Gisele Bundchen for Balenciaga!

Nicolas Ghesquiere was one of the first designers to start casting Victoria’s Secret models for his catwalk presentations. Way back in Oct 2009, the Balenciaga designer made Grazia do whiplash-y double take when we spotted the model Miranda Kerr on his Spring 2010 catwalk – unrecognisable with straightened, gelled-back hair and graphic wraparound eye make-up.

It’s now just a year later, but a lot has changed – Victoria’s Secret models are now very much a part of the current catwalk culture, appearing in every major show from Prada to Louis Vuitton. And this season, Ghesquiere was at it again, re-casting Miranda Kerr, alongside Brazillian supermodel Gisele Bundchen, who is more usually seen fronting ad campaigns for glamour merchant Roberto Cavalli but appeared in Balenciaga’s Spring/Summer 2011 show with slicked-back pony tail, minimal make-up and a sharp white shift dress.

For years, N.Ghesquiere favoured Balenciaga devotee and actress Jennifer Connelly as the face of his brand, but for Autumn/Winter 2010, the designer returned to casting models – with Freja Beha Erichsen, Eliza Cummings, Julija Stepanoviciute, Kirsi Pyrohnen, Karen Elson, Meghan Collison, Mirte Maas and Stella Tennant all starring in the Balenciaga campaign.

And now we’re hearing news that it is Gisele Bundchen who is fronting the Parisian house’s ad campaign for Spring 2011, which is reported to have already been shot in New York by Steven Meisel.

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