Irina Lazareanu
Encyclopedia
Irina Lăzăreanu is a Romanian-Canadian
model
. She got her ‘big break’ through her acquaintance with model Kate Moss
.
with her Romanian parents. At the age of 13 she moved to London
to study ballet until she was derailed by a broken knee. She met Pete Doherty
at the age of 15 whom she later dated briefly and was engaged to in 2007.
to model for the December/January issue of Vogue
: Paris
, which she guest edited that Lazareanu received notice by fashionistas. Lazareanu has since become an increasingly popular fashion model, breaking the record for most runway work in one season.
She has modeled for many top designers, including Chanel
, Balenciaga
, Alexander McQueen
, Shiatzy Chen
, Anna Sui
, Lanvin
, Versace, and many more. She is affiliated with the modeling agencies Marilyn (New York and Paris), Why Not Models (Milan), Select Model Management (London), and Giovanni (Montreal).
In March 2007, Lazareanu was chosen by Kate Moss
as the model for her new Topshop
clothing range.
In June 2009, Lazareanu appeared on Canada's Next Top Model
as a guest coach and judge. She coached contestants on camera work, articulation, and fashion labels.
She will shortly be appearing in the Hobbs Spring Summer 2010 advertising campaign.
era, not only in terms of my clothes but also in terms of the music I listen to, the movies I watch, the writers I read. Those influences probably translates into my personal style in an unconscious way."
Michelle McCool of Cosmopolitan magazine writes that "(Irina) has a great rock'n'roll vibe. It's all about the hair and her flatness. I love that she has no boobs." Lazareanu is often described as having a distinctive look, as Emmanuelle Alt
of Vogue Paris adds; "On the runway, no matter what, she cannot be transformed. She always has her unique look and style." As a result of her striking features and rock'n'roll semblance, Lazareanu has developed the status of 'official muse' to designers Nicolas Ghesquière
and Karl Lagerfeld
, with whom she shot the Chanel Cruise campaign.
, at a party in Shepherd's Bush while she was a ballet student. Doherty and Lazareanu bonded over their shared interest in artists such as Oscar Wilde
and Nina Simone
. Lazareanu became closely involved with Doherty's band Babyshambles
and toured with them in 2004, although she has denied the widespread rumor that she served as their drummer.
Lazareanu reportedly helped Pete Doherty
write the song "La Belle et la Bête" which featured Kate Moss
on the Babyshambles
' Down in Albion
album.
She is currently recording a folk album, entitled Some Place Along the Way, which musician Sean Lennon
is producer and collaborator on. They have recorded a duet called "Strange Places", which has not yet been released, however was previewed on a Fashion TV
profile, which aired earlier in 2006. Her album was to be released in late 2006 however it has been delayed as a result of her demanding modelling career and is now due to be released in fall 2007. Lazareanu has said that "My music isn't commercial...I just want to learn from people and do the best I can do" and cites Bob Dylan
, Neil Young
, Leonard Cohen
and Joan Baez
as her musical influences.
In February 2007 Lazareanu announced that she will collaborate with Sean Lennon and Pete Doherty on a cover of Bob Dylan's "Girl from the North Country
".
In an interview during New York Spring 2008 Fashion Week, Lazareanu announced that she was working on a duet album with Sean Lennon
.
In December 2007, during a special presentation for Chanel
in London, Lazareanu debuted four songs off her album, which acted as the soundtrack to the show. Sean Lennon accompanied her on guitar.
In June 2010 Lazareanu organized a benefit concert in NYC
and was set to perform with Doherty, Lennon, Charlotte Kemp Muhl
, and Adam Green
. Doherty was, however, refused entry into the United States
- despite having a visa. The band played without him.
, first for a period in 2004 following the break-up of his band The Libertines
and then for the second time in October 2007.
Romanian Canadian
According to the Canadian Census data of 2006, there are almost 200,000 Romanian-Canadians. Some sources estimates that this number might be as high as cca. 400,000 Canadians of Romanian descent.- Before World War I:...
model
Model (person)
A model , sometimes called a mannequin, is a person who is employed to display, advertise and promote commercial products or to serve as a subject of works of art....
