Models of Influence: Fifty Women Who Reset the Course of Fashion

Click here to buy: Models of Influence

Leafing through Nigel Barker’s bestseller “Models of Influence” I am transported back to my high school days, reliving my obsession with fashion (which I obviously still retain) and with fashion models of that era. When I got the email from Intermix in the Meatpacking District inviting me to come meet fashion photographer Nigel of America’s Next Top Model and The Face fame, purchase his book and peruse the Gap-owned store for fashion how could I possibly refuse.

Nigel Barker

Arriving “fashionably late” I expected to see Nigel at a table signing books with a long line of giddy females before him. Instead, glimpsing his strong profile through the glass storefront, I see that he is standing tall as ever (he may have two kids but definitely no Dad Bod here!) and talking to another gentlemen while a photographer intermittently snapped away. I was greeted with the ever present prosecco which seems to be de rigueur at these events, not to mention the ubiquitous macarons butlered on a silver tray. Partaking of the former and eschewing the latter, I awkwardly mentioned to Nigel that I loved the photo of him and his wife taken last night at the American Ballet Theatre Spring Gala which I had seen on both Patrick McMullan’s site as well as Nigel’s Facebook. He and #TheWife aka Crissy were photographed in their formal best (she in a blush colored lacy Pamella Roland gown) as he playfully and elegantly dipped her complete with a smooch in an elegant little pas de deux in the Plaza of Lincoln Center.  He called the event “a very New York evening.”

Nigel Barker and a fan

I asked Barker what prompted him to write and compile the tome, a fascinating read profiling fifty of the most noteworthy models from the 1940’s to the present. “I wanted to honor and celebrate the impact that these models had brought to the world through their photos including those I had not photographed as well as those I had” he said. To that end the book features 110 full-color and black & white photographs capturing each model in a few of her most iconic poses. He also stressed the idea that all successful models have a personality; that these women would not have attained legendary status without a message that came directly at the viewer through their photographs.

Even in the days before social media, fashion magazine readers were interested in knowing about their favorite models and many models had quite interesting backgrounds. For instance, did you know that Lisa Fonssagrives-Penn was a sculptor or that Dorian Leigh had two children, earned an engineering degree in night school, helped design airplane wings for Eastern Airlines and served as a copywriter for Republic Pictures, all before she even started modeling? You can read more about each model’s background, what happened to her later in life (if applicable) and learn some intriguing facts in the pages of this book. Barker shows how the popularity of what was looked for in a model mirrored what was happening socially and politically in the world during each decade starting with the post-World War II era “when fashion and fashion photography were reborn out of the ashes of the war.” He highlights all of the iconic photographers as well as their muses from Irving Penn and Richard Avedon to Francesco Scavullo, Terry Richardson, Mario Testino, Patrick Demarchelier, Gilles Bensimon, Bruce Weber to name a few.

As for his own past, Barker practically didn’t have a choice when it came to modeling as it was in his blood. He was raised by a former model who almost became Miss Sri Lanka in 1960 at seventeen however being biracial (half English, half Sri Lankan) halted her claiming the prize. She became a successful model in spite of this as did Nigel who was discovered in a televised modeling search called “The Clothes Show.” Thinking he was bound for premed studies at Guy’s Hospital in Central London, he decided to take a year’s sabbatical before starting school to try his luck at modeling and seeing the world. As we now know, his modeling career introduced him to a “small but international community of fashion” where he felt that he fit in and he did not want to leave to go back to school. He later made the transition from modeling (when skinny boys came into vogue) to photography in the early ’90s, followed by that of television host first on ANTM with Tyra Banks (both she and co-host Twiggy are featured as well as Naomi Campbell however Heidi Klum only rates a photo with other Angels during a Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show) and later with “The Face.”

Coco Rocha photo by Nigel Barker

In the course of speaking to Nigel I mentioned having heard Coco Rocha expound on her social media presence recently at the Fashion Law Institute seminar and he agreed that she was definitely one to watch in that arena. I later noticed that she is one of the models that he profiled, even using a photo that he took of her himself.

Intermix Store on Washington Street

As for the shopping aspect of the evening, besides the book I bought a polka dot top on sale. As 10% of the proceeds were to benefit UN Women’s HeForShe, I’m afraid I didn’t do much for gender equality.  Sorry Emma Watson who promotes the cause as well, but everything else I tried on was either ridiculously cut-out, impossible to put on/figure out (Note to clothing designers: I shouldn’t need a diagram just to get dressed), or the wrong size. If you do end up at Intermix in the MPD make sure you ask for Emily who even remembered me from a shopping expedition there one year ago! As I walked down the street by the Highline I took a photo of the newly minted Whitney Museum, vowing to hit it up soon before the wonderful first light of summer has gone.

