vogue is one magazine that loves a good makeover story. take a girl that has perceived in a certain way and glam her up so she looks somewhat like herself, but in a more “vogu” way. it’s been done with gwen stefani, oprah (famously asking her to lose 20 pounds), hilary clinton, and renee zellweger. now anna and andré have waved their magic wand over serena van der woodsen aka blake lively, while her frenemy leighton meester is a notch below at teen vogue.
since the entire point of being featured in vogue is that the photographer and stylist make you look good, i will say that anna and co. did their job. blake shines in the 40s style ed, with veronica lake waves and red lips. the makeover didn’t carry over into the article, where alessandra stanley talked more about the show than delving into more about lively. with her induction into the vogue club, no doubt more covers and interviews will follow.
the other editorials are quite good, surprising even for me to say that, after months (maybe years) of more lackluster features and the occasional “wow” moment. the main ed, “it’s a madcap world” by steven meisel is unique for one because it features an interesting mix of new vogue girls (karlie kloss, viktoriya sasonkina, anna j), older standbys (raquel zimmerman and a radiant liya kebede) and girls who get play internationally but not here (jourdan dunn, natasha poly). all work together in a colorful, wonderfully styled ed that makes you feel good about loving fashion.
almost the same group (take out viktoriya and add chanel) return for david sims’ “one hit wonder” where the energy is high despite the grey background. i love all of the models’ expressions…it seems more real, not forced. also inside is “perfect harmony” by mikael janssen with agyness deyn and fiancé albert hammond. as much as i despise aggy, it fits right in with the month of valentines. catherine macneil makes an appearance in “liz’s quiz” (by patrick demarchelier) on the new isaac mizrahi helmed liz claiborne. and after her debut last month as a redhead, coco rocha reappears in raymond meier’s accessories ed “take it easy.”
all in all, it’s a great issue of vogue that gets back to why we read fashion magazines in the first place. and with all the talk to magazines cutting back, ad pages being down and people not spending as much, it’s not wrong to walk a little escape. next month will bring the march “power” issue, the second biggest of the year. here’s hoping that anna and co. will take heed and deliver something that truly is worth of the power title.
cover pic from fashionista.com, blake from justjared.com, editorial scans from luxx at thefashionspot
