Calling all readers

One week in New York

Here I am, back at my second home, the airport. This time I'm headed to Brazil for 48 hours (which includes 20 hours of flying there and back!!) I'm sad to be leaving so soon, though I did have a nice week back in New York...

On Monday I got to catch up with friends at the CFDA Fashion Fund Awards dinner which turned out to be a lovely evening. Even for us models, its fun to see what people are wearing to events like that. As soon as I got there Miss Karlie Kloss came over to chat. She's such a sweetheart and was definitely the "lady in red" wearing a simple but chic Calvin Klien shift. My fellow Elite girl, Poppy Delevigne (how cute is that name?) looked so sweet with her floral print dress and blazer combination and I loved Jessica Stam's outfit - she floated in wearing all white, looking like the angelic counterpart to my black on black DVF ensemble. Chanel Iman was looking very rocker chic in her OTK boots. She showed me her giant three pronged ring which was no joke - that ring demanded respect!! (and possibly doubled as a weapon). Chanel's boyfriend asked my boyfriend James who it was that had styled him that night and James proudly announced that he had styled himself! Apparently he's been dressing himself for 20+ years now!! (Though I seem to remember telling him to buy the jacket he was wearing a few months back).

I got to catch up with Behati who was positively glowing, she told me all about the grueling preparation a Victoria's Secret model must go through ready for the big show (which was actually filmed last night). At the dinner Behati and her date sat at one end of a long table with James and I sat 20 feet away at the other end. Though we couldn't talk we shared winks and mimed pointless commentary back and forth as we were treated to what we all agreed was probably the best chicken pot pie anyone had ever tasted. Of course, none of the fashion people at the table dared to be the one to finish the whole thing - except of course James, who unabashedly did so. I was jealous.

The key note speech by Alber Elbaz was quite hilarious and the presenters, Anna Wintour, Diane Von Furstenberg and Nicole Kidman looked as beautiful as ever. The winner of the $200,000 fashion fund was Sophie Theallet. No doubt she will be a designer to watch for in the years to come. Last years winner was Alexander Wang and his career sky rocketed since.

Anyway, the rest of the week I was working with one of my favorite photographers, Arthur Elgort. I remember one of my first shoots for American Vogue was with Arthur and Grace up in Maine. We were shooting with these grisly fishermen who all looked vaguely like the guy from the Gortons Fish Sticks commercials. I had such a lovely time, I was only 16 or so and the local kids wanted to take me out bowling one evening. I remember asking Grace and Arthur for permission to go and like they were my fashion Mom and Dad I remember having them excitedly tell me "Go Coco! Have fun!!". I've worked with Arthur quite a few times since then and we always do have a great time. He has this amazing penthouse studio he works out of in Soho. When you're up there you're a little overwhelmed by the gorgeous light streaming into such a gigantic space. Its a little like being in an ethereal Noah's Ark.

Well that's all for now.... When I get back to the states in a few days I'll be making that big announcement I spoke of earlier, so please do check back here.

Before I go, I should mention that Ive been asked by a few people what I think to Miss J's recent comments about my walk. As you might know, Miss J is a runway coach and judge on America's Next Top Model. In a recent interview with the New York Times he described my walk as looking like my "nose is always running". I'm not sure what that means, but if it keeps me in demand then I hope I never cure this cold!

Sniff sniff...

xoxo

COCO

The December Issue

Here's a behind the scenes video with Annie Leibovitz and the ever so sweet Grace Coddington (or Grace Cuddleton, as my James calls her) talking about the making of next months Vogue. It's the annual Arts issue which highlights dancers, musicians, and actors.

I was very privileged to be a part of it.

This and That...

Hello everyone, sorry its been a little while since my last post. After another work trip to London I'm back in Vancouver right now for a special event called Faces West. Faces West is is a yearly conference my mother agent Charles Stuart hosts where scouts from around the world come to find aspiring models for their individual markets. Faces West is actually where I was discovered many moons ago... so for the next few days I'll be here, speaking to a few hundred girls about my experiences modeling.

Sunday night I fly back to New York ready for the CFDA award dinner! For those of you unfamiliar, the CFDA (Council of Fashion Designers of America) is an association of America's foremost fashion designers and on Monday night they honor this years new designers. I think its great how the industry supports and nurtures its young and this year I'm allowed to bring my own date! So I'm taking my boyfriend, James Conran. I know I've mentioned him before (and some of you may have seen him on ET Canada) but I just thought I would introduce you all to him properly. James is a very sweet man I've been friends with for the last two years. We became good friends when he did the interior design and painting of my NY apartment but it wasn't until late this summer that we started dating and we've been in relationship bliss ever since!!

James lives just a few blocks from me in New York, so when I'm home I try to spend as much time as I can with him. Oh and  James has a new website up, have a look at what he does!

www.jamesconran.com

Well that's all for now. Please keep checking back here, I'm going to be making a very special request and announcement soon and will be needing your help!!!

