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Kendall Jenner is everywhere these days: in the new Estée Lauder ads, on the Chanel runway in Austria, and all over Tumblr. But, here’s one place where the Internet’s most reblogged model is conspicuously absent: the spring ’15 Balmain campaign, which, considering her close bond with the label's creative director Olivier Rousteing, is a bit surprising.
Instead of Jenner, Rousteing's latest Balmain army consists of Adriana Lima, Joan Smalls, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Isabeli Fontana, and Crista Cober. Here, eschewing traditional poses, the models are staged inside “real-life situations,” like a car wreck and a subway fight — well, more like the very fancy version of a subway fight — and also eating French fries and playing video games, all decked out in Rousteing’s collection of signature sexy wares. As the designer tells Style.com of the inspiration, “You can really feel the army, you can feel the battle. You can feel the power of the girls, and we usually don’t see that in a campaign.”
Olivier also chose those specific models in part because of their strong ties with each other. “If I took Kendall, it would be in a different concept with different girls. And obviously, she’s my friend, but for this campaign I wanted to have Adriana with Rosie with Isabeli with Joan and Crista.” In other words, it was all about having the perfect chemistry. “We didn’t feel like we were shooting the campaign, it was like a big party or a big reunion. We were having fun. And they were not only modeling, it was really like interacting together, and I think that was the power of the picture.”
As for Jenner, however, there are no hard feelings. Judging from the duo’s recent spread in the U.K. Sunday Times Style magazine as well as their Instagram love-fest, the model and Rousteing are as close as ever. Hey, it might not be this season, but don’t rule out a Balmain campaign for Kendall in the near future. (Style.com)
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