Thursday, January 8, 2009

Naomi Campbell and Linda Evangelista for DSquared2 S/S 2009

Another year has passed and Naomi Campbell doesn't appear to be slowing her stroll one bit. Coming off the heels of a successful campaign with YSL, Naomi and Linda Evangelista will be appearing in a series of combative ads (shot by Meisel of course) for DSquared2. Look for these to appear soon in a fashion rag near you.



Did you ever notice that Naomi always seems to have the most provocative placement when she's in editorials with other supermodels? Here she's about to open a can of serene yet effective whoop-ass on Linda. last February, she held Kate Moss in a choke hold on the cover of Paris Vogue...



...and was in full booty display mode for Vanity Fair (yeah Claudia showed hers too but that booty looked like it was created by Photoshop and she at least had fabric covering her legs.) The look on Naomi's face says "freak out with your cheeks out!"



Does the D2 ad remind anyone else a little of those Dutch Sony PSP ads that caused a lot of controversy?



That aside, I'd be fibbing if I said that I didn't like the Naomi/Linda photo. It takes me back to that episode of Dynasty where Krystal and Alexis got into that pool fight. I'm imagining that in this version, Naomi and Linda are fighting over the last Russian billionaire on Earth.

You know who's going to win, right? What do you think yeah or nay on DSquared2?

Source: models.com and Richard (thanks!)

ETA:



Source: blackangel41999, vogue.co.uk

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'd say it has more in common with Dominique and Alexis. The racial component is an easy association, but DSquared2 was doing that quite deliberately.

nyc/caribbean ragazza said...

Ha my bet is on Naomi. The woman knows how to throw a punch.

I'm glad to see her and Linda working. It's seems like they are working a lot recently. Both are over 35 (like me) and I think it's great to see women, not girls out there.

Anonymous said...

lamo

"...serene yet effective whoop-ass"

hysterical

Anonymous said...

This ad is going to garner a lot of controversy for very obvious reasons, but I have to say that I am glad that real models are coming back into the spotlight again. They all have this great presence in photos that the young models are never able to achieve. Naomi always has provocative placement in ads because she can handle it. She is a model in every sense and she dominates.

And I wouldn't call what Naomi is doing on the Vogue cover a choke hold. Her arm is clearly resting on her collar bone. That isn't her neck at all and therefore doesn't even qualify as a chokehold and it just seems like more of the same old "OMG Naomi is so violent" comments that every likes to make.

Anonymous said...

I absolutely love it! absolutely. Evangelista looks a tad bit busted but Naomi delivers. I do agree with the rest of your analysis. The thing about Naomi is that she oozes this vibe which is undeniably "risque". If I were a photographer and I had a chance to shoot with Ms. Campbell, the temptation of making her do something provocative will be too strong, and in all honesty, I'm not sure I would be able to resist.

Anonymous said...

LOVES the Dsquared2 ad! However, I wholeheartedly agree with Brigette. Naomi's risque appeal aside, this is fashion, it's supposed to be about creating fantasy and imagining/imaging the unconventional. Hows about protraying Ms. Campbell in the least obvious manner? Take a chance and surprise people by presenting a side of Naomi which is rarely presented. I wonder if these overly-aggressive and catty representations of Ms. Campbell plays into her life and why she's always raging and acting out. Is she living up to these exotic (& erotic) and hostile images that she is professional subjected to as a defense mechanism. Maybe I'm being over-analytical, but the point is that irrespective to who the Black/ethnic model is, she is always portrayed as exotic. As impressed as I was that Naomi was featured on the cover of the December 2008 Russian Vogue, I was quite disappointed to see the stereotypical images of her, donning animal fur and animal print attire, naked, and posed in such a way to signify adherence to time-honored stereotypes relating to sexuality and temperament. And I had to internally question: What does it mean that someone like Naomi Campbell, who has been in fashion for over 20 years and who has made such strides in this industry and broken down barriers, MUST still be subjected to such treatment? What hope does this new generation and the ones after have of overcoming such obvious (and cruel) stereotypes? It's shameful really!

Ondo Lady said...

Interesting concepts all around. Naomi is what 38 years old now. No one put a gun to her head, if she thought what she was doing was derogatory in anyway then I am sure she would have refused to take part.

Unknown said...

the campaign is amazing.. naomi totally brings it to her shoots and this is why she dominates.. her inner strength shines..the same with linda.. they both are the 'strongest' models we have ever seen... the whole 'she's crazy' label makes the wider world accept naomi.. same as 'scary spice' label applied to mel b.. eartha kitt's portrayal of cat woman stayed with her (rightly) until her death.. the media needs to 'cartoonify' strong black women to make them more palatable otherwise they would be perceived as a threat.. naomi has been speaking about and outing the injustices of the modelling industry for years.. they all said 'she's crazy' right...not so crazy now is she??

Anonymous said...

I'm really into the new DSquared ads. Naomi dazzles as she always does but I also have to give props to Linda. For someone about to turn 44, she still gives good face...and legs.

Unknown said...

Many would argue that Naomi's placement in all of these adverts is largely bc of being a model of color. often times models of color are placed in more risque positions than the other models. so it just comes down to racism in the fashion industry.