A Sight to Behold

Vogue China's September issue makes a bold statement with its group cover shot of modelling's finest Asian talent. Photographers Inez Van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin bring new meaning to the word sublime with their cover image featuring Sui He, Liu Wen, Ming Xi, Fei Fei Sun, Shu Pei Qin and veteran model Du Juan. It's no secret that I love seeing models brought together for the purposes of a cover shoot and Vogue China's most recent effort delivers with impeccable styling, breathtakingly beautiful models and a clear celebration of all things beautiful. This incredible assembly of established and up-and-coming Asian models affirms the notion that ethnicity in modelling need not be a passing fad. 

Vogue China - September 2011
Photographer - Inez Van Lamsweerde & Vinoodh Matadin
Source - models.com

A-List Talent

Lane Crawford, Hong Kong's premier specialist store enlists an impressive cast of top tier Asian models for its Fall/Winter 2011 campaign. Shot by Mert Alas & Marcus Piggott, the cast includes Liu Wen, Shu Pei Qin, Fei Fei Sun, Ming Xi and Xiao Wen Ju. Stylist Marie-Amélie Sauvé decks out the Asian beauties in luxury looks from Haider Ackermann, Azzedine Alaia, Balenciaga, Givenchy, Celine, Alexander McQueen and more. What I find most refreshing about this campaign is that the models are not depicted in a way which fetishises their ethnicity. Sauvé deserves major kudos for presenting Liu Wen et al. instead as modern day beauties with mass market appeal.

Fei Fei Sun, Liu Wen, Shu Pei Qin, Xiao Wen Ju & Ming Xi
Lane Crawford - F/W 2011
Photographer - Mert Alas & Marcus Piggott
Source - models.com

Shu Pei Qin, Fei Fei Sun & Ming Xi
Lane Crawford - F/W 2011
Video still - Mert Alas & Marcus Piggott
Source - fordmodelsblog.com

Fei Fei Sun, Ming Xi, Shu Pei Qin, Xiao Wen Ju & Liu Wen
Lane Crawford - F/W 2011
Photographer - Mert Alas & Marcus Piggott
Source - models.com

Ming Xi
Lane Crawford - F/W 2011
Video Still - Mert Alas & Marcus Piggott
Source - fordmodelsblog.com

Major League

25 Magazine features the cream of modelling's talent in an editorial lensed by Marcin Tyszka. Karlie Kloss, Anja Rubik, Maryna Linchuk, Karmen Pedaru, Abbey Lee Kershaw, Alana Zimmer, Shu Pei Qin, Constance Jablonski and Valerija Kelava demonstrate why season after season they are the girls ruling the runways and securing the coveted editorial and campaigns slots. Each model brings an individual energy, character and strength to the editorial whilst allowing Tyszka to capture the sublime beauty of this stellar cast to best effect. 

Constance Jablonski

Karlie Kloss

Shu Pei Qin

Alana Zimmer

Abbey Lee Kershaw

Maryna Linchuk

Karmen Pedaru

Anja Rubik

Valerija Kelava
25 Magazine - S/S 2010
Photographer - Marcin Tyszka
Source - models.com

V Magazine's Asia Issue

V Magazine's Asia issue is due to hit newsstands on the 12th of May with Lady Gaga appearing on the cover photographed by Inez Van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin. Ten percent of the proceeds of sales will go towards the Japan relief effort. The issue features a stunning editorial with the modelling's top Asian talent. Liu Wen, Fei Fei Sun, Shu Pei Qin and Tao Okamoto transform into modern day vixens under the masterful lens of Terry Tsiolis. Newcomers Ming Xi, Sui He and Bonnie Chen also appear in editorials shot by Nick Knight, Glen Luchford and Sebastien Faena respectively. It is truly amazing to see so many top models of Asian descent showcased in one issue. Let's hope that the recent smattering of editorials featuring all-Black and all-Asian casts is not just a gimmick and that models of colour become the norm rather than the exception in the higher echelons of the modelling world.

Fei Fei Sun
Photographer - Terry Tsiolis

Tao Okamoto
Photographer - Terry Tsilois

Fei Fei Sun
Photographer - Terry Tsiolis

Shu Pei Qin
Photographer - Terry Tsiolis

Liu Wen
Photographer - Terry Tsiolis

Tao Okamoto
Photographer - Terry Tsiolis
All images V Magazine - Issue 71
Source - nymag.com

Memoirs of a Gaga
Photographer -  Inez Van Lamsweerde & Vinoodh Matadin
V Magazine - Issue 71
Source - beautyisdiverse.com

Sui He
Photographer - Glen Luchford
V Magazine - Issue 71
Source - models.com

Bonnie Chen
Photographer - Sebastian Faena
V Magazine - Issue 71
Source - models.com

Ming Xi
Photographer - Nick Knight
V Magazine - Issue 71
Source - models.com

Givenchy's Asian Odyssey

Givenchy's Spring 2011 Haute Couture presentation featured a cast of solely Asian models. Designer Riccardo Tisci's cast of beauties featured ten of the most prominent Asian models hailing from China, Japan and Korea. Veterans Ai Tominaga and Du Juan joined Liu Wen, Shu Pei Qin, Ming Xi, Fei Fei Sun, Hye Park, Jiang Xiao Yi, Tao Okamoto and So Young Kang in an intimate presentation of the collection inspired by Japanese robot toys and legendary Japanese dancer Kazuo Ohno. Tisci's influence in the modelling world is fast becoming folklore with many a model's career skyrocketing following an appearance in a Givenchy show. The question now is which of these Asian warrior beauties will dominate the upcoming Fall/Winter 2011 shows.

Riccardo Tisci's Asian Revolution
Source - style.com

Ming Xi

Shu Pei Qin

Du Juan

Hye Park

So Young Kang

Fei Fei Sun

Jiang Xiao Yi

Liu Wen

Tao Okamoto

Ai Tominaga
Images courtesy of fashionologie.com