Vogues' September

What's better than late night sex and a bottle of strawberry Sobe? Any Vogue issue calls my attention, but a September one is definitely a show-stopper. Like I mentioned on my previous post, September is the "January" in fashion, it represents an avalanche of new, exciting fashions for the next couple of months, it's the issue where magazine feature the most ads pages in the entire year and the most inspiring, fashion-forward editorials. In other words, it's make or break time.

There is always this huge frenzy over who is going to appear on the September cover of Vogue, especially the American one. But this time, it's seemingly a rather safe choice Wintour has gone with the former model and actress Charlize Theron. Keeping it 101%, I was not quite familiar with this women until I saw "Trapped" on TV a couple of days ago, you know, that movie from a couple of years ago featuring Courtney Love and Kevin Bacon. Well, I'm sure you seen this lady before. Aforementioned, the cover, shot by Mario Testino in various landmarks in New Mexico looks a bit expected; a blond (caucasian) beautiful woman in a beautiful gown, groundbreaking...( F.Y.I, she's wearing a Dior dress).

Moreover, so called "It" girl of the moment, Lara Stone, is feature on the cover of French Vogue, It would be unfair and a bit bias for this girl not to have a September cover after being name by so many illustrious fashion authorities as the top model in the industry. What surprise a few though was Stone's hair. Her blonde trademark do, probably looked bland to Ms. Roitfield so she thought of shacking the industry a bit by turning Lara as a brunette. It's nice to see such enchanting versatility from the not most conventional model. Despite the fact Lara is Carine's favorite model, she has succumbed through "adversities" such as her tooth-gap, not fitting into a size 2 ensemble and a few others, to land a spot on the cover of Vogue, a September one, at that. Some might say those were obstacles she had to bravely face, however, though, those were some of the characteristics that made her stand out from the rest and lure attention from big photographers and very influential editor such as Carine Roitfeld. I'm more than excited to witness a slow but sincere shift in the industry, embracing the different, unconventional, and what's not popularly-considered "pretty".

There is no September without a shocker, I mean Gisele Bundchen on the cover of Vogue India. To the best of my knowledge, India is not the most open-minded country, where woman are not considered as the "better" gender. The model is not the dilemma, but the fact that she's in a two piece bikini, revealing a bit "too-much". I'm sure to several Indian natives, that look could be considered inappropriate and/or grotesque, but I feel like the world, especially the fashion industry is not going to surrender and mute models from showing a bit of legs, stomach and sometimes a nipple or two just because their religious background does not tolerate nor support that kind of exposure. It's a shame, since I'm aware that India is a hot fashion spot, they have a full blown fashion week, they also have a few emerging designers and now they publish one, if not the most influential magazine in the industry, needless to say the name. In a more positive note, the cover looks a bit refreshing, more fun (wonder who made that jacket), less restrained, what it should be.

Kate Moss is a supermodel and supermodels are not stranger to Vogue covers, but gracing two coveted spots on British Vogue and Russian Vogue sounds almost surreal. Moss has become more than just a supermodel, but a designer (has her own Topshop line), style icon, but most importantly a role model, so I don't blame editors for pulling Kate to grace their covers. It's almost like a sure bet, she sells, no matter where her face pops up or where her name is printed on, everybody wants a piece of her. German Vogue looks a bit like a Victoria Secret campaign; the black bodice, the see-tru stocking and hot pink stilettos does send s strong sexual message, not to mention her finger sensually resting on her lips. Hey!, sex sells, even in Germany. The Japanese version of Vogue, Vogue Nippon features Iris Strubegger styled by George Cortina in this satin backless light orchid-colored gown that literally screams "I need a red carpet moment" through the photo. Most magazines cover, no matter the month, usually display models on head-to-toe or up-close shots, this time Iris poses side-ways in order to show off the quite seductive back features of the dress. Love it.

What had me walking on a string, though, was Italian Vogue. There were rumors over the fashion blogosphere that Vogue Italia was going big, going trice, three covers for September. I was excited to see what the Italian team was going to pull off now. I first saw the cover with Natasha Pivovarova and Ash Stymest, and the questions rose. Is homeless-chic-look back?, my question was answered when the other two covers surfaced, featuring Anna Jagodzinska, Jamie Bochert and a few other male models that don't look too familiar. I must admit Karl Templer did such a fantastic job with the styling for the cover and the editorial called "Performance" (which I'll talk about in a future post). It almost makes me want to change my entire wardrobe and go homeless-chic. The beat-up and raggedy yet awkwardly stylish pieces do look so character-driven, ready to be worn to a play on Broadway, but I can still picture folks walking around in these grungy looks, well maybe not the whole head-to-toe look, but a cleaner, simpler version of it.

