kirsten owen

one of the most criminally underrated model EVER!! i mean she's been around basically as long as the holy trinity of modeling; linda, naomi, and christy. and yet asides from people who are as obsessed with models as i am, you mention her name and you most likely will get a blank stare. like many of the most awesomest models on the planet, kirsten is canadian and started modeling in her teens during the mid eighties. at the time the demand for glamazonian beauty was reaching its peak and kirsten's unusual look wasn't easily understood by casting agents and as a result she didn't land the biggest ad campaigns so she slowed things down a bit and had a baby. after the popularity of grunge exploded, kirsten's awkward walk and ethereal beauty suddenly became in sync with exactly what designers and photographers were looking for at that moment and she returned to modeling full time and schooled the people who never gave her the time of day before. intellectual designers like helmut lang, ann demeulemeester, and prada consistently booked her for their shows and soon after she was walking for big power houses chanel, versace, and gucci. she even became a favorite of karl lagerfeld who shot her for campaigns for fendi and chanel. after she had her second baby, kirsten semi-retired from modeling. although she still makes the odd runway appearances for designers who she feels a strong connection with, namely ann demeulemeester who usually gets her to open and close her shows. even though she is now thirty seven years old, the beauty that she now reflects internally made her the obvious choice for swedish denim powerhouse ACNE who made her the face of their spring/summer 2008 collection. the decision behind the brand to cast kirsten is because they weren't interested in hiring the youngest, up and coming face. they wanted a strong woman to represent the brand, and of course kirsten delivered the hell outta that.