Supermodel Irina Shayk fronts Self-Portrait’s resort 2022 campaign, one that represents a “softer and more romantic approach to dressing for the brand,:” says Malaysian-born designer and founder Han Chong. Shot by Harley Weir [IG] in Oyster Bay, on the North Shore of Long Island, with styling by Haley Woolens, the campaign is built around Shayk because she “has this incredible natural balance of strength and femininity.”

“She [Shayk] has this infectious independence and sense of who she is, and epitomizes these different sides of what it means to be a woman, which I really wanted to capture with this campaign and collection. She is romantic yet powerful and sensual yet vulnerable, all at the same time,” he added.

On Thursday Chong is hosting a party at Canadian restaurateur Joey Ghazal’s [IG] The Maine Mayfair [IG], with Shayk and British Vogue’s Edward Enninful to promote the resort collection. Ghazal is known for his exciting restaurant and bar concepts in Beirut and Dubai.

We noted about Self-Portrait’s Spring 2022 show that the brand actually has strong sustainable credentials. Why Han refuses to even utter this positive, luxury-brand credential is beyond AOC’s understanding. It’s as if he doesn’t want to offend anybody by playing from strength.

Spring 2022 Self-Portrait London Women Like Bella Hadid CARE About Our Earth

Long ago AOC began promoting the concept of the Smart Sensuality woman, for whom sexy intelligence is a big part of her psychological DNA and values. So is “heart”, which places her within the larger global caring consciousness of both our earth and its peoples.

For today’s most sought-after woman consumer, AOC argues that sustainability is a topic front and center in her mind. We are clueless as to why Han Chong refuses to even insert the word into what is actually a standard prototype description of women that can appear in any brand PR statement anywhere in the world. In fact, the designer is ahead of the curve, but he must feel that promoting sustainability is some kind of negative to his brand positioning. It beats the heck out of AOC.

There is nothing distinctive about this description about the Self-Portrait woman:

“It [the resort 2022 collection] builds on our existing feminine shapes, which celebrate femininity, with a strong emphasis on styles that make women feel like themselves with confidence and ease. I also wanted to elevate our knitwear offering. This season, I introduced them in a more occasional dressing way. So they feel super sexy but still super comfortable to wear, whether it’s on the street or during evening times,” he added.