Valentino.
Clockwise from top left: Estee Lauder advertisement; Chanel Spring 2007 show; Donna Karan advertisement; French Vogue cover.
Caroline Trentini
Caroline Trentini is a 20-year-old Brazilian model. She was born in Panambi, a small town in southern Brazil. When she was sixteen, an agent stopped her on the street and asked if she would like to meet with some agencies in Sao Paulo, Brazil's most populous city. Soon afterward, she ended up moving to Sao Paulo, and eventually to New York, where she lives now. "Moving from Sao Paulo to [New York] wasn't that big of a deal," she recently told Vogue. "But from my little town in Brazil to Sao Paulo? That was scary." Caroline has had an enormously successful career, modeling for nearly every designer under the sun. She is also a regular in the pages of American Vogue, not to mention been on the cover of more than a dozen magazines worldwide.
From left: US Vogue editorial; Vogue Brazil cover
Anja Rubik
Anja Rubik was born in Czestochowa, Poland in 1985. She was first scouted by a Parisian agency while trying out for a local modeling contest and she is now signed with Next Model Management in Paris, London, and New York. Anja has been on the runway since 2000, when she made her debut in Paris, but it wasn't until 2005 that her career started to flourish. In '05, she was named one of Style.com's Top Ten Models, opened for Paco Rabanne, appeared in advertisements for Emanuel Ungaro, Giorgio Armani cosmetics, Jimmy Choo, and Versace, and was on the cover of W Jewelry. 2005 was also the beginning of her 3-year run in Chloé ad campaigns, most recently the new Chloé fragrance ads alongside Clemency Posey and Chloë Sevigny.
After an impressive year in 2005, Anja has proven that she has the longevity that many other models' careers lack. She had equally good years in 2006 and 2007, appearing on the covers of Italian Vogue and Numéro twice, along with a slew of advertisements and editorials. In 2007 she surprised many people by cutting her long hair short after the Fall '07 shows ended. But her new look proved to only help her career, as you can currently see her in advertisements for Chanel eyewear, Dsquared2, Chloé fragrance, Oscar de la Renta and Valentino. To top it all off, Anja is at #5 on Models.com's Top 50 Models, and shows no signs of slipping.
Clockwise from top left: Anja backstage; Emilio Pucci SS08; Chloé fragrance ad; and Anja attending the Chloé SS08 show as a guest
Backstage
Backstage: Models' Own Style
All new from spring 2008 shows!
Cecilia Mendez Agyness Deyn Olga Sherer
Bette Frank Hana Soukupova Michaela Kocianova
Jessica Stam Vlada Roslyakova Masha Novoselova
Anja Rubik Freja Beha Erichsen Erin Wasson
Interview: Ali Michael
Ali Michael
In this exclusive interview, Ali Michael talks with The Style Notes about her recent modeling success. Even though Fall 07 was her first runway season ever, 16-year-old Ali has already made a name for herself. Since winning a modeling contest in 2005, she has been featured in Italian Elle and Teen Vogue twice. Her agencies include Viva in Paris, DNA in New York, and Kim Dawson in her hometown of Dallas, Texas. She had quite an impressive first runway season, modeling for top names like Proenza Schouler, Anna Sui, Marc by Marc Jacobs, and even opening the Lanvin show (which, she says, landed her a gig with W magazine). In addition, Style.com has just named Ali one of their top 10 new faces! Keep an eye out for Ali, she's sure to have even more success throughout her career! 
How and when did you first start modeling?
About two years ago, one of my friend's moms suggested that I go into an agency. I
went to an open call at Kim Dawson (in Dallas) and was told that they couldn't sign
me becuase I had braces, but to enter their model search that they have over the
summer and to work on my body in the meantime. In between the time of the open
call and the time of the model search, I started researching the industry. I have
always been a huge tomboy and was never interested in fashion, but once I started
reading magazines and learning about the business, something drew me to it. I got
subscriptions to Vogue, W, Italian Vogue (thanks to a Christmas present from my
boyfriend,) Teen Vogue, and others and started living on The Fashion Spot. Also, I
had worked really hard on changing my body (I used to be so unhealthy and eat only
chocolate and fried food and junk-but I just cut all of those things out of my diet) and
my braces were about to come off. I ended up winning the model search that year in
2005.
What has been your favorite project so far?
That would be kind of hard to say. I've been able to do a lot of really amazing jobs. One of my favorite projects would definitely have to be going to Tokyo for Teen Vogue. Every time that I've done a job for Teen Vogue they've been amazing. The people that I've worked with there have become great friends of mine and it's always fun to run into them at other jobs and things now. Plus, I never thought that I would ever go to Tokyo in my entire lifetime- let alone at sixteen years old. Another one of my favorite projects would have to be shooting W with Craig McDean. After the Lanvin show, my mom and I went out to a nice dinner before going home the next morning. We were eating our meals when I got a phone call from Viva, my agency, saying that one of the people from W Magazine saw me in Lanvin and that a car was coming to pick me up in ten minutes to go to a studio to shoot W with Craig. I couldn't believe it because the thought of working with Craig seriously blew my mind. I can't really even explain it. The shoot went great and Craig was really amazing to work with.
What are the best and worst aspects of being a model?
