W is one of the few magazines that has been consistently good this year but sadly, their ad pages have been the worst hit with the numbers being 'flt or slightly off' the numbers for last year despite most magazines seeing an improvement. It's against this backdrop that left me questionning why they opted for Penelope Cruz to cover their September issue and sadly, having seen the cover, I'm still asking the same question.
As Candy Patts Price said in 'The September Issue', 'September is the January in fashion' and the cover star is the key factor driving those circulation numbers, which is what makes W's choice so confusing. While Cruz knows how to rock a killer red carpet look, she doesn't exactly have the power of Lady Gaga or any of the other September stars and that aside, the cover itself looks mediocre and frankly pretty forgettable. To their credit, W have always gone the less obvious route with their cover stars but sadly, even with that bein true, I think they're going to suffer with this one.
The various choices of cover stars for the September issues has left a lot to be excited about but with the likes of Lady Gaga, Jessica Chastain and Gwen Stefani in the mix, the news that US Marie Claire bagged Miley Cyrus for theirs hasn't been met with the same level of excitement. Having seen her cover and a preview of the accompanying shoot, it's actually become one of my favourites.
Over the past year Miley's style has really developed and in a good way. Back in May she got everyone talking when she turned up to the Billboard Awards wearing that white Jean Paul Gaultier double breasted mini dress and again in June when she nailed that black cut out Zimmerman dress and this style transformation was apparent in the shoot. On the cover she looked incredible wearing a satin embellished piece from the Fall 2012 Christian Dior collection, in what is by far her strongest cover to date.
I was probably one of the few people that wasn't particularly taken by British InStyle's August cover with Kim Kardashian but their latest September cover is something I can jump on board with. Daisy Lowe is the cover star of choice for the magazine's all-important issue and like Rosie Huntington-Whiteley for ELLE UK, Lowe ticks two bosses. She's as known for being a celebrity as she is for her modelling so will no doubt prove a hit on newsstands.
Her body image takes a prominent role in the cover interview with Lowe saying, 'While I appreciate how thin some of the models are – when it’s healthy – and think, ‘Yeah, you’re gorgeous and the clothes hang off you amazingly’, I like to stay strong about how I’m built.' In some respect, I'm sure comments like this are helpful, especially for her young fans but on the hand, the emphasis on her body image is starting get a bit predictable. Yes, she has a beautiful body but is there nothing else to talk to her about? It goes back to the point I made recently about magazine's failing to steer away from the typical topics of boyfriends and body image with their cover stars not matter how interesting and dynamic these women are.
To some extent the constant emphasis on labelling her body as 'different' only illustrates how far we have to go before the representation of a healthy body image is considered the norm.
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.
Last week WWD revealed that Jessica Chastain had been shot for Vanity Fair's September issue but this morning it was revealed that she isn't the only person covering their all-important issue.
'The Help' star appears on the magazine's subscribers issue while Kate Middleton, aka 'Kate the Great' as the cover line dubs her, appears on the newsstand version and it's not surprising why. Chastain's cover is far better than Middleton's but considering that America (and the rest of the world) still can't get enough of Kate, it's not surprising that she was chosen to help push the newsstand issue.
The September issue covers are coming in thick and fast and the latest cover comes for Canadian fashion magazine, Flare, who have enlisted Lindsey Wixson for the issue.
While the covers that we've already seen have been pretty good, the majority have felt more summery than being the first issue for the fall season. Flare, on the other hand, have got it spot on with the gold Prabal Gurung dress that appears on the cover styled by Elizabeth Cabral. Credits in the accompanying editorial include Rodarte, Altuzarra and J. W. Anderson and one of those Prada suits that has been doing the rounds lately.
Aside from the strong styling, the cover is a big one because it also marks the forth September cover fronted by a model so far. Hopefully this is only the start of more things to come.
It's officially that time of year again. The September issues are just around the corner and the first few are already out. As always, Vogue Australia have released their first and stars Bella Heathcote and Numero Tokyo's CandiceSwanepoel cover has also hit the net. While both magazines have opted for models, their covers are by no means representative of what you can expect from other titles. All of the rest have gone for celebrities and while that does bug me, the fact that Kim Kardashian doesn't appear on any is a bonus.
As we all know, Lady Gaga has been shot by Met & Marcus for American Vogue, as she continues to drum up attention around her debut fragrance. Glamour have confirmed that they've booked Victoria Beckham to cover theirs and I'm excited. Beckham's covers have been really strong lately and she just might be what the magazine needs after those disappointing covers with Mila Kunis and Amanda Seyfried. InStyle has opted for Jennifer Lopez, Marie Claire have gone for Miley Cyrus, W for Penelope Cruz, Interview for Emma Stone and V for Nicole Kidman.
Vanity Fair's decision to book Jessica Chastain makes sense. The actress looks incredible in statement designer pieces and does old school Hollywood glamour like nobody else. Also good is the news that GwenStefani will cover US Harper's Bazaar. Anyone that's followed the magazine since their revamp earlier on this year will know that their covers have been bang on, and their main fashion stories even stronger so I'm sure that's going to be a good'un.
For the September cover story for Wmagazine, Kristen Stewart is unrecognisable. The 'Twilight' actress, known for her tomboy aesthetic and scowl-ly attitude, was all 60s glamour in the cover story shot by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott.
The cover marks Edward Enninful's first issue for the magazine and if it's anything to go by, there are a lot of exciting developments coming from the magazine in the near future.
Since Vogue Italia launched their All Black issue, they have vowed to push the mould and champion a diverse view of beauty and that's exactly what they've done. Black models continue to be used in the magazine and for their June issue they championed plus size women. In an interview with The Cut, Franca Sozzani expressed her concerns about the use of plus size models simply for the shock -actor and doubted whether the industry will fully embrace them but it looks like Vogue Australia might be doing just that.
In the magazine's big September issue, Australian model Robyn Lawley (who appeared on the Vogue Italia cover) appears in a 10-page fashion editorial alongside a double page story about her, marking the first time in the magazine's 52 year history that a plus size model has appeared in a fashion editorial.
The big question is, what does this mean? Is this a sign that magazines are diversifying the pool of models that they use in editorials or is this, as Sozzani feared, another gimmick to make the headlines and rack up the circulation numbers. After all, they did choose to run this record breaking editorial in their big September issue. On the other hand, 2011 has been a big year for Lawley so far having appeared on Vogue Italia, bagged a cover of ELLE France and now Vogue Australia so maybe this shows that things are changing and the current acceptance of curvier models perhaps goes beyond following a trend.
