Models have been known for branching out to different creative aspects. For example, Tyra Banks has tried singing, acting, talk show hosting, mentoring, motivational speaking, writing — you get the idea. Perhaps it’s because modeling has a short lifespan. After all, not everyone can be like Kate Moss. She’s been working for 20 years and it seems like she won’t stop.

That said, many models are reaching a new kind of celebrity status. Coco Rocha (ohsococo.blogspot.com/) has her own blog and even the late Daul Kim blogged. Some other models such as Jessica Stam and Heidi Mount prefer to use Twitter. Without a doubt that these blogs and Tweets are visited by their fans often. It adds another layer to them. This way, they’re not just seen as walking mannequins.

Swedish model, Dorothea Barth-Jörgensen, started a photoblog. She snaps pictures of her friends (fellow models, of course) backstage or at parties and posts them on her blog. The pictures are pretty nice — even if several of them are excessively Photoshopped. The blog is called Displaced Bones. I don’t know if it’s intentional, but Displaced Bones abbreviated as DB, same as her name. It shows sepia and black-and-white pictures and a little writing to accompany each post. Check out some of her pics:

Anna de Rijk, Shu Pei Qin and Madisyn Ritland backstage at Jason Wu Resort 2011

Hanne Gaby Odiele

I’m not a big fan of Dorothea (yet) but her blog is a good resource for model-stalkers out there. We would know who hangs out with whom and who are the party-animals. Unlike Coco Rocha’s blog, I will probably be visiting Displaced Bones regularly.

Written by: Harry Go

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Daul Kim had a very strong presence. Her striking eyes glared down a runway as she walked effortlessly with sophistication and the perfect amount of allure.

She knew how to do her job. And she did it well.

The School of Fashion was sad to hear of Daul’s death. Next agency confirmed that the 20-year old model was found dead in her Paris apartment this morning. The agency said in a statement “She was a top model and a great friend to all of us at Next. Please respect her family’s privacy at this time of sadness. We will all miss her very much.”

Born in Seoul, South Korea, Daul modeled at esteemed shows such as Chanel, Dries Van Noten, Margiela, and Lacoste. We were more than happy to have her model in a handful of School of Fashion shows including the San Francisco graduation fashion show in April 2007 and our New York Fashion Week shows in September 2007 and February 2008.

“She was a true creative spirit who was equally an artist and a model”, said Director of Fashion Simon Ungless. “She always asked how our young designers were doing and was genuinely interested in their conceptual process and how a design was created.”

View a slideshow of Daul from our runways shows. (All photos by Randy Brooke).