Design house Balenciaga, is as always, looking ahead with the release of their much-anticipated A/W14 campaign featuring a shaven-haired Gisele Bündchen. The Brazilian supermodel, one of the highest earners in the fashion world, is known for her wavy blonde mane so the boyish buzz cut comes as a shock.
Shot by legendary lens-man Steven Klein, the campaign was styled by Balenciaga’s artistic director Alexander Wang, who has been at the historical design house since 2013. Speaking to WWD about his decision to showcase an androgynous looking former Victoria’s Secret model, Wang commented: “This is how I see Gisele for Balenciaga; strong, powerful, mysterious and uncompromising. This season we worked with this idea of vanity, staged in a room filled with mirrors. But the cracked mirror is a continuing thread from the marble veins and creeping ivy leaves from seasons past.”
Recent Instagram shots of the 33-year-old, however, still show the mother-of-two with her signature luscious locks, so there has been speculation that her cropped look could just be a camera trick.
The supermodel has been missing from the catwalks for the last few years, but made a rare appearance on the runway for Balenciaga in February, sparking rumors that she would be collaborating with Wang on his upcoming shoots, the first of which are scheduled to appear in print and online from September.
Taking over from Daria Werbowy as the new face of the brand, Gisele also has her hands full with campaigns for Chanel No5 and Pantene this year, as well as balancing home life with her two children, Vivian and Benjamin with her footballer husband, Tom Brady, not to mention designing shoes for her Brazilian brand iPanema. If there’s one woman who can handle it all, we’re betting it’s Gisele – with or without her locks.
Image: Balenciaga
