Love

On today in 1937, Edward VIII's abdication as King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the British Dominions beyond the Seas, and Emperor of India became effective.

The Edward VIII abdication crisis occurred in the British Empire in 1936, when the desire of King-Emperor Edward VIII to marry Wallis Simpson, a twice-divorced American socialite, caused a constitutional crisis.

The marriage was opposed by the King's governments in the United Kingdom and the Dominions. Religious, legal, political, and moral objections were raised. Mrs Simpson was perceived to be an unsuitable consort because of her two failed marriages, and it was widely assumed by the Establishment that she was driven by love of money or position rather than love for the King. Despite the opposition, Edward declared that he loved Mrs Simpson and intended to marry her whether the governments approved or not.

The widespread unwillingness to accept Mrs Simpson as the King's consort, and the King's refusal to give her up, led to Edward's abdication on 11 December 1936. He was succeeded by his brother Albert as George VI. Edward was given the title His Royal Highness the Duke of Windsor following his abdication, and he married Mrs Simpson the following year. They remained married until his death 35 years later.

Before, during and after World War II, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor were suspected by many in government and society of being Nazi sympathisers.

The Duke and Duchess lived in France in the pre-war years. In 1937, they visited Germany as personal guests of the Nazi leader, Adolf Hitler, a tour much publicised by the German media. Hitler said of the Duchess, "she would have made a good Queen."

In the 1950s and 1960s, she and the Duke shuttled between Europe and the United States, living a life of leisure as society celebrities. After the Duke's death in 1972, the Duchess lived in seclusion and was rarely seen in public. Her private life has been a source of much speculation, and she remains a controversial figure in British history.

The Woman I Love (1972, made-for-TV movie) focused on Edward VIII's love affair with Wallis Simpson. Wallis was portrayed by Faye Dunaway

Brooke

Hedi Slimane photographed Brooke Shields for the pre-fall issue of V Magazine.



V interviewed Brooke, and she discussed working with Richard Avedon, Francesco Scavullo, Polly Mellen and the secret to her longevity:

Michael Martin: You've modelled basically since infancy. What's your first memory of being in front of a camera?
Brooke Shields: I'm not sure if it's because the story has been told to me so many times, but I have semblances of memory from my first shoot. I remember the environment at Scavullo's studio. I was 11 months old, but I remember it was the first time I was in a room where I was part of the lights instead of with the people around them.






Brooke, photographed by Francesco Scavullo as a child.

MM: Working with the Scavullos, Avedons, Warhols of the world - how do you look back on that now?

BS: Only now do I look back on them as iconic. But when I remember my perspective at the time, these people were people I knew intimately, so I don't think I looked at them the same way I do now, artistically. To be on the cover of Interview was to spend time with people I saw every day. I had respect out of love, and now I have respect for their careers.

MM: What do you remember about Avedon at work?

BS: I remember the separation between on set and off set was like this iron curtain. Once you went in there you were in a sanctuary. And people just jumped. I'm sure his assistants got scared and people cried, but I thought it was funny. I remember that I managed to get away with getting the Polaroids. He thought nothing about giving them to me. Anyone else couldn't get them. I think, in hindsight, he respected my professionalism, and I remember wanting his approval so I worked harder.

MM: Why were you so professional so young?

BS: There was no room for me to have any tantrums. Everyone else was such a larger-than-life personality: The Polly Mellens of the world; the photographers were the stars. And my mom was sort of the crazy one. I was so young that I wanted to be accepted and liked. As a child, that worked for me. I'm sure that caused years and years of therapy later, but that's another story. Something about being born and bred in New York, where people have to be at the top of their game to succeed, instilled that professionalism in my by osmosis.

MM: You're the youngest person to be on the cover of Vogue. What did that do to your head at the time?

BS: Absolutely nothing, because I had no perspective on it. I still had to take off all the clothes, take off all the makeup, give it back, and go do my homework. It didn't behoove me to carry that title to school, because it wouldn't make kids want to be friends with me. Now I'm much more impressed with that title. Then I don't even think I knew it. The crowning glory for me was getting a Seventeen cover. The first cover try I did, I didn't get it. I was told I looked too old.