. She got her ‘big break’ through her acquaintance with model Kate Moss
Kate Moss
Kate Moss is an English model. Moss is known for her waifish figure and popularising the heroin chic look in the 1990s. She is also known for her controversial private life, high profile relationships, party lifestyle, and drug use. Moss changed the look of modelling and started a global debate on...
.
Early life
At age 5 Lazareanu emigrated to Canada from Romania, settling into the Montreal suburb of Saint-Hubert, QuebecSaint-Hubert, Quebec
Saint-Hubert is a borough in the city of Longueuil, located in the Montérégie region of Quebec, Canada. It had been a separate city prior to January 1, 2002, when it along with several other neighbouring south shore municipalities were merged into Longueuil. According to the Quebec Statistics...
with her Romanian parents. At the age of 13 she moved to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
to study ballet until she was derailed by a broken knee. She met Pete Doherty
Pete Doherty
Peter Doherty is an English musician, writer, actor, poet and artist. He is best known musically for being co-frontman of The Libertines, which he reformed with Carl Barât in 2010. His other musical project is indie band Babyshambles...
at the age of 15 whom she later dated briefly and was engaged to in 2007.
Modeling career
At age 17 Lazareanu attended an open call and signed with Giovanni modelling agency in Montreal with the hopes that it would help pay rent. From then on she did the usual rounds of London and Paris, occasionally appearing in Barcelona, Australia and Madrid fashion weeks. It wasn't until she was chosen by acquaintance Kate MossKate Moss
Kate Moss is an English model. Moss is known for her waifish figure and popularising the heroin chic look in the 1990s. She is also known for her controversial private life, high profile relationships, party lifestyle, and drug use. Moss changed the look of modelling and started a global debate on...
to model for the December/January issue of Vogue
Vogue (magazine)
Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine that is published monthly in 18 national and one regional edition by Condé Nast.-History:In 1892 Arthur Turnure founded Vogue as a weekly publication in the United States. When he died in 1909, Condé Montrose Nast picked up the magazine and slowly began...
: Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, which she guest edited that Lazareanu received notice by fashionistas. Lazareanu has since become an increasingly popular fashion model, breaking the record for most runway work in one season.
She has modeled for many top designers, including Chanel
Chanel
Chanel S.A. is a French fashion house founded by the couturier Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel, well established in haute couture, specializing in luxury goods . She gained the name "Coco" while maintaining a career as a singer at a café in France...
, Balenciaga
Balenciaga
Balenciaga is a fashion house founded by Cristóbal Balenciaga, a Basque designer, born in the Basque Country, Spain. He had a reputation as a couturier of uncompromising standards and was referred to as "the master of us all" by Christian Dior. His bubble skirts and odd, feminine, yet ultra-modern...
, Alexander McQueen
Alexander McQueen
Lee Alexander McQueen, CBE was a British fashion designer and couturier best known for his in-depth knowledge of bespoke British tailoring, his tendency to juxtapose strength with fragility in his collections, as well as the emotional power and raw energy of his provocative fashion shows...
, Shiatzy Chen
Shiatzy Chen
Shiatzy Chen is a Taiwanese fashion house, whose founder and brand innovator Wang Chen Tsai-Hsia is often referred to as the Chanel of Taiwan,and is the eponym of her luxury goods brand. She was born in 1951 in Changhua, Taiwan and founded the company in 1978...
, Anna Sui
Anna Sui
Anna Sui is an American fashion designer. Her luxury brand retails globally in the Americas, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Her clothing, fragrance, cosmetic, and accessories lines sell at Anna Sui stores in over 50 countries and are also widely distributed at leading department stores...
, Lanvin
Jeanne Lanvin
Jeanne-Marie Lanvin was a French fashion designer and the founder of the Lanvin fashion house.One of the most influential designers of the 1920s and '30s, Jeanne Lanvin's skillful use of intricate trimmings, virtuoso embroideries and beaded decorations in clear, light, floral colors became a...
, Versace, and many more. She is affiliated with the modeling agencies Marilyn (New York and Paris), Why Not Models (Milan), Select Model Management (London), and Giovanni (Montreal).
