“Fresh faces, innocent eyes” says the Wall Street Journal.
If the models in glossy magazines and on Fashion Week runways seem less edgy these days, it’s because they are. The recession has meant hard times for high fashion, and magazine publishers and advertisers alike are playing it safe, favoring softer, simpler faces. Industry observers say that when the economy falters consumers are more amenable to girl-next-door types than to avant-garde spectacle. When the economy is booming, “We experiment a little more” with complicated looks and extravagant makeup and hairstyles, says Ivan Bart, senior vice president at IMG Models, one of the world’s largest modeling agencies. “Now the key for advertisers is to bring people into the store.” A colleague at IMG, talent scout David Cunningham, calls it “a more commercial period.” – From WSJ