XOXO
COCO

Shall Wii Dance?

As we all know, I love to dance. Not too long ago my cousin Jenny and I found a Wii game that teaches the basics of dance... supposedly. Just like I did with Guitar Hero, I end up getting way to involved in these games...

Runway Songs

Hello again! I'm still here in BC. This picture was taken at Okanagan Lake. Isn't it pretty?! Everything is going well - I'm dressed as a lumber jack, getting lots of sleep and fully enjoying doing a whole lot of nothing!!

So lately I've been listening to Major Lazer's song "Pon De Floor" (Edited Version) on heavy repeat after I walked to it last month at Paul Smith. Even before I started modeling, good runway songs always stuck out in my mind. I remember years ago watching the Victoria's Secret show on TV and thinking how cool it would be if I could strut down the runway to "I Like The Way You Move" by Bodyrockers or that remix of Nancy Sinatra's "Bang Bang" like Gisele and Adriana.

Its been four years since I started walking runways myself and I find there's lot's of songs I'm fond of because they're linked in my memory to this show or that one. I remember walking for Louis Vuitton at FW 06 - it was my first time opening and closing a show and I can still recall the beats of "The Glamorous Life" by Sheila E. bouncing off the walls. On another occasion I remember laughing as I passed Behati on the runway because the song playing was "Big Girl (You are beautiful)" by Mika and I still get the whistle part of the "Twisted Nerve" remix stuck in my head, years after I walked to it at Versace.

Its funny that sometimes I'll hear a song and just know it would be a good song to walk to. I'm not sure if its been used yet but "Let Me Think About it" by Freddie Le Grand would be great on the runway - so would "U Got The Look" By Prince. Its not necessarily the style of the song that makes a great runway theme but, for me, I prefer hard beats, on the faster side, that put me into a character I can play.

In other news, here's me falling off a mountain!?:

XOXO COCO

RIMMEL

Some of you may have heard the official news already! My trip to London last week was because Georgia May Jagger and I are joining the existing faces of the Rimmel London portfolio for their 2010 campaigns!! I'm very excited to be working with such a hip British brand!

You'll hear more from me on this in the future but right now I'm back home in Canada, relaxing in the peace and quiet of the Rockies for a few days. I cooked my favorite soup recipe for some friends the other day and it turned out quite well (If I may say so myself!!!) Its quite simple to make and perfect for this time of year so I thought I'd share the recipe with you. If you'd like to make it you'll need:

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 onion, chopped

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamon, 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

7 cups of peeled, seeded and chopped butternut squash

3 granny smith apples peeled and chopped

3 cups of reduced-sodium chicken broth

1 cup of apple cider

So you start out by sauteing the onions until they are soft and then you add the cinnamon, cardamon and nutmeg. After that you add the squash and apples and saute them for a minute. Then add the chicken broth and bring it to a boil. Then you reduce the heat and cover it, letting it simmer until the squash is very tender. Next you puree the soup in a blender, add apple cider and then reheat it. And it's so good!

I'd like to try to cook more often. Do you have any suggestions of what I should make next?

XOXO
COCO

From London

Well, I'm sitting in my hotel room in London, overlooking what would be a beautiful view of Hyde Park if it wasn't so very very early in the morning. I've been in England for a few days now, working on something special. As usual I'm sorry to say I can't tell you what its all about just yet, but you'll all find out soon! Everything has gone very well over here and now I'm all packed and ready to fly across 9 time zones, back to Canada for a week with friends and family! Anyway, one thing I can talk about is Zac Posen's new ad's I'm in. They are actually one time only ad's specially for next months Fanzine. Have a look:

XOXO COCO

Catching Up!!

Hello people!!!

September, as expected, was a complete blur. After getting back from Costa Rica I had only a few days before the first ever "Fashions Night Out" in NY - then there was New York fashion week - then London followed by a quick trip to see my boyfriends James' hometown and then a trip back across the Atlantic for Paris fashion week! Still, I had a good time and it was great to catch up with everyone.

It's now October and I'm back here in New York enjoying the fall weather, the crisp air and sunshine remind me of Vancouver. The other day I was lucky enough to be sent a custom long board from the good people at Losee Longboards. I was a bit nervous to take it down busy city streets but I did like the idea of being a little more independently mobile here in the city so I was inspired to get a scooter! Its kind of like the one I had as a kid except this one has bigger wheels and goes super fast! I even convinced James to get one too and we ride them everywhere now... the other day we rode them all the way to the southern tip of Manhattan! Here's a few pictures:



Yes, we do realize we probably look like over-sized children but we're having fun anyway. Say hello if you see me float by!

More to come from me soon...

XOXO
COCO

Milan

Some of you might be wondering if I'm going to Milan or not. Sorry to say, I'll be sitting this season out but I will be returning for Paris fashion week.