Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Teenage modelling sensation suffers a 'Naomi moment' as she makes her catwalk debut in front of the world's media

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oK-3Cc5OebEendofvid

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By TAMARA ABRAHAM

Naomi moment: Nina Porter tripped and fell as she closed the Burberry Prorsum catwalk show yesterday


As one of the stars of Burberry's high-profile advertising campaigns, Nina Porter has been tipped as the modelling world's next big thing.

But the 16-year-old, who walked the catwalk for the first time at the label's London Fashion Week show yesterday, attracted attention for all the wrong reasons after she stumbled and fell in the middle of the runway.

The schoolgirl, whose trip was reminiscent of Naomi Campbell's famous fall in 1994 during a Vivienne Westwood show in Paris, modelled three looks from next season's spring/summer 2011 collection.

She was chosen to close the show - a coup for any model, let alone a fledgling one - but the towering platform heels proved too much of a challenge on the highly-polished catwalk, and she fell to her knees in front of Topshop owner Sir Philip Green and his daughter Chloe, who were sitting in the front row.

Guests at the show, which also counted Sarah Jessica Parker, tennis players Serena Williams and Andy Murray and presenters Cat Deeley, Donna Air and Alexa Chung, sympathised with the model.

Indeed Parker's Sex and the City character, Carrie Bradshaw, also had a catwalk fall in one episode.

A witness said: 'She modelled three outfits, and each time she came out I thought, "Don’t fall" because she couldn’t walk in the shoes. Her final outfit closed the show, so all eyes were on her.

'Two other girls tripped, but they didn’t fall. One got a cheer when she took her shoes off. The clothes were amazing but the show felt unpracticed.'


Sympathy: Sarah Jessica Parker, tennis players Serena Williams and Andy Murray and presenters Cat Deeley, Donna Air and Alexa Chung, were all sitting in the front row


Challenge: Two other girls tripped during the high-profile show, but Porter was the only one to fall


But Porter, who joins Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and Lily Donaldson in the current Burberry campaign, was not the only model to struggle with footwear in this month's fashion shows.

In what appears to be proof that challenging footwear is here to stay, supermodel Alek Wek fell during the Z Spokes by Zac Posen show, while another girl fell during the Betty Jackson show on Saturday.


Rising star: Nina Porter (bottom) with Transformers star Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and supermodel Lily Donaldson in the Burberry Beauty campaign


And that's nothing compared to the Prada show two years ago when one girl after another slipped and fell following a last-minuted decision to have the models wear pop socks with their platform heels, leaving them with no grip.

Porter, who describes modelling as a 'hobby on the side', has just been awarded six A* and five A grades in her GCSEs,and is currently studying for her A-levels in art, photography and textiles.

Her father, Neil Porter, is one half of landscape architects Gustafson Porter, responsible for the memorial fountain to Princess Diana in Hyde Park.

She told the Evening Standard that she was hoping to study fashion design at university.

'Modelling is really good because it helps me to understand the fashion industry,' she said.

'My parents, who have been really supportive, pointed out that modelling would be a good way to meet people who have done what I would like to do.'

Porter was spotted by a scout from Select model agency at the Clothes Show two years ago. Since then, she has appeared in a campaign for Miu Miu as well as both British and US Vogue.

She has been hailed as 'the new Emma Watson', after the Harry Potter star, who featured in a highly successful campaign for Burberry last year.


source :dailymail

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