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Something strikes us as inherently wrong about Vanity Fair s latest cover story, featuring the new wave of Eastern European supermodels who are from Russia with sand, surf, and microbikinis! (We d love to meet the staffer who came up with that one. The Post has a job for you, my friend.)

Initially, we thought it was the shameless grab for the attention of Maxim readers that had us feeling uneasy - but enticing the kegerator crowd is okay, apparently, if Patrick Demarchelier is behind the lens. (Frenchmen are automatically classy, after all.) The real head-scratcher, however, is the notion that Eastern European supermodels represent some new trend worthy of a Vanity Fair cover and that said "trend" is worthy of a special Vanity Fair online video. That's right: models splash and frolic, courtesy of Graydon Carter.

Sure, covergirls Natalia Vodianova, Carmen Kass, and Karolina Kurkova look simultaneous hot (bikinis!) and cold (ocean!), but one would be hard-pressed to call any of these girls new. Vodianova was the face of Calvin Klein s felching-inspired Fall 2004 campaign (which means she signed with the designer almost 2 years ago), Karolina Kurkova landed her first Vogue cover in 1999, and Kass was dubbed Model of the Year by VH1 in 2000. In model years, we re ready to do for these girls what daddy did for Axel.

(Granted, there are some up-and-comers in the shoot: Natasha Poly is a new Gucci girl, Valentina Zelyaeva has a seven-year deal as the face of Ralph Lauren, and Marija Vujovic s campaigns include Dolce & Gabbana and Yves Saint Laurent. This makes them plucky, we suppose.)

Behind the Iron Catwalk [Vanity Fair]