I've always been a fan of the international titles. While Elle has always been my favourite British magazine, for as long as I can remember French and Italian Vogue have been amongst my montly magazine purchases but now my attention is turning to the the Australian editions. The April issue of Vogue Australia explains why.

It's really taken for granted today but it's so refreshing to see a fashion publication focus on using models on their covers rather than the current obssession with celebrities. Vogue Australia have also been a bit slow on embracing ethnically diverse models so it's great to see that Joan Smalls is being embraced on that side of the pond too. It's interesting to see the April issue take special attention to young designers, especially since fresh Australian brands like Dion Lee are starting to gain traction.

What do you think of the magazine?

See Joan Smalls' full fashion spread after the jump

If you're a fan of Italian Vogue, then you might know that the magazine's website features - in addition to editor Franca Sozzani's popular blog - separate pages for "Black" and "Curvy" readers. In an interview with WWD, Sozzani explained why her publication chooses to make those call outs. She said: "Some said it was becoming the ghetto of plus-sized, the ghetto of black, but it’s not true. These are very happy readers, happy that we are looking at them in different ways. In “Curvy,” they are superhappy with their sizes. We help them dress fashionably. We say: It’s pointless for you to buy leggings, take this because this will look good on you. We help them choose. We don’t talk about diets because they don’t want to be on a diet, but it’s not a ghetto. Why should these women slim down? Many of the women who have a few extra kilos are especially beautiful and also more feminine."

Read more after the jump

If you were in or near Milan this weekend, we hope you had a chance to take a rare look into the Vogue Italia offices. Starting on Friday afternoon, Editor in Chief Franca Sozzani started holding court for guests curious to see how, exactly, the fashion glossy is put together. That also included visits with designers including Angela Missoni and Donatella Versace.

"The Vogue Experience" was held in celebration of Sozzani's new book, I Capricci Della Moda (The Whims of Fashion), a collection of her blog posts from the magazine's website. Apparently, Sozzani has already received criticism about allegedly removing some of the mystery from the mag. To that, she says: “It upsets me that some people think that my doing this is just a commercial thing or making Vogue too democratic...It’s not being commercial because the book is published by Bompiani and not by Condé Nast. Opening our magazine to people is just to give them the chance to meet persons working in fashion, how we work, where we are and our offices…Why should seeing each other take away the mystery? What mystery? We make magazines just to give you quality and creativity, and obviously to keep you informed.”

Image via Fashionologie

Our favourite models have secretly been undergoing big makeovers. After much speculation, Catherine McNeil's agency has finally confirmed that the model has undergone a big change, releasing this image of her new black bob.

Abbey Lee Kershaw was the first to start the makeover trend this season - deciding to go blonde for the S/S11 shows and cutting her hair to shoulder length for a recent Chanel campaign. Ajak Deng followed suit, also deciding to go blonde after being encouraged by Jimmy Paul and Edward Enninful. “They dyed my hair for Italian Vogue, but everyone seems to like it, so I think I’m going to keep it like this for a while! It was a little shocking,” she told Modelinia. “I was crying, but now I’m trying to rock my new hair!”

Model: Shana Zadrick

Magazine: Italian Vogue

Issue: October 1991

Photographer: Steven Meisel

See more images after the jump

Karlie Kloss has been one very busy girl this year. She has walked for some of the biggest names, including Valentino, McQueen, Gaultier, Givenchy and Armani Prive, and starred in ad campaigns for the likes of Chloe, Dolce & Gabbana and Marc Jacobs. All this from a young lady who turned 17 this year.

And just in case all her accomplishments as listed above and others (such as her love of ballet and cooking) weren't enough, Kloss has now been crowned as Vogue's favourite model of 2009. The "award" is thanks to the fashion bloggers du jour, at Fashin, who trawled through back copies of the magazines and tallied up just how many appearances Ms Kloss has made this year alone. She has graced the cover of every major Vogue magazine including Australian Vogue, Brazilian Vogue, British Vogue, Chinese Vogue, French Vogue, German Vogue, Italian Vogue, Japanese Vogue, Mexican Vogue, Russian Vogue and Spanish Vogue. Phew! What a list. We just can't imagine what life must be like for Karlie given that when we were 17, worrying about how we looked on the cover of a magazine was nothing more than a pipe dream. Congratulations lady!

Check here for a full top ten list. Enjoy.

It looks like the furore that plus-size models caused in 2009 will follow them into 2010. V magazine, since its launch in 1999, has become known for its eye-catching covers, featuring world-famous models and celebrities, most recently the likes of Mirander Kerr and Natalie Portman. But, perhaps in the spirit of embracing the new, it has decided to feature plus-size models in its January issue. The likes of Crystal Renn will be photographed both clothed and in the nude, by a handful of renowned photographers including Terry Richardson, Bruce Weber and Karl Lagerfeld.

V follows in the footsteps of Glamour magazine, which earlier this year responded to the praise that Lizzie Miller's nude photo (which saw her looking glowing, healthy and happy) received, by featuring more models of Miller's size in subsequent issues, since. V's editor-in-chief, Stephen Gan told Page Six that: "Big, little, pint-size, plus-size - everybody is beautiful. And this issue is out to prove it."

We certainly hope that unlike Italian Vogue's "Black Issue", V will keep up the good work and continue to use a variety of models including plus-size models as covergirls. Lagerfeld himself has said in the past: "No one wants to see curvy women. You've got fat mothers with their bags of chips sitting in front of the television and saying that thin models are ugly." V is known for being a trend-led magazine as opposed to a lifestyle magazine like Glamour, though, which means that only time will tell if this is simply a one-off occurence.

It's not very often that the editor of a prestigious magazine decides that it's time her wardrobe had a clear out, however that's precisely the task that Italian Vogue editor, the iconic Anna Piaggi undertook recently. Renouned for her eclectic style, auctioned items included a cone-breasted black velvet evening gown by Jean Paul Gaultier - reaching £13,750 - and a rare 18th century blue damask court gown, which fetched a staggering £42,050 amongst the 321 piece-lot.

The court gown, which is revealed to have gone to an unnamed institution rather than an individual, was just a small part of Anna's archive of fashion, which was displayed to the public back in 2006 when Piaggi's impressive collection featured in a stand-alone collection entitled Fashion-ology at the Victoria & Albert musuem, London. Close friend Stephen Jones - who describes her wardrobe as 'a walking library of fashion' - and Manolo Blahnik helped Piaggi promote the sale, which after a flurry of of bids amongst fashion designers, private collectors and museums such as the V&A, raised over £59,055. In keeping with her tongue-in-cheek persona, Anna's comment after the clear out was a comical, "What will I find to wear now?"

See more images after the jump

It seems like quite some time ago since Gisele announced her pregnancy to the world and soon after, somewhat went into hibernation. We had expected that the Brazilian beauty would have flaunted her baby bump through magazine covers and the like. Much to our disappointment, unlike the likes of Heidi Klum, Demi Moore and Britney Spears, amongst others- who have graced the covers of high-end magazines showing off their pregnant tummies- the 'Boobs from Brazil', has shyed away from any editorials as such.

In her most recent Twitter-inspired editorial, shot by Steven Meisel for Italian Vogue's December issue, she is photographed in thigh-high socks and black underwear but it's her bump (or lack thereof ), which leaves much to the imagination as Gisele expertly covers her belly using a black bull-fighter like cape. Abbey Lee Kershaw, Natasha Poly, Karlie Kloss, Anna Selezneva and others have also been photographed for the shoot which sees each striking unusual poses. It reminds us of summers of partying - happy, random and candid shots. We like! To see more pics, head to http://models.com/feed/?p=6600