Kira Mazura by Ayten Alpun

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Kira Mazura by Ayten Alpun for Marie Claire Turkey January 2011

Love the drama that Marie Claire Turkey presents with every issue.  The dilapidated building provide a lovely counterpoint to the glamorous gowns and dramatic hair.  The shadows are gorgeous and romantic and the angles of her body is well showcased with intriguing posing.  I particularly love the placement of her arms; they make her appear elegant and somewhat bird-like.  This makes for a nice ending to my 2010 I think.  Glamour and avante garde all in one.

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MaxMara Spring 2011 Campaign Weekend Collection

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Jacquelyn Jablonski by Alexi Lubomirski for MaxMara Spring 2011 Campaign Weekend Collection

Quite a colorful change of pace for MaxMara!  Known to for their fabulous tailoring and structured outerwear, this is a lovely fresh take on growing up with color.  And while I’m not a particular fan of color as I favor a more neutral palette, but this surprisingly attracted me.  Must be the great contrast to the dullness of winter.  In any case, Jacquelyn makes an excellent case for spring greens and yellows with vibrant parrots as a bold accompaniment.  Tropical and lush, this makes me long for a summer full of fun and exploring.

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Exquisitely Blunt

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Emily Blunt by Paola Kudacki for Harper’s Bazaar UK January 2011

As the title (which is excellent by the way) says, Emily Blunt is utterly exquisite in this editorial.  She exudes this old school glamour that is hard to find in movie stars nowadays.  And I love how Emily carries off the very sexy dresses with sophistication and grace.  Not only are her looks very striking (I’m such a sucker for blue eyes, dark hair, and porcelain skin), the bright styling presents a very nice contrast to the rocky landscape behind her.  Emily Blunt comes across as  beautiful, glamourous, and slightly mysterious with this editorial.  Not to mention, she gives me a throwback to the movie stars of golden Hollywood.  Just lovely.

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Natalie Hockey in Chanel

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Natalie Hockey in Chanel for Grazia Australia January 2011

Love love love the way they’ve presented Chanel here.  The feel of it is completely different from the normal elegant structure of Chanel.  And while Karl does an excellent job with presenting both high end fashion and a down to earth feel, the aesthetic of Chanel has never been present quite like this.  It’s almost like a melding of Proenza Schouler coolness and Chanel ladylike sophistication (conveniently this is pretty much how Proenza Schouler had presented its last spring collection).  Natalie channels this cool aloof character while exuding the elegance and confidence needed for Chanel.  Taking it to the outback is an excellent change of pace for this type of design.

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The Party

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Iselin Steiro by Rick Shaine for Cover Magazine December2010/January 2011

I love how this starts off slightly gritty with the long dress great contrasting with the battered converse and cracked walls before shifting to the glamorous underground playground of youth.  The concept seems simple, yet it’s difficult to create the true feel of it without feeling contrived.  A few like Ryan McGinley and Hedi Slimane have mastered it, providing a ringing truthfulness to their work.  Rick Shaine doesn’t do so badly either.  While I am more struck by the quiet moments of this editorial where Iselin is the only one in the frame, there’s a playfulness about the social scenes that I like.  This editorial provides a heightened sense of glamour more so by romanticizing the gritty city social scene than by haute couture avant gardeness or dramatic styling.  It’s a nice take on the scene.  I do so love how Iselin is always in the light until in the end she is utterly framed by it.  It could be seen as social commentary on those oh-so-fascinating It Girls or it should just be some fantastic focus work; in any case, this features Iselin beautifully.

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Under the Eastern Sun

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Anastasia Bondarenko by Paul de Luna for WestEast December 2010

She looks quite a bit like Frida in this editorial.  That aside, what’s lovely about this is the softness and romanticism that it presents.  The blurry of the background makes for some interesting contrast to Anastasia in focus at any rate.  And at times I feel that there is a more obvious glass wall between her and the viewer than in other editorial.  A bit unusual.  While I find this editorial utterly pleasant, I feel a bit disconnected from it.  Not to mention, this very spring-like romanticism and whimsicalness feels a little odd for a December issue.

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Spreading Her Wings

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Natalie Portman by Peter Lindbergh for Vogue US January 2011

Vogue presents the ever gorgeous Natalie Portman.  While I don’t like all the shots, the setting is gorgeous, and the ballet-inspired shot is utterly lovely.  Natalie is gilted in gold throughout this editorial, which is most excellent considering her latest work.  She delivers a poignant performance in Black Swan, showing she’s more than just the young ingénue.  So I leave you to gaze upon her loveliness.

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Bonnie & Clyde

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Elise Digby & Ollie Edwards by Aram Bedrossian

Love the throwback with the elegant sophistication and old school glamour.  I was really drawn to Ollie with his classic good looks and leading man demeanor that reminded me of the era of Golden Hollywood.  He has that emotive furled brow that when coupled with the fifties styling (and that fedora), so utterly transforms him into the character.  I so miss the rakishness and femme fatale badassness of the olden days; it’s hard to find that sort of sophistication nowadays.  And with the current fifties revival in fashion, this portrait series falls right in with the current trend while evoking the straight edge tailoring and elegant tailoring that make it the classic it is.  Lovely lovely tribute to Bonnie & Clyde.

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The Bride Whisperer

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Abbey Lee Kershaw & Edita Vilkeviciute by Mario Sorrenti for Interview December 2010

Bound to raise more than a few eyebrows, this highly charged, highly erotic bridal showcase for Vera Wang presents a decidedly different take on the the traditional bride and groom.  Not to mention, it’s smoking hot.  Abbey and Edita are two of the hottest models out there; throwing them together is like the ultimate sexual fantasy.  Moreover, this signals the return of classic Interview Magazine with cheeky provocation and pushing of boundaries.  I love the entire thing: the concept, the execution, the model casting, and the styling.  Mario Sorrenti always shoots highly seductive glamorous creative editorials; this is no different.  But above all, Abbey and Edita pull out all the stops and turn up the heat. They truly deliver, making this more believably erotic as opposed to contrived seductiveness.

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Isabel Hickmann by Josefina Bietti

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Raw and beautiful.  I love how real this feels.  There’s a depth about Isabel and a starkness about this that I really like.  It’s a seemingly simple photo shoot that manages to convey something beyond mere posing and positioning.  Isabel also manages to convey both softness and fierce edge; the duality makes for an intriguing portrait series.  Exactly what she needs to showcase her range.  Very nice.

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