With Brigitte Bardot’s black liner and windswept hair serving as the beauty inspiration for Chanel’s Roman Métiers d’Art show, it was only natural that the iconic bombshell’s chief doppelgänger, Lara Stone, make a stunning return to Karl Lagerfeld’s runway. Though many models have been hailed as Bardot’s heir apparent, no one has captured her combination of sensuality and insouciance quite the way Stone has. In her '60s heyday, Bardot epitomized the look of the era, an aesthetic Stone has both channeled and redefined.
With her gap-teeth and pneumatic figure, Stone was far from the typical model when she was discovered on the Paris metro as a teen. But true success came slowly: She honed her posing skills for years doing catalogs and commercial work before having a real breakthrough moment. All that changed when designer Riccardo Tisci tapped her for a place on his Fall 2006 couture runway. Emerging with bleached brows—a look that would become her signature—and a commanding presence, Stone sent shock waves through the modeling industry, quickly catching the attention of stylists, brands, and, of course, photographers.
Though her runway career was memorable, it was Stone’s connection with fashion’s power photographers that cemented her supermodel status and allowed her to transform beyond the status of Bardot 2.0. Mario Testino, Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott, Peter Lindbergh, Bruce Weber, and Patrick Demarchelier have showcased her versatility with boundary-pushing editorials that put her famous face and physique on display. In the pages of Vogue, Stone has played everything from demure suburban housewife to a pink-haired science fiction vamp. She’s frequently shot opposite Hollywood stars, and whether she’s hugging screen legend Morgan Freeman for a soulful shoot in post-Katrina New Orleans or preening next to Avenger Jeremy Renner, Stone brings spirited confidence to every image. Above, some of her best moments in Vogue.
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