As regular readers will know, I'm an avid supporter of the use of models on the cover of fashion magazines. The current obssession for celebrities has taken on a whole new dimension making it rare to the big titles champion models on their covers, especially at a time where many are struggling to secure those big ad pages and circulation figures. Harper's Bazaar UK, on the other hand, have done the opposite with their October issue.
Rather than opting for a celebrity the magazine offers two cover options; one starring Laetitia Casta and another fronted by Joan Smalls and to accompany it, both women have a full-on features too. In the respective interviews Casta talks about her experiences working with Yves Saint Laurent and her thoughts on the future of the house; while Derek Blasberg spoke to Smalls about being rejected by casting agents before getting snapped up by Riccardo Tisci for Givenchy.
Aside from the fact that both covers are beautiful, the casting also works because of their ages. Smalls very much represents today's new breed of supermodels so it was nice to balance that with Casta who, while still young in the grand scheme of things, at 34 year-old represents an older generation of supermodels.
Since Lucy Yeomans' surprise announcement back in March that she was leaving her editor's role at Harper's Bazaar to head up the editorial team at Net-A-Porter, not much was said about her replacement but today, Justine Picardie was confirmed as the magazine's new editor-in-chief.
Picardie isn't new to fashion. In the past she's served as columnist for the Telegraph, a contributing fashion editor at Stella and as the features editor at Vogue so the move seems like a natural step. 'Bazaar has an inspiring heritage as a luxury brand from the days of Carmel Snow, Alexey Brodovitch and Diana Vreeland, to Fabien Baron and Liz Tilberis, and I hope to celebrate the creativity and editorial ambition of the title with the same dedication as my predecessors,' she said in a statement.
British Harper's Bazaar always nail their covers and their September issue is a case in point. Keira Knightley looks beautiful sporting a piece from the Chanel A/W12 collection.
The cover comes in the wake of the promotional tour for Knightley's new movie, Anna Karenina, in which she stars alongside Jude Law so I'm sure this is only the start of a long line of covers that we'll see soon. In the accompanying editorial, the actress spoke to Harper's editor Jennifer Dickinson about everything from what it's like to be a Chanel spokesperson to finding love as she approaches her thirties.
The September issue of Harper's Bazaar hits newsstands on Thursday August 2.
Miranda Kerr continues to go from strength to strength. Over the past few years she's racked up some really strong fashion editorials and campaigns and last month she made her first appearance in British Vogue's July issue along with her son, Flynn - but it doesn't end there. This morning British Harper's Bazaar revealed that her as the cover star for their August issue, her first big British cover.
'If the unshakeable gaggle of paparazzi that follow her across the globe are anything to go by, we have an insatiable appetite for the mode,' Natalie Evans-Harding wrote on the magazine's website this morning when confirming the news. 'Her iconic style and bubbly, upbeat personality is why she's reached such status, and why she debut's as Bazaar's August girl for the first time.'
The cover shoot was lensed by Giampaolo Sgura and the issue hits newsstands on Monday July 2nd.
When I think of Cameron Diaz, people like Jennifer Aniston springs to mind. Both women are the epitome of the fun girl next door character who girls want to be friends with and guys want to date and as far as Diaz goes, for a long time it hasn't be hard to understand why.
Things seemed to have changed recently. Her most recent red carpet appearances have been a far cry from the memorable looks that she used to come up with and her covers seem flat too. For June she appears on the cover of British Harper's Bazaar shot by Tom Munro in what in my opinion is her weakest cover yet wearing Calvin Klein S/S12. When news broke that she would cover the title's summer issue I really hoped that they would do something really interesting and different with her but it all feels a bit stale.
I hate to admit this but until last season Maria Grachvogel was completely unknown to me. Having taken an eight year gap from London Fashion Week, the last time she showed her collection - which is often well known for Victoria Beckham's appearance on the runway - I was still dreaming about working in fashion whilst worrying about what was going on in the playground at high school. Last season was the first time I was introduced to her designs and was instantly taken by them and last month, when I was lucky enough to meet the woman herself, I left even more charmed than the first time we'd met.
Having interviewed my fair share of designers over the last few years, not many have been as charming as Grachvogel or quite frankly, appealed to me so much aesthetically. Arriving wearing one of her own printed dresses - one that I already had my eye on -, the designer completely embodied the essence of her brand and looked amazing doing it. "I focus on designing clothes that make women feel good," she said. "Clothes that appeal to the moods of a woman like feeling relaxed, or clothes that make you feel protected, sensual, womanly or dramatic."
Since watching her Autumn/Winter collection last season, I've always considered her as my best kept secret but considering the fact that only last month she appeared in British Harper's Bazaar's September issue and is often referred to as the go-to designer for a legion of fashion editors internationally, it's safe to say that what I once thought was a best kept secret is a pretty bad one.
Claudia Schiffer, Jefferson Hack and Nicholas Kirkwood
On Thursday the British Fashion Council announced the 2010 nominees for the British Fashion Awards. Chosen by the British Fashion Council Press Committee - which includes British Vogue's Alexandra Schulman, Harper's Bazaar's Lucy Yeoman and Sarah Mower - the nominees didn't come as a surprise. Case in point: Phoebe Philo is nominated as designer of the year for her work at Celine, which is fitting considering the fact that this year's trend towards minimalism has been branded a result of the 'Philo Effect'. Similarly Burberry is unsurprisingly nominated for designer brand of the year and quite rightly so.
Unfortunately we still have a while to wait before the winner's are announced. The event will take place on Dec 7th in London's Savoy Hotel.