In March 2007, Lazareanu was chosen by Kate Moss
Kate Moss
Kate Moss is an English model. Moss is known for her waifish figure and popularising the heroin chic look in the 1990s. She is also known for her controversial private life, high profile relationships, party lifestyle, and drug use. Moss changed the look of modelling and started a global debate on...
as the model for her new Topshop
Topshop
Topshop is a British clothes retailer with shops in over 20 countries and online operations in a number of its markets. Its sales come primarily from women's clothing and fashion accessories...
clothing range.
In June 2009, Lazareanu appeared on Canada's Next Top Model
Canada's Next Top Model
Canada's Next Top Model is a Canadian reality show in which female contestants compete for the title "Canada's Next Top Model" and a chance to start their career in the modeling industry...
as a guest coach and judge. She coached contestants on camera work, articulation, and fashion labels.
She will shortly be appearing in the Hobbs Spring Summer 2010 advertising campaign.
Personal style
Lazareanu is known for her quirky, vintage-inspired style - which has arguably contributed to the rise of her modelling career. When asked about her style, Lazareanu says: "I’m very influenced by the whole 1960s–1970s LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
era, not only in terms of my clothes but also in terms of the music I listen to, the movies I watch, the writers I read. Those influences probably translates into my personal style in an unconscious way."
Michelle McCool of Cosmopolitan magazine writes that "(Irina) has a great rock'n'roll vibe. It's all about the hair and her flatness. I love that she has no boobs." Lazareanu is often described as having a distinctive look, as Emmanuelle Alt
Emmanuelle Alt
Emmanuelle Alt became the editor-in-chief of Vogue Paris in February 2011, succeeding Carine Roitfeld. Alt had been fashion director of the magazine from 2000, when Ms...
of Vogue Paris adds; "On the runway, no matter what, she cannot be transformed. She always has her unique look and style." As a result of her striking features and rock'n'roll semblance, Lazareanu has developed the status of 'official muse' to designers Nicolas Ghesquière
Nicolas Ghesquière
Nicolas Ghesquière is a fashion designer and is currently creative director for the house of Balenciaga owned by the Gucci Group . He grew up in Loudun, Vienne....
and Karl Lagerfeld
Karl Lagerfeld
Karl Lagerfeld is a German fashion designer, artist and photographer based in Paris. He has collaborated on a variety of fashion and art related projects, most notably as head designer and creative director for the fashion house Chanel...
, with whom she shot the Chanel Cruise campaign.
Music career
Lazareanu met musician Pete Doherty (whom she calls Peter) then a member of the LibertinesThe Libertines
The Libertines were an English rock band, formed in London in 1997 by frontmen Carl Barât and Pete Doherty . The band, centred on the song-writing partnership of Barat and Doherty, also included John Hassall and Gary Powell for most of its recording career...
, at a party in Shepherd's Bush while she was a ballet student. Doherty and Lazareanu bonded over their shared interest in artists such as Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s...
and Nina Simone
Nina Simone
Eunice Kathleen Waymon , better known by her stage name Nina Simone , was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger, and civil rights activist widely associated with jazz music...
. Lazareanu became closely involved with Doherty's band Babyshambles
Babyshambles
Babyshambles are an English indie rock band established in London. The band was formed by Pete Doherty during a hiatus from his former band The Libertines, but Babyshambles has since become his main project . Babyshambles has released two albums, three EPs and a number of singles...
and toured with them in 2004, although she has denied the widespread rumor that she served as their drummer.
Lazareanu reportedly helped Pete Doherty
Pete Doherty
Peter Doherty is an English musician, writer, actor, poet and artist. He is best known musically for being co-frontman of The Libertines, which he reformed with Carl Barât in 2010. His other musical project is indie band Babyshambles...
write the song "La Belle et la Bête" which featured Kate Moss
Kate Moss
Kate Moss is an English model. Moss is known for her waifish figure and popularising the heroin chic look in the 1990s. She is also known for her controversial private life, high profile relationships, party lifestyle, and drug use. Moss changed the look of modelling and started a global debate on...
on the Babyshambles
Babyshambles
Babyshambles are an English indie rock band established in London. The band was formed by Pete Doherty during a hiatus from his former band The Libertines, but Babyshambles has since become his main project . Babyshambles has released two albums, three EPs and a number of singles...