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Claire Anthony’s book Shoegasm, An Explosion Of Cutting-Edge Design, is a delightful history of the evolution of the shoe. The book traces the history of the shoe starting from the gold sandals entombed with the pharaohs of Egypt up until the current designers such as Laboutin and Blahnik. Platform shoes were worn hundreds of years ago in China, Japan, the Ottoman Empire and Europe. Surprisingly, in fifteenth century Italy platform shoes, called chopines, were as high as twenty inches, a figure that would make even Lady Gaga gasp. However, according to Anthony it was not until the sixteenth century that the high heel arrived in the West. These shoes were initially worn by men but slowly became a staple in the wardrobe of both sexes.

15th Century Italian platform shoes called chopines

Anthony’s recalling of the history of the shoe is both informative and amusing. While high heels went out of style for women after the French Revolution, by the middle of the nineteenth century they came back. The first famous shoemaker was Jean Louis Pinet, whose shoes were sought out by rich aristocratic women. These vignettes provide an interesting framework for the next part of Anthony’s book which examines current shoe designers from the early 1900’s until today. The book contains hundreds of ornate photos of these wardrobe staples which adorn our feet.

Salvatore Ferragamo high plaform shoe

In the 1920’s Andre Perugia came to prominence with his own footwear designs, and then partnered with Elsa Schiaparelli in the 1930’s. Perugia was the creator of the first towering heel-less shoe which appeared in the late 1930’s. During this time Ferragamo introduced modern cork platforms and the wedge heel.The style of shoes in history is reflective of the events occurring in society, such as the advent of go go boots and flats worn in the 1960’s exemplifying both the Mod trend and the bohemian era. Anthony notes that high heels came back into vogue during the 1970’s by both men and women, although I can not recall my father wearing heels to work. Interestingly, Anthony points out that World War II technology was used to create needle thin stilettos in the early 1950’s. Anthony’s documentation of the use of technology to enhance and vary modern day shoe design is illuminating. While extreme shoes have existed for hundreds of years the variety and intricacy of shoe design is at its pinnacle today.

Alexander McQueen

The next section in Anthony’s book details the most creative and illustrious modern day shoe designers providing their professional backgrounds with accompanying pictorials and analyses of their shoes. Alain Quilici, who grew up in Tuscany, views shoes as an extension and redefinition of the body. The pictures of his shoes and their construction highlight the necessity for meticulous detail in shoe construction. Anthony notes that many shoe designers, such as Anne Poesen and Julian Hakes, started off studying architecture and design before making shoes.

Julian Hakes

Hakes an architect with a specialty in bridge design decided to apply these skills to shoe construction Shoe making is not some trivial endeavor but rather requires significant skill and expertise. Similarly complex, McQueens shoes are lauded for their “exquisite craftmanship” helping to place British fashion design back in the forefront of the industry. The magnificent patterns of McQueen’s shoes overwhelm the reader into a “shoegasmic” state. Some of the shoe designers Anthony highlights are not well known however, the pictures illustrate the extraordinary creativity of these craftsmen elucidating why they were featured in this book.

Chau Har Lee

The in-depth assessment of the methods used in shoe design, such as the use by Chau Har Lee of a 3d printer to build a shoe along with laser beams and liquid resin, were of special interest to someone, such as myself, who knows little about shoe design. Laboutin’scollection is examined along with the interesting anecdote of him painting the sole of the shoe with red nail polish after finding the back of the shoe too dark. Laboutin’s professional history of employment at the Folie Bergeres explains the playfulness and glamour of his designs. However, it would have been interesting for Anthony to explain why Laboutin is considered such a giant in the industry justifying his labels exorbitant price tag and extreme popularity.

Kobi Levi

Kobi Levi, a shoe innovator who creates shoe sculptures which he crafts from start to finish, is another eccentric shoe designer highlighted by Anthony. His shoes require about a month to complete from sketch to prototype. Levi’s eccentric designs which feature animals, coffee cups and chewing gum are a feast for the eyes. The title of the chapter on Manolo Blahnik, refers to extravagant comfort, and recounts how Blahnik started off as a set designer but was then urged by Diana Vreeland to switch careers and the rest is shoe history. I am not sure I agree with the term comfort to describe Blahniks nevertheless, the shoes exhibited in the book are both extremely beautiful and somewhat pragmatic.

Manolo Blahnik

Claire Anthony’s book is highly instructive to a novice in shoe design. Her examination of the shoes’ history from its incipient stages as a rudimentary functional object to its current extravagance as viewed on the runway, in magazines, and on the street is both an informative and pleasurable read. The book is a perfunctory history of numerous shoe designers yet provides us with enough information to better understand the design and construction of their shoes. This book has earned a spot on my coffee table as a delightful reminder as to why I adore fashion – the vibrant colors, the exquisite designs and the eccentric playfulness is the reason retail therapy is the most effective antidote to the winter blues.

-Lieba Nesis

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