Say hello to Jennifer Lawrence's cover of British Vogue's November issue. If you're anything like me, on first look, you might be slightly disappointed. Admittedly, the cover is a lot less glitzy than some of the actresses most recent ones but it's this reason that it's really grown on me.
It might sound really basic but the charm of this cover is that she actually looks liker her. Not following me? Just take a look at her face. At a time where retouchers are being overzealous with Photoshop, having a cover star look this natural is becoming increasingly rare. The dress, from the Dolce & Gabbana Fall 2012 collection, is intricate enough for it to warrant being on the cover but doesn't detract from her beauty.
I'm slightly crazy about it but what do you think?
Emily Blunt always nails her covers but that rings particularly true of her latest one for Harper's Bazaar Australia. The actress, who is currently promoting her latest movie 'Looper' appears on the magazine's November issue styled in a printed halter neck dress and that YSL artsy ring that none of seem to be able to get enough of.
Blunt has had quite a few strong covers in the past but this is definitely my favourite. The dress works perfectly on her and the lighter hair works suits her too.
There's a lot going on at Cosmopolitan at the moment. As you know, Joanna Coles recently moved from her post at Marie Claire to head up the team and let's face it, the magazine needed all of the help it could get. But, credit where credit's due, they've got it pretty spot on with their November issue starring Kate Upton.
The cover, which was most certainly shot long before Coles started, works for many reasons. Upton is having quite the fashion moment right now, which complimets the greater focus on fashion that Joanna has planned. And besides, Upton's sexed up look and propensity to strip down to her undies makes her the perfect match for Cosmo, no? It's definitely makes a lot more sense than her most recent ones.
I've never been the biggest Claire Danes fan. As a woman's woman, the idea of supporting someone that feels no qualms about having an affair with a married man with a pregnant wife doesn't sit well with me. I hold a grunge, I know, but feminism aside, her latest cover is a good one.
The actress was the woman of choice for Flare magazine's November issue and rather than going for the cliché nude pregnancy shot, the magazine went for a tight beauty shot instead it works. This is one of my favourite covers of her to date and the issue is only one of a string of great covers from the Canadian title. Brooklyn Decker nailed it in Peter Pilotto for June and Lindsey Wixson shone on their all-important September cover.
Kate Upton is having quite the fashion moment right now. Despite the queue of critics, with 10 magazine's Sophia Neophitou right at the front, she's not doing too badly. Carine Roitfeld gave her new found success the seal of approval by booking her to cover the debut issue of CR Fashion Book and now she's bagged another big cover but this time for the October issue of Jalouse.
In the magazine, where she was shot by Alexi Hay, the model touched on her experience of the fashion world describing it as 'clique,' and there's some truth to that. To me Upton has that Kim Kardashian factor. While I'm totally for seeing more diversity in magazines, the purist in me doesn't like her new found presence in fashion magazines. And besides, the fact she counteracts every positive step by appearing in a video on Terry Richardson's blog appearing scantily clad doesn't help either. That aside, she does look pretty beautiful in the cover shoot.
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.
As much as it keeps people buying them, working with celebrities on covers isn't a complete bed and roses for magazines. Earlier on this year US InStyle had to go ahead and release a loved-up cover interview with Heidi Klum after her separation with Seal was announced and the same was true of Marie Claire with Kim Kardashian. The latest victim of the problem is British Vogue.
Over the weekend this image of their September cover starring a Gucci-clad Kristen Stewart was leaked online. While it hasn't been confirmed, it's pretty safe to say that the cover interview took place before the whole affair scandal went down and isn't likely to have the same impact or go down quite as well as it would have done.
US ELLE is one of the few magazines that actually benefited from this happening with their September issue starring Katie Holmes, with everyone bagging a copy to see if there were any tell tale signs that her marriage with Tom Cruise was on the rocks. Something tells me that Vogue won't be so lucky.
Gwen Stefani absolutely nailed her September cover of US Harper's Bazaar in what was by far the strongest September cover and now she's done it again on the November cover of ELLE UK.
The magazine has always supported British designers so it comes as no surprise that they opted to style Stefani in one of the tops from Peter Pilotto's Fall 2012 collection. My only wish is that they had opted for a full Pilotto look rather than teaming it with the McQ skirt, even though it is nice to see two British brands on the cover.
Will you pick the issue up when it hits newsstands on Wednesday September 5.
With September around the corner, just about all of the major September issues have already dropped but Interview magazine's all-important issue was the only one we hadn't seen. That all changed yesterday when they unveiled the cover for the first time with Emma Stone as the star of choice.
The actress, who was shot by Mikael Jansson and styled by Karl Templer, sports one of the statement necklaces from Chanel's Fall 2012 collection in what is definitely her edgiest cover to date. Her most recent shoots have steered within the safe and familiar feminine kooky territory so it was nice to see the team shake things up and style her in strong, bold, masculine pieces.
The unveiling of the big September issues is in full force and the latest comes from US ELLE. As previously reported, Katy Perry covers the issue shot by the magazine's long time collaborator, Carter Smith.
Aside from their recent Selena Gomez cover, I haven't been all too impressed by the magazine's covers this year but this one is good and will no doubt go down well with the singer's fans. When she covered their March issue she boosted circulation numbers by a reported 18 per cent and considering all the press surrounding her at the moment, what with her film and the finalisation of her divorce with Russell Brand, there is no doubt that this will be another strong one.
