THE INSTANT MYTHOLOGY OF LOULOU

LouLou @ WM (Paris), MC 2(NYC) PH: Kate Van Raden

For all the girls spinning about post-Fashion Week there is always a model who never sets foot on the FW runways who still manages to scoop her lion's share of buzz. This season it's Lou Lou Robert, the 19 year old French newcomer. It's not just the Inez and Vinoodh thing, though their rapid adoption of LouLou as their current muse is a bold and rare move on the part of that team. LouLou's editorial introduction in V 76 as Penelope Cruz meets Isabelle Adjani meets Andie MacDowell meets Sandrine Bonnaire meets Julia Roberts meets Helena Christensen meets Kate Moss (naked) is a BIG advance building for the girl who is not the tallest in class. But if you dig beneath the hype you will find that LouLou actually has a compelling narrative of her own. Her father, they hiss, was a top investigative journalist in France who got tangled up in the backlash of one of his investigative reports (shades of "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo") . LouLou herself has the kind of heedless self-possession that does indeed feel cinematic. I missed by a morning, the chance to interview this girl-most-wanted but she certainly remains at the top of my current wish-list for a sit-down. Given the wide range of Inez and Vinoodh clients and the current exclusivity to that team, there's a very attentive audience now waiting to see LouLou's follow up imagery.