This week a rumour started to circulate on the Fashion Spot that LOVE magazine is folding. Without any elaboration someone named Pedro posted saying that he's 'been told by a reliable source that LOVE magazine is ceasing and the last issue No. 8 will be the last one published.'
The magazine is without doubt one of the strongest quarterlies out there at the moment so naturally, the post was met with several devastated commenters but don't worry, Katie Grand has confirmed that the reports are wrong. 'LOVE is not folding, we just published our most successful issue to date with 457 pages, 194 number of advertising pages, and up 10% from this time last year.'
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?
Interview magazine have received some unexpected criticism of late, surrounding a shoot in the May 2010 issue, entitled "Let's Get Lost". The editorial, which stars Canadian beauty Daria Werbowy, is printed with the following tag line - "Let's get lost. The hour is late, the air is thick, and the evening is charged with a steamy sensuality. What works? Tone-on-tone swimsuits, slithers of silk, and plenty of skin, as flesh meets flesh, body meets soul, and Daria gets lost in the heat of the night."
The problem, however, might be right there. Daria in fact does not get lost in the editorial, and it appears to be this - the use of an all black cast (bar Brazilian model Lisalla Montenegro) that is causing an uproar across the internet. Forum members on the Fashion Spot have commented "I expect more from Interview than some stereotypical, white person enters into strange and exotic world of brown people editorial", as well as "I can't believe that the editorial team got away with a story that overtly exposes and even promotes such racist stereotypes. The one time they chose to cast an amazing variety of black models they had to play with a tired concept; the only reason why they are honestly here in this story is to play up the stereotype of black people as anonymous, sexual, savage beings who here play back up dancer to Daria (the white person)".
Much has been made of Jimmy Choo's upcoming collection for H&M, which includes shoes, bags, and accessories for men and women and womenswear, as well as shoes. Yesterday, an image of the brand's over-the-knee boots for the high street retailer leaked on The Fashion Spot. The shoes in question cost 1,799 DKK, or about $345.
News of Jourdan Dunn's pregnancy left many people speculating whether this is simply a rumour. However, fellow model Sessilee Lopez expressed her good wishes for her friend on The Fashion Spot this week after the news was announced.
Still don't believe us? This week Dunn officially confirmed to Vogue UK that she is in fact five and a half months pregnant by her long-term boyfriend and is due in December. "I'm really looking forward to the future and having my baby," she said. "I'm lucky — I'm feeling really well. I'm healthy and happy!"
Although we won't see Dunn on the runway in September, her agency have made it clear that we can still expect a lot from her after the pregnancy.
