She is amongst the best known supermodels in the fashion world, with a personal history reminiscent of a fairy tale.

Natalia Vodianova was born in Gorky, USSR (now Nizhny Novgorod, Russia), into a very poor family. She was noticed by chance and after being chosen in a casting session she appeared on the Paris runways in 2000. She appears in campaigns for Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Mark Jacobs and then became the face of L’Oréal.

In 2003, she signed exclusively with Calvin Klein, appearing in the print campaign and video for the Euphoria fragrance shot by Steven Meisel. Natalia has been photographed by virtually all of world’s most lauded masters, like Mario Testino, Bruce Weber, Mario Sorrenti and Patrick Demarchelier. Part from her breathtaking beauty, Natalia fascinates with a unique kind of mystery that manages to embody both innocence and sophistication, both irony and wistfulness – evoking an Eastern European allure.

Her sensuality was on full display in Paolo Roversi’s campaign for Guerlain’s Shalimar. In 2008 the French maison selected Natalia for her “splendid, ever-changing look in addition to her personality, talent and commitment to good causes.” (Vodianova founded the Naked heart foundation, which builds playgrounds for Russian children, Editor’s note).

What’s your make-up style?
I prefer a natural look, accentuated with just a touch of blusher (e.g. Guerlain’s Terracotta powders) for a healthy, natural look. The perfume world fascinates me.

One of your beauty secrets?
I adore spa treatments. Whenever I go back to Russia I seize the chance for a Black Banja Sona, a traditional Siberian treatment. In Paris, I always go to Maison Guerlain for face and body treatments. But to me true relaxation is spending time with my husband and our children.

How do you keep fit?
I try to eat a healthy diet and get enough exercise. But I believe that beauty is an innate quality, something that’s part of your being.

Source: Vogue Italia.

SIR Philip and Lady Green have dropped three places in this year’s Sunday Times Rich List – from sixth in 2009 to ninth – despite an increase in their estimated wealth from £3,830 million to £4,105 million. Green is not fashion’s richest name, however, having been pipped to that title by Galen and George Weston, who own Selfridges, Fortnum & Mason and Primark.

Other high street labels, including New Look, River Island and Matalan, helped their owners to positions in fashion’s top 10, whilst Jaeger boss Harold Tillman – who has invested in Aquascutum in the past year – improved both on last year’s position and estimated earnings, finishing 189th in the overall list versus last year’s 201st.

While no models made the top 1,000, Kate Moss holds the same her position as last year, at 1,348th, despite seeing her wealth increase by £3 million – and Natalia Vodianova finished 15th in the top earners under 30 with £12 million, beating Cheryl Cole who earned £10 million.

Burberry muse Emma Watson beat them both in the young earners list, however, with £22 million – putting her just inside the under 30′s top 10.

Source: Vogue UK.

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Special thanks to Candy_Lady for translating this interview.

Any philanthropist knows, that people do charity not to help others, but to help themselves. A girl from Nizhnii Novgorod, a supermodel, a wife of an English lord, a mother of three and a happy clubber builds playgrounds in Russia’s province, manages to overcome all bureaucratic difficulties and fight the local officials. Why does she need this? What is Natalia Vodianova afraid of? What does she save herself from?

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Modeling is a glamorous gig, but it can also be harmful to your health, says Natalia Vodianova. The Russian-born beauty, whose face and figure have been used to sell Calvin Klein, Yves Saint Laurent, and Marc Jacobs, says she used to be a scrawny mess, down to just 106 pounds with her hair falling out. “It just sort of happened to me without me knowing it,’’ Vodianova told us yesterday. “My weight was never an issue before I started modeling.’’

The consequences of the catwalk are the subject of next week’s “Health Matters: Weight and Wellness in the World of Fashion,’’ a panel discussion at Harvard Business School sponsored by the Harris Center at Massachusetts General Hospital. (Vodianova will be joined on the panel by Vogue editor Anna Wintour and designer Michael Kors.)

Reached yesterday in London where she lives with her husband and three children, Vodianova said many girls begin modeling at a very young age — 15 and 16 — and then try to maintain that same slender look as they develop. “To be a model is a gift that you are born with. Not everyone is meant to look like that,’’ she says. “The industry should employ women who are mature. Don’t put a delicate flower into this world of great disorder and then throw them out.’’ Asked about the gold standard of supermodels, Gisele Bundchen, Vodianova called her a consummate pro. “She hardly drinks, does not smoke, and does not party. Gisele is very smart and treats modeling as a business, not a lifestyle,’’ said Vodianova.

