Monday, April 4

TITLEFrejaBVuk
VogueUKcoverMAY2011I haven't really liked a British Vogue cover for months now. And this really annoys me because the magazine inside has been getting so much better since just before the new year. I felt a little unsure about Kate Winslet on April's cover (too out of control retouching) and I will forever defend that less is definitely more when it comes to writing on the cover. For the May issue, which I received at home today, there's three choices of cover. I was happy to find that Freja was in my mailbox because Lara Stone and Natalia Vodianova (all shot by Mario Testino) look almost ugly. All three covers are pretty bland but at least Freja still looks pretty on hers. I do like the fact that the model's name is written on the cover because it elevates their status. After all, they look better on  magazines than celebrities but they're often ignored or not mentioned by name.
The wedding stories inside, entirely shot by Mario too, are as boring and uninspired as they are clichéd and expectable. I understand that a royal wedding is a national event but the country's fashion magazine should be able to do better despite it's roller-coasting conservatism. To compensate Agyness Deyn, styled by Kate Phelan and shot by Tim Walker, looks extraordinary in an abandoned location in the Namibian desert. A place I had spotted on "Wonders of the Universe" on TV a few weeks back and thought would be excellent for a fashion story. I deserve some credit for that, no? What do you think of the covers?

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