Catwalk: The Art of Model Style
by Marie Helvin
Pavilion/Michael Joseph, 176 pages, 1985
Okay, so I’m biased. I love Marie Helvin’s look. As a mixed-race model of the 1970s, she was a rarity, and was embraced far more by the big-name and couture designers of Europe than by the typically blond-hair/blue-eyed American fashion industry. As a result, Helvin walked in the most prestigious European shows and frequently did editorial work for many of Vogue’s international editions. She may not have been as famous as some of her contemporaries, but if you’re a fan of vintage fashion, you’re sure to recognize her face.
There are plenty of pictures of that face in Catwalk: The Art of Model Style, published in the mid-’80s as her time in front of the camera was winding down.
It’s a funny book — almost like two-in-one. The first half documents Helvin’s childhood and discovery as a model. Her early work in Japan and her marriage to famed fashion photographer, David Bailey, who was already twice divorced at the time. Helvin’s story is personal and frank, not only about her marriage, but about issues like race in fashion and the struggles young models often endure on their way to the top. Helvin’s story is charming and she takes care not to frame modelling in a particularly glamorous way.
But then, at just over the halfway point of the book, as you’re in the groove of her story, everything changes and suddenly it’s fitness tips, recipes, advice of personal style and industry-specific tips-and-tricks for aspiring fashion models.
Catwalk really does feel like it should have been chopped in half, perhaps published as two separate volumes, as readers (like myself) who are interested in Helvin’s experiences are not necessarily the same as those looking to break into modelling.
The second half of the book found me skimming and a bit bored, wishing the memoir style of the first half had continued through the rest of the book. But I’m such a fan of the photography (mostly by Bailey) and Helvin’s look, that I’ll be satisfied with what I can get.
