Julia Hafstrom & Linnea Regnander | 'Nordic Women in Chanel' by Peter Farago & Ingela Klemetz-Farago

Note | Nudity We haven’t visited Hungarian-born photographer Peter Farago and his wife, Swedish stylist Ingela Klemetz-Farago’s ‘Nordic Women in Chanel’ project since June 2011.

The couple’s exhibition at the Fotografiska Museet website, where the exhibition ran from July 1-September 11, 2011 inside Stora Tullhuset, on the docks of Stadsgården in Stockholm is now closed.

Several well-known models from the Scandinavian and Baltic countries, such as Freja Beha Erichsen, Helena Christensen, Iselin Steiro, Edita Vilkeviciute, Sigrid Ågren, Suvi Koponen, Kirsi Phyronen, Carmen Kass, Siri Tollerod and Caroline Winberg took part in the project developed in close co-operation with Chanel. Every creation and surrounding were chosen specifically for each model.

Working in Paris, Stockholm and New York, the duo has released another set of images — this group both simpler and more sensual than the prior exhibition images. They intrigue me because first and foremost, they honor a pure sensuality that we associate with Scandinavia, one that is anchored in the most progressive women’s rights record in every global study. A couple years ago I attended a gorgeous outside dinner at the home of the Swedish consul for Los Angeles, and enjoyed very late night, under the stars conversation with Swedish men and women on this topic.

The Klemetz-Farago-images have consistently honored a certain sensual restraint in the house of Chanel, one advocated by Karl Lagerfeld and a pov I call fashion monasticism, images devoid of sensuality and often humanity when people are interacting.

With these new images of Julia Hafstrom & Linnea Regnander, the Klemetz-Farago vision does inject a significant dose of sensuality into the images — clothes on or off. The beauty is transcendent, not sexual and yet a point is made to those of us who read tea leaves for a living. These images capture a different vision of the Chanel women, one that will never emerge from the Lagerfeld lens. Anne

via NL