Giving It Like It Should Be Given: Kate At Mine London 2006: Mario Testino

" Perhaps perfection is not what attracts us to others. I have always admired Kate because she goes against the grain and everyone loves her for it. When I was growing up ,a woman sitting with her legs spread and holding a cigarette was immediately labeled "easy". I am always trying to fight against these stigmas, which, at the time, were the result of dogmatic Christian thinking. At the end of the day I like the idea of a woman being like a man: strong, self-assured, equal.'

Mario Testino in his Obsessed by You" Philips de Pury and Company exhibit

Vogue Italia August 2008: PH Steven Meisel

"A reference to a recent fashion world event and the most haute of the haute models looking suitably emotional."

Toccara Jones drops it like it's H-O-T in Vogue Italia July 08. Image via tfs

The model dream: Isabeli Fontana: Pirelli :Demarchelier

Well its finally locked. After a month of interviews, cross-references, comparisons and estimates MDC is just about ready to launch its Top 25 Money Girls rankings. Its been fun and its been frustrating trying to seperate the facts from the hype. Hype IS a fact of the trade but the most fascinating trend that emerged from this research was the confirmation that high editorial really is the path to the most lucrative careers in the all of modeling .Heidi Klum might be the sole exception to that as it is hard to ascertain how much of her income comes from her television ventures as opposed to her fashion endorsements.
In general however its the VS/Ralph/ cosmetic/fragrance and jewelry girls who rake in the massive bucks. Then there are the standard fashion campaigns that will sometimes spike in rates. Hilary Rhoda for instance raked in quite a hefty sum to preen for Etro and you can rest assured that Karen Elson for BCBG was not a bargain.Tiffany and Co, I discovered is also another blockbuster client and for that I bet Carolyn Murphy is not weeping.
There are some managers whose boards lack those kind of boldfaced names, that brag that it is their catalog girls who are the financial superstars of the trade, but catalog queens are not pulling in $10mil a year, we suspect. But in general it is exactly as one head of a massive corporate agency expressed "Nothing hurts a girl's career these days" and the old standard of catalog queens have lost a lot of jobs to those editorial girls willing to stoop to conquer.