Steven Meisel

Steven Meisel is known to have his tongue placed firmly in cheek when it comes to his fashion photography. This particular brand of humor is one of his trademarks, and necessary for an industry that has a reputation for sometimes taking itself a little too seriously. Case in point: his most recent Vogue Italia cover. For the third year in a row, Meisel takes to the runway for the January edition of the magazine, only this year takes a turn more towards QVC than high fashion (though model Daria Strokous is showing off a spring Chanel frock).
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Dont judge a book by its cover… Unless it’s a magazine, in which case, sometimes the cover is the deciding factor of whether or not to buy the mag altogether.

The best covers of 2011 returned to a new naturalism and a fun aesthetic, like the Lara Stone T cover we’re still drooling over, pictured at left. Sure, there’s still room for artifice in fashion (see: Stella Tennant on Vogue Italia), but 2011 was a year for reflecting on natural beauties, incredible models, and stellar photography.

After toiling over hundred of covers, we’re bringing you “The Best” according to us. Did we forget your favorite? Let us know in the comments.

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Magazines

Vogue Amputates Amber Valletta’s Leg

Thursday, Dec 22, 2011 / 11:45 AM

Notice something….amiss in the above photo? As in literally missing? Yep, Vogue seems to have lost Amber Valletta’s leg in their latest editorial, lensed by Steven Meisel Steven Klein.
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It happens every year: Our ever-growing pile of fashion magazines inches higher with each passing month, and by the time December rolls around, we can barely sift through the hundreds of stylish images we bookmarked for inspiration. 2011 was no exception, and in a year that celebrated retro supermodels, androgyny, vivid colors, and plenty of experimentation in the beauty department, choosing our favorites was particularly difficult.

The best editorials of the year ran the gamut from huge ensemble casts of blue-chip models styled by greats like Katie Grand and Carine Roitfeld, to intimate, one-on-one portraits of our favorite girls like Lindsey Wixson and Daria Werbowy. The acid brights that dominated the spring collections allowed for some pretty trippy trend stories last season, but the fall glossies featured much moodier imagery, with a number of gorgeous spreads in black and white.

Here are the editorials from 2011 that will stay tacked up on our walls and fill our inspiration boards well into the new year—and beyond.

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Prada’s campaigns are easily among the most anticipated each season. They make stars of new models and cement the success of established ones. For spring, Steven Meisel shot a cast of six models (Kati Nescher, Meghan Collison, Natasha Poly, Elise Crombez, Ymre Stiekema and Kathryn Kruger) as blond bombshells or femmes noirs at an idealized version of a 1950′s American gas station reclining on hot rods. According to the release, “the gas station is cast as a central symbol in this post-modern crossroads of new horizons and economic fulfillment, a stage set where fashion, fantasy and the promise of new discoveries collide.” The low angle the campaign is shot from is meant to “emphasize the power and positivism in the campaign and collection message.” Miuccia, as always, delivers the right message for the time.

What do you think of the campaign? Does it make you feel optimistic? Click through to see the rest.
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I wouldn’t be surprised if “confection” was the word most frequently used to describe Marc Jacobs’ super pretty, lace-y, pastel-filled, carousel-set spring 2012 offerings for Louis Vuitton. So, it follows that the ad campaign would be set up in a pink and white ice cream parlor. Read more »

Franca Sozzani

You didn’t think Franca Sozzani would just gloss over the growing controversy over Karlie Kloss’ Steven Meisel-shot editorial, right? The always outspoken EIC of Vogue Italia has taken to her blog today to address what she’s calling “The Truth About Karlie Kloss and Steven Meisel Photos.”

She specifically talks about the photo–you know, the one that mysteriously disappeared from Vogue Italia’s website, the one with Karlie’s abs of steel contorted such that they caused an internet commotion last week, with many people calling either “anorexia” or “photoshop.”

According to Sozzani, it was neither.

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Gisele Bundchen, the modelling equivalent of the Energizer bunny, graced a total of eight Vogue covers this year, more than any other model or celebrity. It was a close race, but Gisele managed to nab the top spot with highlights that include Emmanelle Alt’s first official issue of Vogue Paris, a delightfully tacky December cover of Vogue UK, and a July issue of Vogue Brazil dedicated solely to her. Not bad. Conde Nast has obviously been taking full advantage of the “Gisele Bundchen Stock Index.”

Eighteen editions of Vogue (up to nineteen with the release Vogue Netherlands next year, yay!) producing, on average, 12 covers a month certainly gives us a lot to play around with. With all the importance placed on a cover–the selling point of a magazine–we wanted to see what Vogues worldwide deemed best to put on the front of their glossies, so we went ahead and crunched the numbers.

Above is our little mock-up to represent 2011. Perhaps it’s a little flashier (okay, tackier) than most magazines you’ll see on a newsstand, but we feel it’s an accurate representation of the year. To make a little more sense out of it, click through to find out specifics of the who, the what, and the wear.

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In case you haven’t heard (or seen), Karlie Kloss landed the December cover of Vogue Italia and is also the subject of a very, very revealing Steven Meisel-shot editorial inside, which we posted yesterday.

Today, one of the photos has been taken down from Vogue Italia’s site, Fashion Copious noticed. Read more »

Magazines

Karlie Kloss Is Very Naked in Vogue Italia

Thursday, Dec 1, 2011 / 9:00 AM

That taste of Karlie’s gams on the cover of Vogue Italia we were treated to a few days ago is mere child’s play compared to what’s been unleashed inside the mag. Karlie earned herself an 18-page spread shot by Steven Meisel, and it shows off her crazy-toned, long-limbed body–she looks amazing naked and we suspect it’s hard to get photographers to keep her clothes on. If you need some New Year’s fitness motivation, read on. Read more »

Karlie Kloss has had a stellar year–she walked in a gazillion shows in September (including closing Dior in that bum-revealing look), covered many magazines, and took her first bow as a Victoria’s Secret Angel. She’s capping off her year with yet another Vogue cover, this time on Vogue Italia’s December issue. Read more »

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In the world of fashion there is a small yet consistent collection of photographers who get the majority of work for major publications and brands. In fact, many of them seem to have quite the monopoly on the fashion world. Legends like Richard Avedon and Irving Penn continued to work prolifically up until the time they passed away, and that seems to be what is so great about being behind the camera instead of in front of it. Top photographers are given the chance to work for years in an industry where most figures are in one day and out the next.

But how do we differentiate one top photographer from another? We’ll show you what to look for from visual style, what publications they regularly appear in, as well as recent ongoing collaborations with brands and models of some of the top working fashion photographers of today. Click through to get started!

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