MM: When you were a kid, did you think you'd still be in the business now?

BS: I've never known anything but the business. it never occurred to me not to be in the business. It's sort as if I was never not naked.

MM: Were you aware of the controversy swirling around Pretty Baby and the Calvin Klein ads at the time you did them?

BS: If you separate the actual making of the movie with Louis Malle and the actual filming of the commercials with Dick and Calvin, those actual moments felt creatively important. But the reaction to them was always a shock. The reaction never seemed proportionate to what we set out to do. The controversy was frustrating because it took away from the beauty and the creativity of it, particularly Pretty Baby. I thought it was a shame.

MM: And then there were the Calvin Klein commercials.

BS: People were obsessed with that one line in one commercial. Which they misquoted - repeatedly. That was shocking to me. We were walking walking around the stages, feeling like we were doing something new that had never been done before. But it seemed that no matter what I did after that, controversy would follow.



Richard Avedon photographed Brooke for the July 1978 American Vogue (Farrah Fawcett was on the cover). At the time, Brooke was promoting Louis Malle's"Pretty Baby". She was 13 years old.

Beauty: Veruschka

I might even show you my photograph album. You might even see a face in it which might remind you of your own, of what you once were. You might see faces of others, in shadow, or cheeks of others, turning, or jaws, or backs of necks, or eyes, dark under hats, which might remind you of others, whom you once knew, whom you thought long dead, but from whom you will still receive a sidelong glance.

—Harold Pinter, No Man's Land, 1975

Beauty - Polly Allen Mellen

Francesco Scavullo photographed & interviewed stylist Polly Mellen for his book Scavullo Women (1985). As a protégé of the charismatic Diana Vreeland, Mellen became a sittings editor first at Harper’s Bazaar, then at American Vogue, collaborating with such legendary photographers as Richard Avedon, Helmut Newton, and Irving Penn, and eventually continuing her career at Allure magazine. "She was and still is the most creative sittings editor I ever worked with," says Richard Avedon.

on Fashion:

"Fashion is what we're seen in, and it is the way we present ourselves. And thats important. I care deeply about fashion, but I must tell you the way I care. I care about fashion for the person who is wearing it. I care that that person knows what she can wear. How she should look. Because I honestly think that I can look at any woman and say, 'Gee if she did it this way, she'd look so terrific.' I never think, Is she beautiful looking?"

on Beauty:

" Beautiful-looking is a girl, who has been born beautiful. Brooke Shields is a beauty. Carole Lombard was my ideal, a woman with wit, glamour, style......"

on Style:

"Style can be a person who is not beautiful-looking. Style is a person who dares, who has the confidence of knowing what is right for her. I've said a lot of times that you should try something out something first before you take it out. But I don't do that always. Sometimes I just put on my purple leather pumps, with the bright green cocardes on the toes, and go out anyway."

Jennifer Starr Interview

You may think you know Jennifer Starr from the hit Bravo show “Make Me a Supermodel”. Jennifer is the original independent Casting Director – world renowned photographers and designers hire her for her opinion and point of view. In her words: “I have the best job anyone could have – I have a license to go up to anyone I find interesting – and I do”. Jennifer has collaborated with photographers such as Bruce Weber, Richard Avedon, Steven Meisel, Mario Testino, Mert Alas & Marcus Piggott, Inez van Lamsweerde & Vinoodh Matadin, Terry Richardson and Steven Klein. She has cast campaigns for icons such as Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren, Gap and Gucci.

Q: Where are you from?

A: New York City – but at 14 my family moved to Miami which I really didn't mind because I loved sports and the outdoors. In Manhattan we had a 40 minute gym class each day where we were in a small school gymnasium. If we were lucky we got to go over to central park and kick a ball around. At my school in Coconut Grove, Miami, I was on the swim team, volleyball team and basketball team. On weekends I was at the beach. Miami was completely different then than it is now. Coconut Grove and South Beach are practically unrecognizable.

