Cara Delevingne, Karlie Kloss, Jourdan Dunn: they started from the bottom, and now they’re here. Once new faces, they’ve proved that one runway show or campaign can eventually lead to major supermodel status. From “the next Naomi Campbell” to a Raf Simons favorite, New York Fashion Week has a slew of soon-to-be major faces coming to town. With tips from some casting and agency insiders, Erin Cunningham predicts the standout models of the season.
Age: 17
Reminiscent of Lindsey Wixson with a rounder face and fuller lips, Holly Rose Emery could fill the top model’s heels in no time. Emery debuted at the Prada Spring/Summer 2014 menswear show in Milan and a month later took Paris Couture Week by storm, walking the runways of Valentino, Armani Privé, and Elie Saab. Now ready to make her foray into ready-to-wear, the 17-year-old, Auckland, New Zealand, native has an aura of youthfulness that should make her a highly coveted catch for the New York Spring/Summer 2014 runways.
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Age: 17
Known as Binx in the fashion world, Leona Walton was discovered by her mother agent, Tennessee-based MACS|AMAX, in 2007. The agency began development on Binx in 2010, leading her androgynous look to win over some major designers. While Binx may have first appeared at New York Fashion Week last season on the Marc Jacobs runway as an exclusive, she continued building her modeling résumé at a steady pace. Following NYFW, she moved on to have a strong season abroad, walking the Fall/Winter 2013 runways of Miu Miu in Paris, Giles, and Sister by Sibling in London and as an exclusive for Versace in Milan. Most recently, she took to the Spring/Summer 2014 Prada menswear runway (with other models to watch including Malaika Firth, Maggie Jablonski, and Holly Rose Emery). With two major exclusives already under her belt, the 17-year-old is bound to have a season full of bookings this time around.
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If her surname is any indication, Maggie Jablonski should soon become a name synonymous with fashion royalty like same-last-name—yet no relation—supermodels Constance and Jacquelyn. Tennessee-born Jablonski, who started modeling in early 2012, finally made her runway debut alongside other “must watch” newcomers at Prada’s Spring/Summer 2014 menswear show in Milan, the perfect stepping stone for a serious modeling career. With her soft face and striking eyes, the 5-foot-10 model repped by Major Model management should be plenty busy this New York Fashion Week.
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Age: 22
Between her defined bone structure and Swedish genes, 22-year-old Carolina Sjöstrand is a modeling force to be reckoned with. Her striking facial features are ideal for both editorial and runway, which is evident by her work with major designers including Christian Dior, J.W. Anderson, and Viktor & Rolf and publications like Elle magazine. Discovered on the streets of Sweden, Sjöstrand began her career as a Christian Dior couture exclusive in January 2013. Now a Raf Simons favorite, Carolina has proceeded to walk three more Dior runways: the Fall/Winter 2013 show, the resort show in May, and, most recently, the couture show this past July.
Francois Mori/AP; Wilhelmina NY
Age: 19
Deemed “the next Naomi Campbell,” by well, everyone, 19-year-old Malaika Firth entered the modeling world with a serious bang: being the first African-American model to front a Prada campaign since Campbell’s ’94 ad. “I’m proud that I’m the second black model, but also, I’m mixed. I’m biracial,” Firth told WWD. "I find it really good that I’m not white and I’m not black. It’s amazing. Naomi Campbell is so big, so for me to be compared with her is wow.” Now the face of Prada’s Fall/Winter 2013 campaign has expanded her model-folio, with editorials for Interview and Love magazine and a runway debut in Milan at Prada's Spring/Summer 2014 menswear show. Between her strong cheekbones and defined jaw, Firth is finally ready to take on her first full fashion season in New York and could definitely be the next Naomi the fashion world needs.
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Age: 22
While Nadja Giramata is no stranger to fashion or modeling—she’s already fronted a Topshop campaign and made her runway debut at the Tom Ford Fall/Winter 2013 show—the Rwandan-born, French-raised model has yet to conquer things overseas. Attending New York Fashion Week this season for the first time, Giramata is sure to bring her mix of high fashion and accessability onto a slew of serious runways with her striking, almond eyes and full lips. Standing at a tall 5 feet 10, Nadja is amazon-like, bearing a resemblance to a young Tyra Banks, no?
Trump Models
Age: 18
Liza Schwab made a splash when she made her runway debut in Paris as an exclusive at Miu Miu's Fall/Winter 2013 show. Hailing from the Netherlands, Schwab has already scored serious editorials in publications like Love magazine and Vogue Italia. Her heart-shaped face and strikingly dark features are unlike those of other top models of today, so Schwab is sure to have a strong season ahead, starting with New York Fashion Week.
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Age: 18
With a young yet striking face, Marina Nery is an up-and-comer worth closely watching. Nery quietly emerged from São Paulo, walking in Rio Fashion Week for Fall/Winter 2012. Soon Europe caught onto Nery's South American charm, and she quickly took the show circuit by storm, gracing the runways of Dior, Prada, and Emporio Armani, to name a few. Most recently, Nery fronted the Miu Miu Fall/Winter 2013 campaign, shot by Inez and Vinoodh, alongside major fashion faces including Lindsey Wixson, Adriana Lima, Daphne Groeneveld, and Georgia May Jagger. If Nery can land a campaign of that capacity, landing a spot on coveted New York Fashion Week runways should be a piece of cake.
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