September 21, 2008

and now for something completely different.

Uncategorized

after the big september fashion issues, the october issues are typically letdowns. but this year, vogue and harper’s bazaar have all brought their a games, showcasing different cover models, more unique cover styling, and interesting editorials.

at bazaar, kirsten dunst does her first full-blown interview since her stint in rehab, and she looks gorgeous. done up in a la c.z. guest, she looks very much a wealthy debutante, frolicking by the pool or walking her dog. i am glad to see she’s back and looking so wonderful. stella tennant looks amazing in a couture edit shot by karl lagerfeld (inspired by georgiana, duchess of devonshire–also the main character of keira knightley’s new film), peter lindbergh captures givenchy’s riccardo tisci, muse mariacarla boscono, among others in “what’s chic now.” even the basic “chic at every price” (by greg kadel) feels elevated as caroline trentini is styled like an english sophisticate.

meanwhile, vogue has finally given a cover to rachel weisz, who besides julianne moore is one of the most underrecognized actresses in hollywood. like moore, weisz always looks chic, knowing how to dress for her body (narciso rodriguez in particular shines on her), and also manages to have a life outside the public eye. in rodarte’s wicked mohair spiderweb sweater hamish bowles shines a light on the real stars of the couture collections–the dressmakers–in portraits featuring natalia vodianova (by patrick demarchelier). and in “natural high,” by steven meisel, anna jagodzinska, caroline trentini, lily donaldson and coco rocha climb mountains (with the aid of photoshop) in luscious furs and towering stilettos. after the disappointment of the september issues, it’s nice to be surprised with good content and articles in a normally off month.

bazaar cover, fadedyouthblog; vogue cover, style.com

i know i’ve been slow in posting my nyc fashion week wrapup (it’s coming i promise!) but here’s some more october cover news.

there were a few names swirling around as to who would get october’s vogue, but the name that won was charlize theron. this is her second october cover and it’s much duller than the first one. in the cover pic (done by mario testino as was her previous cover), she wears ralph lauren in an ed titled “home on the range” (that’s really inventive, anna)! inside is a couture edit with raquel zimmerman, a studio ed with sasha pivovarova and caroline trentini (you think an issue would go by without caroline?), and the index section again features models, this time chanel iman, doutzen kroes, and others.

in a completely surprising move, mary-kate olsen graces the cover of bazaar. surprising to me because it was reported back in july that renee zellweger was in tow at the couture shows with eic glenda bailey and cd stephen gan and doing a shoot. i, for one, am thankful that it’s not zellweger, who bores me to tears. m-k’s cover isn’t nearly as good as her sister’s from 2005, but not bad. i still haven’t heard a peep on the contents, but bazaar tends to have a better model mix than vogue, so yay for that.

katherine heigl, fresh off her emmy win sunday, is on the cover of instyle, and kiera knightley is on allure.

after last month’s supremely disappointing issue of bazaar, glenda bailey et. al. have redeemeded themselves with a great july issue with anne hathaway on the cover. july marks their semi-annual highlights issue with the best from the runway collections. lily donaldson takes on new york, shot by anthony ward (a letdown: you’ve seen it before with flavia in brights shot outdoors against graffiti-strewn background).

peter lindberg shoots carmen in the best from paris on a white background. i know what you’re thinking, but it’s actually quite inventive in its simplicity. carmen, facing forward, no frills. at least she isn’t jumping around a la meisel.


the best ed by far is the highlights from milan, shot by solve sundsbo and featuring newcomers rachel clark, alyona osmanova, carolina pantoliano, and johanna strickland. even though i’m not a fan of any of these new girls, the ed is gorgeous, with a very 70s feel to them. the styling by katie grand is spot-on, and the art direction is cool, with the girls at a different perspective. one of the best eds of the year.

pics scanned by luxx and lucyinthesky at thefashionspot