Q: How did you get into this business?

A: Through Bruce Weber’s sister Barbara DeWitt. Bruce was shooting The Calvin Klein Obsession and Jeans campaign and she was the producer. I was 17 and she asked me to scout locations for the shoots. There were about 40 models, including Christy Turlington, and we needed private homes where Bruce would be comfortable shooting nudes in natural light. I lived in a high-rise but many of my friends had beautiful homes that I knew would work perfectly. Once the shoot began, Bruce asked me to stay on as a production assistant – I remember one of my first responsibilities included taking the models to the beach to get a healthy tan, and making sure they didn’t get sunburned. I decided I couldn't really tell my friends what I was doing (LOL). Who would believe it? After working for Bruce for a few months I went to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where I received a B.A. in Sociology, and studied Political Science at Oxford. Right before graduation, Bruce and his partner Nan asked me to come back to New York and work for them full time. Somewhere along the line my primary job became casting the models. I think I just really enjoyed that part of the job more then anything else and I guess was innately good at it. Bruce would send me all over the world to find fresh new faces.

Q: Tell me about working with Bruce-

A: Bruce wanted to know everything about the people he would shoot – where they were from, what sports they played at school. He was curious about who they were as individuals. For many Abercrombie & Fitch and Versace campaigns I would travel ahead to the shoot location and cast locals. This would help guarantee us new faces that hadn’t been overexposed. Using local people as models would bring spontaneity to the shoot – really great energy. Bruce really captures who a person is in his photographs. I refer to my time there as BW school. It was a real education into music, film, fashion, and art. Bruce would say we are going to do a Pasolini story and I would then go and watch every Pasolini film made. He would make cinematic references all the time. I made the best of friends over those four years. With Bruce and Nan and the dogs at the helm, it was very much a family.

Q: How did you start your business?

A: When I began there were no independent casting directors. There were no rules. No fee structures. There was no program or structured course of action to follow to become a casting director…like there is for lawyers, bankers or doctors. Bruce taught me how to do street casting – to find real beauty that would be accepted in a commercial ad campaign. He used to say- when you leave here and you’re a big casting director... he planted the seed. Bruce was super supportive when I left and even recommended me to Calvin. Then, my first phone call on my own was from Richard Avedon. Things just kind of snow balled after that. I was incredibly blessed.

Q: What was it like working with Richard Avedon?

A: He was larger than life. I admired him and his work even before I entered this business. He had so much energy. I kept calling him Mr. Avedon and he kept saying- please call me Dick. I said I just couldn't do that. At our first meeting he told me that he wanted me to travel around the world - that I should pick twelve different countries and find the most beautiful women in each country for the next Pirelli Calendar called Women of the World. After he said this I started looking around the room. He said "what are you looking for"? I said that I am looking for the man to tell me that I am on candid camera because these things don't happen to me. He said he loved me and I had the job.

Q: I loved those old D&G ads.

A: I loved casting those D&G campaigns for Steven Meisel. We used real people. I presented Steven with an extensive biography on each model because that's what Bruce liked. Steven was like- Jen- I'm not writing a book on these people- it's a portrait! He’s so funny! I cast real families and couples- many of them same sex couples, and they were shot in very normal, very casual, and very beautiful situations. I think it was the first time gay couples were portrayed in a very affectionate, loving and tasteful way. These ads had a big impact on the way homosexuality was perceived and I was so proud to have been a part of them.

Q: How has modeling changed in the last 5 years?

A: Celebrities have become the new supermodels.

Q: Where do you see the modeling industry changing in the next 5 years?

A: Well, I would say that street casting is still going to be important and I feel that reality television is going to affect the fashion industry as well.

Q: What do you look for in a model?

A: Someone who is comfortable in their own skin. A relaxed body attitude, not studied body language. Not “super-modely”. The ability to really look with their eyes and connect with the camera. I am always searching for unique and different types of beauty. I love people who are passionate about something and that passion comes through in a picture. And, quite often I am drawn to people with great personal style.