' Down in Albion
Down in Albion
Down in Albion is the debut album by Babyshambles, Pete Doherty's post-Libertines band.Down in Albion was released on November 14, 2005 on Rough Trade Records, although it was leaked on to the Internet on October 19, 2005. Produced by Mick Jones, Down in Albion contains a rerecorded version of...
album.
She is currently recording a folk album, entitled Some Place Along the Way, which musician Sean Lennon
Sean Lennon
is an American singer, songwriter, musician, guitarist and actor. He is the only child of John Lennon and Yoko Ono. His godfather is Sir Elton John.-Early life and education:...
is producer and collaborator on. They have recorded a duet called "Strange Places", which has not yet been released, however was previewed on a Fashion TV
Fashion TV
Fashion TV is an international fashion and lifestyle broadcasting television channel. It was founded in France in 1997 by its Polish-born president Michel Adam Lisowski, Fashion TV is the only 24/7 international TV network exclusively dedicated to fashion, beauty, glamour and style and has become...
profile, which aired earlier in 2006. Her album was to be released in late 2006 however it has been delayed as a result of her demanding modelling career and is now due to be released in fall 2007. Lazareanu has said that "My music isn't commercial...I just want to learn from people and do the best I can do" and cites Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
, Neil Young
Neil Young
Neil Percival Young, OC, OM is a Canadian singer-songwriter who is widely regarded as one of the most influential musicians of his generation...
, Leonard Cohen
Leonard Cohen
Leonard Norman Cohen, is a Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, poet and novelist. Cohen published his first book of poetry in Montreal in 1956 and his first novel in 1963. His work often explores religion, isolation, sexuality and interpersonal relationships...
and Joan Baez
Joan Baez
Joan Chandos Baez is an American folk singer, songwriter, musician and a prominent activist in the fields of human rights, peace and environmental justice....
as her musical influences.
In February 2007 Lazareanu announced that she will collaborate with Sean Lennon and Pete Doherty on a cover of Bob Dylan's "Girl from the North Country
Girl from the North Country
"Girl from the North Country" is a song written by Bob Dylan. It was first released in 1963 as the second track on Dylan's second studio album, The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan. Dylan re-recorded the song as a duet with Johnny Cash in 1969. That recording became the first track on Nashville Skyline,...
".
In an interview during New York Spring 2008 Fashion Week, Lazareanu announced that she was working on a duet album with Sean Lennon
Sean Lennon
is an American singer, songwriter, musician, guitarist and actor. He is the only child of John Lennon and Yoko Ono. His godfather is Sir Elton John.-Early life and education:...
.
In December 2007, during a special presentation for Chanel
Chanel
Chanel S.A. is a French fashion house founded by the couturier Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel, well established in haute couture, specializing in luxury goods . She gained the name "Coco" while maintaining a career as a singer at a café in France...
in London, Lazareanu debuted four songs off her album, which acted as the soundtrack to the show. Sean Lennon accompanied her on guitar.
In June 2010 Lazareanu organized a benefit concert in NYC
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and was set to perform with Doherty, Lennon, Charlotte Kemp Muhl
Kemp Muhl
Charlotte Kemp Muhl is an American model, actress, singer, and musician from suburban Atlanta, Georgia. Modeling since the age of 13, Muhl, at sixteen years old, became the youngest model to appear on the cover of Britain’s Harper’s and Queen magazine.-Career:Muhl has been featured in campaigns...
, and Adam Green
Adam Green (musician)
Adam Green is an American singer-songwriter.Green's off-kilter style has achieved a moderate college radio following in the United States, and enjoys increasing popularity in a number of European countries, particularly Germany.-Career:Green attended Emerson College for one semester in 1998 before...
. Doherty was, however, refused entry into the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
- despite having a visa. The band played without him.
Personal life
Lazareanu has twice been briefly engaged to musician Pete DohertyPete Doherty
Peter Doherty is an English musician, writer, actor, poet and artist. He is best known musically for being co-frontman of The Libertines, which he reformed with Carl Barât in 2010. His other musical project is indie band Babyshambles...
, first for a period in 2004 following the break-up of his band The Libertines
The Libertines
The Libertines were an English rock band, formed in London in 1997 by frontmen Carl Barât and Pete Doherty . The band, centred on the song-writing partnership of Barat and Doherty, also included John Hassall and Gary Powell for most of its recording career...
and then for the second time in October 2007.