‘Ainsi Soit Style’ | Julia Stegner By Philip Gay For Elle France | October 2012

by Kate Van Raden

Julia Stegner is back!!! In A BIG way! I swear, this woman has not aged a day in the last 12 years of her modeling career. Somehow she remains fresh, bright and vibrant; seemingly never tiring. In the past year, we haven’t seen as much of her as we are used to seeing, but I am happy to see her bursting with joy, page after page in the October edition of French Elle . She is truly enchanting….and I suppose that is the only feature I consider a necessity for a model After all, you hope they have the ability to command emotion, much like and actor. You want your clothes to express you, to tell a story…well, the model (and please don’t think I mean the model alone. The team is equally essential, the photographer, the stylists, the artists, the assistants, the directors, the producers, etc.) tells that story with the help of the team; each one bares the same responsibility to contribute mastery. If any one element is missing, the whole shoot can be a bust. There is nothing that breaks my heart more than to see one of my favorite models in a piece that is either beneath her (the skill and experience she is contributing) or just plain horrid! You know it happens, you know you’ve seen it; and I understand that work is work, but it seems like a waste to me :/

I digress, Julia Is light as a summer’s day in this story. They have her in everything from ‘fresh and preppy’ to ‘retro and edgy’, and as always, she makes every look work. Philip Gay was the perfect pairing for this seasonally transitioning fashion story. Many of the looks are easily modifiable, given a late summer sizzle or an unexpected autumn thunderstorm. I think the concept is; have fun, get creative. Enjoy!