I think that there are a lot of really amazing things about being a model. First of all, you get to travel the entire world at such a young age. The things and places that I've seen are just incredible to be able to see when you're sixteen years old. Another thing that I love about being a model is the creative energy that's around you all the time. The fashion industry is one that's always coming up with new ideas and the people in it are really inspiring. The worst part of being a model would have to be being away from home. Being gone has definitely made me appreciate my house and especially my bed! I miss my boyfriend a lot too. We've been together for about two and a half years so being apart is really hard for us.
Your job has taken you all around the world. Do you have a favorite city
that you've been to?
Every city has been so different so it's kind of hard to choose, but New York and London are my favorites. New York just has this really great energy that I love. I can't even explain it. I also have the subway system figured out now so that's a plus! I also think that London has a really cool vibe about it. I was only there for a few days but I love the architecture and the weather and the whole feeling of the city. It's cool.
What do you like to do in your spare time?
When I'm at home, I'm always hanging out with my boyfriend David. He's my best friend and we have a lot of fun together. We're pretty nerdy and like playing video games and stuff like that. I also love music- my favorite band is Radiohead. I rode horses for seven years before I started modeling. I never really ride anymore, but I love being around horses and when I get the chance I love to do it. In New York I like just walking around the city becuase you can always find somewhere interesting to go in or something to do. Right now I'm living in the model apartment, so I hang out here a lot and read or get on the computer. Majority of my time online is spent on Myspace and The Fashion Spot. I'm obsessed with both.
Thanks to Ali for the interview!
Interview: Rachel Clark
Rachel Clark
The Style Notes catches up with Rachel Clark, a breakout star during the fall 2007 season. She walked in over a dozen
shows, including Yves Saint Laurent, Louis Vuitton, Marni, Dries Van Noten, Moschino, Givenchy, and even opened
the Proenza Schouler show. Now with a successful season under her belt, look forward to seeing even more of Rachel
in the near future. In this exclusive interview, Rachels talks to The Style Notes about the ups and downs of modeling
and her geeky side. 
How and when did you first start modeling?
Well first I lost my job working at a video game store, and then a hurricane
completely obliterated my apartment (in
to try it out. I walked into an agency in
getting signed on the spot. That was around October 2006.
What has been your favorite project so far?
Ooh hard one. I just did something for Louis Vuitton that was pretty cool. The shoot was
at a chateau in the french countryside, absolutely gorgeous with long rectangular ponds
and statues, hidden doors and spiraling marble staircases. It looked like something
straight out of a Jane Austen book. There was also something I did in
middle of this desert town. Tons of animals roaming around free. I enjoy every shoot
involving animals really.
What are the best and worst aspects of being a model?
The worst aspects I'd have to say are the stereotypes and controversial catagories
people automatically associate me with when they learn I'm a model. People will assume
I have an eating disorder when I weigh the same that I did when I started -and no one
said those things to me then. They'll assume I'm an idiot off the bat, that my interests
revolve around shopping, looking pretty, and being (excuse my french) a bitch. I use the
internet a lot so I tend to find a lot of negative, untrue, and hurtful things in forums
about a lot of other models. That sort of thing can get really disheartening.
But with the bad comes AWESOME things. The job can be rushed and stressful but at
the same time super exciting. Jetsetting from country to country. I see places on a
regular basis that my family and friends would kill to see. I meet all sorts of people
from all different walks of life. Some of the other models I've met have truly
displayed more character and insight in 5 minutes than some people I've known for
years. I've gained awesome friends, I can dress crazy, I get cool pictures for myspace
(hahaha). It's a 24/7 career. It teaches you to mature while at the same time lets you
be as young and free-spirited as you want.
What do you like to do in your free time?
First of all I love the internet and video games. I'm obsessed with role playing games like
World of Warcraft, Dark Age of Camelot, Ragnarok, Final Fantasy. When I'm at home I
mostly just hang out with my roomates and a few close friends and my pets of course. I
play pool/billiards a lot, sing karaoke, play dungeons and dragons every thursday
because I'm a total geek. When there's nothing to do I usually take the top off my jeep
and cruise along the beach blasting tunes. When I'm away from home I hang out with a
few select models and friends I've become close to and when they're not around I prefer
staying in and cramming snacks while playing on my laptop.
Who are your favorite designers?
Honestly I didn't know anything about fashion or being fashionable before I became a
model; never even looked at magazines. I can spot some awesome things in every
designer's collection, but then again I'm one of those people who couldn't tell you what
my favorite brands are. Vintage and thrift, that's my handle.
Is there anyone in the fashion industry who you were particularly excited to
meet?
I didn't know about anyone in the fashion industry when I started but it was always
exciting to meet the different designers; I never knew what to expect and they are quite
interesting people. Some of the casting directors that I owe a lot of my growth to were
absolutely wonderful people and the agents are awesome. I've been lucky so far to have
such nice, fun people to work with.
What do you see yourself doing in 10 years?
Well first I plan on investing what I make from this so that I can either retire or go back
to school just because that's good for me, not necessarily for any particular job. When I'm
done with this I want to be able to show more for myself and these years than just
pictures. I want a stocked bank account and a decent education.
Thanks to Rachel for the interview!