Below some of the covers mentioned above.

Vogue

Photographed by Mario Testino

Styled by Tonne Goodman

Actor Charlize Theron

Vogue Paris

Photographed by Mert Allas and Marcus Piggott

Model Lara Stone

British Vogue

Photographed by Mario Testino

Model Kate Moss

Italian Vogue

Photographed by Steven Meisel

Styled by Karl Templer

Model Sasha Pivovarova, Ash Stymest

Italian Vogue

Photographed by Steven Meisel

Styled by Karl Templer

Models Jamie Bochert, Christian Brylle

Italian Vogue

Photographed by Steven Meisel

Styled by Karl Templer

Models Anna Jagodzinska, Max Rogers, Will Lewis

Vogue Brasil

Photographed by Jacques Dequeker

Styled by Matheus Mazzafera

Model Ana Claudia Michels

Vogue India

Photographed by Mario Testino

Model Gisele Bundchen

Russian Vogue

Photographed by Solve Sundsbo

Model Kate Moss

German Vogue

Photographed by Alexi Lubomirski

Styled by Christiane Arp

Model Anja Rubik

Vogue Nippon

Photographed by Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin

Styled by George Cortina

Model Iris Strubegger

NY Gets a Couture Touch

jumpsuit and overalls by Yves Saint Laurent

Freja on David Koma dress and Sasha on Stella McCartney coat

Dolce & Gabbana

John Galliano

Alexander McQueen

Nina Ricci

Maison Martin Margiela

Editorials spreads are flooding in, especially in September, where magazines usually offer their supposedly best foot attributions for their readers. I love editorials, in fact, that's the first thing I usually look at when I open up a fashion magazine. I admire people who take risks, and step out to bring out such inspiring imagery that not everybody can pull off, these editorial shots just show that. The story, feature on V Magazine is titled "Live From New York". It was shot by Mario Sorrenti and styled by Jane How. In another note, what's interesting though is the fact that the editor picked Freja Beha Erichsen and Sasha Pivovarova for this shoot, not the most sexiest models out there, but they are sure few of the most high fashion, they take great pictures and they get the job done. Sometimes, editorials look so banal and boring when they choose the same girl, and the look is always the same; one hand on the waist and the other one over her head, with a nipple showing. I'm concern on what some editors consider sexy, why not try something new and pick a different girl to stir things up a lil'?, but anyways I'm not in charge.

What I love about this story even though they're just pret-a-porter pieces, there is this strong couture-esque feeling to the looks. The obscure with the reverent, the insane with femine/lesbo attitude coming from the model's majestic poses. On the first picture, Sasha is wearing this black Yves Saint Laurent overalls, that on he runway did not convinced me, but on this picture it blows my mind. I like the fact that they intended to include a vast range of designers on this story shot in NY. It just makes sense, New York is a city composed of a huge influx of ethnic backgrounds from all over the world, it's a place where one can find a piece of home, far away from home, that's actually one of many things I'm obsessed about NY. I also appreciate the fact the pictures where shot from such an angle so it catches the spirit of the city and the beauty of the architecture and surrounding areas, the choice of producing the story in black and white brings the attention from the background to the fashion, which I love, but it also takes away from the beautiful colors that the clothes radiate, I guess it was a take-and-give/give-take situation. In any case, I'm really anxious to see this editorial printed on the latest V, I can't wait to cop it!.

Pixs: vmagazine.com

Arlenis

Ms. Sosa is seriously the hottest latin model out right now, her agency Marylin Model Management just updated her book with these polaroids posted on models.com, and let me tell you she's giving folks a run for their money. For some reason, I think she looks a bit thinner than past years but she stills manages to keep such a beautiful and flawless skin. Arlenis has already accomplished a lot for her young career, she has appeared in Vogue, shot a truly inspiring and uplifting editorial for Time magazine, she's also one of the favs of Oscar de la Renta and now she's on the cover of i-D September (which I'll talk about in future posts). I'm so delighted to see a latin woman succeed in such competitive industry, in a place where her skin color is a determining factor when it comes to booking a job or not (it's sad, but true, fashion is still racist). I'm hopeful to see more things coming from her, especially in this upcoming fashion week. Bravo Arlenis!

Pixs: models.com