kimair
frozen
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from today's wwd...i thought they were planning on using gisele for a while...
Following the surprising replacement this fall of longtime campaign model and founding daughter Kelly Gray with supermodel Gisele Bündchen, the St. John knitwear brand is said to have signed on statuesque superstar, U.N. ambassador and tabloid favorite Angelina Jolie for its 2006 run.
The move — which the Irvine, Calif.-based fashion house is expected to announce in a press conference this week — is only the latest in chief executive officer Richard Cohen's dramatic remake of St. John.
In a prescient sign, the Mario Testino-shot fall campaign featured Bündchen as a star "on set," surrounded by several beefy extras in costume. It was a nod to the past campaign with Gray and her constant cadre of boy toys and now, it appears, the future.
The din that the 30-year-old Jolie would be Bündchen's successor, as WWD reported this summer, has been intensifying recently. But Cohen and St. John representatives declined to comment whether any A-list star would step into the role.
The red carpet, of course, tops the list of any successful fashion brand marketing program. And despite efforts even before Cohen's arrival, such a moment at an awards show or even lowly film premier long eluded St. John.
Off the record, many Hollywood stylists insisted the house would need to shake off its musty image as the practical source for political power women and Ladies Who Lunch before they would consider showing the clothes to their celebrity clients.
Given Jolie's image, the choice will present St. John in a striking new light. Very few in the congested celebrity landscape can claim a glamour — and cool — quotient like Jolie's.
Attracting a wider and younger clientele base, and thereby upping its appeal and sales, has motivated the changes at St. John.
Although it remains one of the best-selling brands at Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue, with a cult following for its crease-free knit suits and gowns, profits have tipped in recent years.