Back in June, Page Six reported that Lana Del Rey had shot a campaign for H&M in New York. At the time neither her camp nor H&M's press office denied the claim and now we know that the silence was because the reports were true because today, the first images from the campaign were leaked online.
The 'Video Games' singer works her trademark beehive hair and cat-winged black eyeliner in the campaign, shot by Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin, and looks good doing so. Is she the perfect face of H&M, though, I'm not sure.
'The mood is very L.A. noir,' Donald Schneider, H&M's creative director, said in a statement. 'It's inspired by our Fall 2012 collection,' and to accompany the images, Del Rey will also perform a cover of 'Blue Velvet' for a minifilm that will appear on hm.com and in commercials from September 19.
Earlier on this week Vogue Paris dropped their May cover starring Laetitia Casta shot by Mario Testino and while the model looks beautiful, the cover hasn't been met with a good response.
The comments in the forum of The Fashion Spot, where the image was released, confirm what we've all been thinking for a while. The magazine underEmmanuelle Alt's direction is a far cry from it's aesthetic under Carine Roitfeld. All you need to do is look at the Roitfeld-styled Casta cover from the December/January 2009 issue to see that. The question is whether the change works? I'm not convinced that it does. Far from being directional, the covers seem to be moving in a commercial way, which isn't a term that you would have associated with the magazine under Roitfeld's reign.
Am I surprised by the change - well no. With her first cover as editor-in-chief, featuring a soft and romantic looking Gisele Budchen shot by Inez & Vinoodh, Alt made it clear that things were going to be different under her editorship. 'I always want a relationship with reality: nothing too sexy, or provocative, or fashion victim. We are French — we can show smoking, nudity. We have no boundaries, and it can be good to have them,' she said at the time. I wouldn't be surprised if the circulation was up as a result of the changes but is that really what Vogue Paris is about?
Daria Werbowy is a Vogue Paris favourite so with that said, it comes at no surprise that the magazine has dedicated the whole of the February issue to her. The model, who also had the magazine's August 2009 issue dedicated to her, was shot by Inez & Vinoodh in a Prada swimsuit.
The decision to use Werbowy for the issue makes sense, as Emmanuelle Alt stressed that she intends to continue working with the model after taking the reigns at the magazine. When asked about what models we can expect to see in the magazine under her editorship she confirmed that Werbowy "is the girl I work with the most. She has a natural, strong beauty. You can put her in a white tee and she will make it look fantastic."
I hold a great affection for photography couple Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin. Besides the fact that their both incredibly friendly every time I've seen them at the shows, their work continues to be amongst the most thought-provoking and memorable images in magzines today.
To celebrate their life's work, the pair are launching a new book, 'Pretty Much Everything', which is set for release this month and will chart their work for publications like French Vogue and V as well as their collaborations with houses like Lanvin and Balenciaga. For a whopping $700 you can get 666 of their favourite photographs. Recently the couple sat down with style.com to talk about everything from what it's like working with Lady Gaga and why they refuse to work with models under 18 years old.
We love this cover. Simple as that. Lara Stone looks smouldering in this black dress pushed to the side to reveal some thigh high stockings on the latest cover of Vogue Paris shot by Inez and Vinoodh.
This is definitely the best cover that we've seen since Emmauelle Alt has taken over as editor-in-chief of the magazine. When her appointment was announced, Alt made it clear that she plans to move away from the sexed up aesthetic that we all loved and expected from the magazine under Carine Roitfeld. "I always want a relationship with reality: nothing too sexy, or provocative, or fashion victim. We are French — we can show smoking, nudity. We have no boundaries, and it can be good to have them." And the last two covers have followed in that vain, with Gisele Bunchden looking feminine and romantic in a white lace Dolce & Gabbana dress for Alt's first issue as editor, followed by Kate Moss in a two piece suit, signalling a stark departure from the risque aesthetic that the magazine is known for.
Yesterday WWD announced that Gisele Budchen was chosen to cover Emmanuelle Alt's debut issue as editor in chief of Vogue Paris, shot by Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin.
After we announced the news on Twitter, many expressed their disappointment in the cover choice with many expecting Alt to make a big bang with her first cover. However, WWD reports that the August issue will be the first month completely under Alt's direction suggesting that the April issue had already been shot before she took over the editorship.
We've all been waiting to see the fruits of Stefano Tonchi's ideas for the new look W and he definitely gives us a teaser of things to come with his first September issue. Already breaking records, Tonchi decided to opt for a three cover fold out which is allegedly the first time the magazine has ever done it. Also, rather than opting for a predictable A-lister to help sell the big September issue the magazine is fronted by fresh acting talent - Kate Dennings, Jessica Chastan, Yaya Da Costa, Mary Elizabeth, Jennifer Lawrence, Emma Roberts and Zoe Kravitz - all shot by Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin.
We thought we could sense a bit of irony in the cover's title, 'Great Expectations' which Tonchi has since confirmed was intentional. After all, it was his move to the magazine that began this summer's editorial reshuffling and has caused a great deal of anticipation about what he'll do in the new role. "I wanted to have some self-irony, because there are so many expectations about what this W will be, so it refers to these eight great new girls, but also to the pressure that we feel to satisfy the expectations that people have for the magazine,” he told The Cut.
