Western Europe

Hannelore Knuts

Stats: 84/61/89   Height: 175cm   DOB: Nov 4, 1977

Hannelore must be a Belgian specific name, I've never heard it before except in regards to Miss Knuts. I think it's a splendid name too - if I had a daughter I'd name her Hannelore :) The best word to describe Hannelore is beautiful/ugly. In some shows and editorials she looks ravishing, and in others it's painful to look at her. She actually has a very good physique, but looks horribly incongruous in swimwear. Hannelore belongs on the catwalks and in the adverts of cutting edge designers like Prada.

She seems to have a haughty and reserved demeanour - I've only seen her smiling twice at fashion shows, during a Moshino C&C show (in which she had bunny rabbit ears - how cool) and during the recent, very theatrical AW02/03 Moshino parade. A very unusual smile too - the lower half of her face forms a really sharp, dagger-like V shape. She has a much better sense of personal style than your average fashion model, sporting a variety of interesting outfits backstage rather than just the usual jeans and T-shirt combo.

Hannelore commenced modelling around 1998. She wasn't so prominent in the latest 2003 catwalk shows but is getting significantly more editorial work now. The last advertising campaign I saw her featured in was for Prada (along with Anouk and 2 minor models). Her hair recently went back to being black in colour like it was when she started modeling (instead of the brown-blond of the pictures below).

 

Laetitia Casta

Stats: 89/61/89   Height: 170cm  DOB: May 11, 1978

Laetitia was the first fashion model I really idolized, coming to my attention in 1996. I think the first time I saw her was in a French magazine - one of my university courses at the time was introductory French. Laetitia is probably the most voluptuous model of our time, though Tyra Bank's fans would dispute this statement I imagine.

Laetitia has been embraced to a far greater extent by US mass culture than by the "architects of high fashion", with numerous appearances in Victoria's Secret catalogues, Guess & L'Oreal adverts, and the SI Swimsuit Edition. She's only appeared in a limited number of catwalk shows, mainly the Parisian shows around 1998. I guess this is understandably given her height and the luscious fullness of her figure. Yves Saint Laurent seems to have been particular was fond of her, and she even made an appearance at the end of his final couture show (the one with ~80 models which lasted over 1 hour - I saw it in its entirety on FTV, quite entertaining actually).

Models Cafe - 200+ pictures to revel in

 

Louise Pedersen  

Stats: 86/61/89  Height: 177 cm  DOB: Dec 17,1983

Some people I dislike have a strong aversion to Louise, which in itself is a good reason for liking her. Her face maybe be akin to that of an ogre, and her body about average modelwise (cute butt though), but there's something special about Louise that keeps one's eyes riveted on her. Initially I wanted to hate her too, but I've end up loving her.

Louise has been enjoying trendy A-list status for the past 2 seasons; I have absolutely no idea who well she will fare in the next few years. Lamentably most of the models I've cathected have ended up on the scrap heap - hopefully the scavengers won't end up feasting on Louise. So far she's been in campaigns for Gucci (with Carmen Kass) & Hugo Boss, and I've seen her in 3 magazine editorials to date.

From a brief interview segment I get the impression that she is quite sensible, and would make a great buddy. Louise doesn't appear to have any reluctance about shedding her clothes - another reason to like her. She's largely managed to fix up her walk - in her first major season her left arm would hyperactively flap around whilst her right was almost stationary.

 

Martina Klein

DOB: December 7, ?

In Spain, Martina has been heavily in demand as a catwalk model for over 5 years, but outside of Spain she's largely ignored. I've spotted her in a few international shows but haven't seen her in any editorials in English magazines. She was actually born in Argentina but has spent the bulk of her life in Spain so I'll consider her Spanish. Two other leading "Spanish" models were born outside of Spain - Veronica Blume and Eleonora Bose.

Martina obviously enjoys her job - she smiles a lot for a model.

Martina Klein's official web page - Over 100 pictures of Martina.

 

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