Steven Meisel Produces Identical Shoots for Vogue Italia and W--Did He Screw Over W?

Here's the deal: You may have seen the 22-page portfolio Steven Meisel shot for W's September 2011 issue. The editorial features black and white "before" and "after" shots of big-name models like Raquel Zimmermann, Jessica Stam, Karen Elson and Carolyn Murphy. The story was a big get for the mag, considering Meisel had never worked with W before. Thing is, Meisel produced a strikingly similar editorial for Vogue Italia's August issue. WWD noticed the nearly identical spreads, and has it from a source that Meisel may have financed the Italian Vogue shoot on W's dime. Neither W nor Steven Meisel has commented on the issue, however a fallout--or at least a fault line--is bound to happen soon.
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