Strictly speaking an odalisque was a female slave, the lowest-ranking member of an Ottoman seraglio or harem. These figures show up as reclining subjects in opulent bed chambers in a couple paintings by French Neoclassicist Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres, most notably his Grande Odalisque (1814), and have resurfaced in distinctly modern fashion in Acne Paper 13th Issue Spring 2012. The 21st-century odalisque reboot is handled with typical composure by photographer and artist Roe Ethridge, stylist Marie Chaix, and their concubinary subject, Sigrid Agren (Ford). Substitute mirrors for tasseled curtains, pop-print linens for silken bed sheets, and the story’s scene is set. Looking over her right shoulder (Slide 1), Sigrid lays atop a black and white ensemble of zebra and leopard print sheets wearing a vintage black and white checked cotton bra, vintage lamp earrings by Chanel, both from New York Vintage, and a pair of black cotton panties from American Apparel. A few pages deeper (Slide 5), Sigrid seductively holds up her right hand, fingernails painted orange, wearing a pink cotton shirt by Acne, vintage horse carrousel earrings from New York Vintage and a pair red cotton panties and pink ruffle socks again from American Apparel. Sigrid’s blown out hair by Duffy confirms as similarly styled hair did in her rocker story from Muse 26 that this odalisque isn’t your 19th-century odalisque any longer, nay, it is in fact traceable to at least the hottest single moment of the mid 1980s. So skip the Louvre and instead frame and hang these portraits of Sigrid Agren in Beaubourg.

Credits include: Publication, Acne Paper 13th Issue Spring 2012; Title, “Odalisque”; Photography, Roe Ethridge; Styling, Marie Chaix; Hair, Duffy at Tim Howard Management; Makeup, Jeannine Lobell at Tim Howard Management; Model, Sigrid Agren at Ford; Manicure, Myrdith McCormack at Downtown Factory; Set design, Andy Harman at The Wall Group; Light design, Christopher Bisagni; Production, Artists Commissions; Photography assistance, Will Engelhardt; Styling assistance, Romain Liegaux.