First post!
Hi everyone!
By everyone I mean myself and r.s., the only people probably reading this blog at this fledgling stage. I'm not going to write any kind of extended "About us" post, I'm just going to jump right into it. What I will say is that I don't want my topic choice here reflect what is to come on the blog, as our aim was to provide coverage of a breadth of subjects and interests. I'm choosing this because it is relevant to me right now.
SO! Whether you know it or not this week is what I fondly refer to as "Casting Week"; the week before New York Fashion Week where brands holding shows are casting for models. What does this mean to me? This means gorgeous, tall, skeletal girls in black clothes wandering through Soho clutching their iPhones and books (simple laymen would call them portfolios), staring up quizzically at building numbers and street signs. I love this part of the whole fashion-industry-machine-process. If you're in the area, keep an eye out. They are truly beautiful to watch and stick out like sore thumbs.
Anyway! My original intent in this post was to draw attention to a less superficial aspect of this casting process: SHOW PACKAGES. A show package is a book of comp cards (individual cards printed for each model to present at castings for a point of reference; displaying their photos, agency info, and their measurements) that each agency makes twice a year for the show seasons. Models.com, digital Mecca for model-aficionados like myself, is so amazing and consistent with posting show packages each season. One agency that I've always loved for their selection of girls is Supreme, sister agency to Women, headed by the honorable Paul Rowland. Every season Mr. Rowland and his team at Supreme put together show package books that read more as art coffee table books than rosters of models. They reflect Supreme's mission statement of representing unique, eclectic beauty. models.com gives great descriptions on each. Here's a retrospective, I'll post actual scans of my favorite shots from each in addition to the link to models.com's full scan:

Fall/Winter 2010
http://models.com/oftheminute/?p=12601



Spring/Summer 2010
http://models.com/oftheminute/?p=8448


Fall/Winter 2009
http://models.com/oftheminute/?p=4610


Spring/Summer 2009
http://models.com/oftheminute/?p=4050


There you have it. Paul Rowland doing his part to infuse fashion with a fresh perspective on beauty.
This is a video documenting the shoot of a 96-page V supplement shot by Paul Rowland. Really great pairing of music and content:



That's all for now. The one thing I'll say about any coverage of fashion that I do, it is with the intention of providing an artistic perspective on the designers, photographers, stylists, and editors that strive to create more than just clothing to be sold to the masses.

b.g.