Superior Smizers: Hanne Gaby Odiele

I have begun yet another segment on this here blog entitled "Superior Smizers." Smizers is not, in fact, a real word, not even on Urban Dictionary. I will define it for you right here and now. "Smizer" is essentially a synonym for "model," because the verb "smize" means to smile with your eyes (as coined by Tyra Banks, on the television show "America's Next Top Model"). I just created the noun form of smize, is all. I thought it was way too boring to name this series something like, "Favorite Models." Nuh-uh. Superior Smizers it is.

This segment is not an excuse for me to touch upon the serious(ly controversial) issues people tend to discuss about modeling. That's not what this blog is for. It's fo' fashion, ain't it? I look at a lot of runway shows on my computer, and after a while I begin to recognize the faces. Most of the time these models are just used as walking mannequins to showcase the designers' clothing. They're not really acknowledged much. Unless they're Kate Moss. Sometimes they become muses for designers or artists, but a lot of the smizers that put their heart and soul into what they do aren't recognized as more than pretty faces. They're also hated on so much: for being very thin, for being shallow, etcetera. The truth is, they have a difficult and physically taxing job; they're forced to walk in incredibly high heels, wear uncomfortable clothes and sometimes go on trapezes in designer garments over the open ocean. I don't know about you, but that doesn't sound so easy to me. Their feet are bruised and destroyed by the time they get to Paris Fashion Week after a month of walking in runway shows. That's intense, is it not? I want to show you all what these girls look like on the catwalks, on the streets, and even before they were legit smizers, as well as some little tidbits of info about them. Byaaaaaay! 

First up we have Hanne Gaby Odiele. She is one part of the mystical being Hanneli Gabiele Mustaparisian.

She was born in Kortrijk, Belgium on October 8, 1988. She was discovered at a Belgium rock (as in music, not the stones and pebbles sort of rocks) festival and signed with Supreme Management modeling agency in 2005. She's walked in all the big shows: Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Calvin Klein, Prada, Marc Jacobs, Alberta Ferretti, Givenchy and Balenciaga, to name a few. In 2006 she became the face of the Philosophy di Alberta Ferretti and Topshop fall campaigns. Later that year, in December, she was hit by a car and broke her legs. (Holy crap, right??!!) She didn't go back to the runways until 2008, but did some shoots in the intervening time. A mega-plus in my book about Hanne Gaby is her impeccable and unique fashion sense. She is completely unafraid to experiment with trends and non-trends, therefore making them trendy. She's become somewhat of a street style star. Basically, she's totally perfect. Shall we check her out?

Photos via harpersbazaar.com, hanneli.com, fashionistable.blogspot.com, and fuckyeahhanne.tumblr.com. 

I thought we'd start off with a close-up. Oh hey girl, how you doin'. 

Her perfection is killing me. You don't know how badly this makes me want her sweater  her Nina Ricci veil  her adorable bag her gelato.

She's totally tapping into the green-purple color scheme that my mom is so fond of. Somehow I feel like Hanne Gaby is doing it a bit better than my mother dearest. 

That hair...

Do I spot a leather collar, a top knot and crotch embroidery?! I think I do! Gotta love Hanne Gaby. 

I will reiterate what I said last time I used this picture in a post: "Running shorts, a crop top and a hot pink cape coat have never looked so good. Or looked good at all." That is a direct quote from myself. Yeah, I'm being that person.

Graphiq pantz!!!! Phre$h off da runw@y!!! (A note in normal English: you can tell she just came from a show because she's got intense make-up on; models tend to go barefaced when they're just chillin'. They're just that gorgeous.)

I don't always want to be other people, but when I do I want to be Hanne Gaby Odiele.

Happy Easter! (Remember this post? I think now would be an appropriate time to call it back.)

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