VIPs slated to attend the event include Steve and Jill Karp, Rue La La’s Ben Fischman, Eliot Tatelman of Jordan’s Furniture, hotelier Dick Friedman, WBUR’s Paul LaCamera, liquor store magnate Carl Martignetti, and Steven Kolb of the Council of Fashion Designers of America.

Source: The Boston Globe.

Russian supermodel Natalia Vodianova became the face of the Olympic Games 2014 in Sochi. She opened the presentation in Vancouver.

Next Winter Olympic Games are to be held in Sochi, the city on the Black Sea. Russian celebrities, athletes and musicians were among the delegation to present future competitions. Vodianova started the presentation after the state hymn of Russia had been performed.

During the closing ceremony of Olympic Games in Vancouver the Olympic flag was given to Sochi Mayor Anatoly Pakhomov. He said that the flag will be delivered to the next host by 25th of March. It will be installed in the building of the city administration and guarded. The meeting ceremony of the flag will be solemn”.

Source: TLT News.

There was an outburst of “blinging in the rain” when guests at the charity Love Ball London were forced into the cold and wet last night when dry ice set off fire alarms at the Roundhouse in Camden.

Kate Moss, Elizabeth Hurley, Tracey Emin, film producer Harvey Weinstein, designer Anya Hindmarch and Jade Jagger were among dozens of guests who spent nearly half an hour in the freezing car park before the fire brigade gave the all-clear.

Many of the men removed their dinner jackets to warm the shoulders of their shivering companions.

But the rest of the evening, organised by Russian supermodel Natalia Vodianova and Lucy Yeomans, editor of Harper’s Bazaar, was a success and raised £1.2million for Vodianova’s Naked Heart Foundation, which builds children’s play parks in deprived areas of Russia.

For the first time the charity will be funding parks in the UK with plans for play areas in deprived parts of London, Liverpool and Glasgow.

Others guests included fashion photographer Mario Testino, Bryan Ferry, Sir Peter Blake, Joely Richardson, Mary and Stella McCartney and model Liberty Ross.

Artist Dinos Chapman was the Love Ball’s creative director while all guests received Baboushka dolls designed by Blake.

The ball’s auction saw Blake’s silkscreen print I Love You top the bidding at £160,000, while the £135,000 fetched for Chapman’s work prompted Emin to declare: “That’s an absolute bargain.” Emin also auctioned her work along with artists Mark Quinn and Jeff Koons.

The highlight of the sale was a pink and white diamond necklace, designed by Vodianova and made by diamond experts De Beers, which sold for £180,000 to PR executive Matthew Freud, accompanied by his wife Elisabeth Murdoch.

The guests were entertained by singers Yusuf Islam, Leona Lewis, Sharleen Spiteri and Paloma Faith.

Source: London Evening Standard.

By way of preview, the Love Ball is a charity event benefiting the Naked Heart Foundation. The event features an auction, where The Magic Moment Necklace, designed by model Natalia Vodianova and created by de Beers, will be offered alongside art from Marc Quinn, Anselm Reyle and others.

The Magic Moment Necklace’s central pendant features a 1·1 ct fancy intense pink heart-shaped diamond paired with a 3·06 ct white heart-shaped diamond and hand-set in delicate micropavé. The pendant dances on a chain of white gold studded with white, pink and yellow diamonds (totalling 1·81 ct, 1·65 ct and 1·94 ct respectively); part of the chain is detachable for versatility. The Magic Moment Necklace can be worn either as an intricate statement or a sophisticated pendant, says De Beers.

Says Vodianova in a release, ‘The Magic Moment Necklace was inspired by that precious instant when two people meet and immediately connect. Two stunning De Beers diamond hearts fit perfectly together becoming one—symbolic of a great love. I was reminded of the famous love poem by Pushkin and of the first playground we opened when I saw the children’s happiness and excitement. That was a magic moment I treasure and I instantly knew that the Naked Heart Foundation would be an integral part of me.’

For further information about the Love Ball and the Naked Heart Foundation, visit www.nakedheart.org/loveball.

Source: Lucire Insider.