Published: Wednesday, July 05, 2006
TOP SHOT: Paris-based fashion photographer Paolo Roversi, who previously has shot campaigns for fashion houses such as Christian Dior and Yves Saint Laurent, has trained his soft-focus lens to street level for the first time. In the latest high-low shuffle, British High Street chain Topshop has nabbed the revered Italian lensman for its fall-winter campaign, to be released in August. The ads will appear in British-based magazines such as Vogue and the recently launched Lula, as well as Topshop's Internet site and store windows. Topshop executives declined to disclose the budget. Under the creative direction of Ronnie Cooke Newhouse and styled by Kate Phelan, the story stars new faces Anna Kushkina, Charlotte di Calypso, Eva Hélène, Valeria Garcia and Angelle Boucher in a series of individual studio poses, surrounded by atmospheric halos of eggshell blue lighting. "We wanted to lift it out of looking like a typical High Street brand," said Newhouse, adding Roversi was enthusiastic to take on the project, having heard so many models mentioning Topshop. "It's become a destination when people go to London, and has developed the allure of a high-fashion label," she said. Roversi succeeds art photographer Jeff Mermelstein, who had shot the Topshop campaigns since 2004.
— Katya Foreman
I never took notice of Angelle before, but she's pretty cute and the Laroche ad's actually really nice. Thanks, jules! 
