June cover swimwear face-off: Vogue Deutsch vs. Vogue US
TFS

Yesterday American Vogue released their June cover and editorial centred around the London Olympics. Hope Solo, Ryan Lochte and Serena Williams shot by Annie Leibovitz jog on the beach for 'Team USA'. Vogue Germany also released their June cover featuring the beautiful CArolyn Murphy shot by Alexi Lubomirski.

I don't even know where to begin with the American Vogue cover... The picture is so gimmicky and unnatural i just can't deal. It's almost like the conservative version of a Men's Health cover. I just don't understand how it was so difficult to come up with a fun and clever concept for a sports issue, especially if you consider that so many of the new collections are so heavy with sportswear elements. The colours are also a bit dull (even the sea!) and the swimsuits (very Michael Kors) are super dated.

Vogue Deutsch, however, celebrates their love for summer, curves, fashion and stars with a stunning shot, great styling and amazing colours that really evoke the new season.

Would you rather... Cate Blanchett on Harper's Bazaar UK or Interview Russia
TFS

I feel like I haven't paid any attention to magazines during the last few weeks because of crazy fashion month. Today I was walking up (sunny!) Marylebone Street and stopped to look at a newsagents shop with all the latest covers on the window. I realised I had no idea of what was going on and I proceeded to catch up with things on the Fashion Spot when I got home.
As well an as amazing new issue of Vogue Italia with Joan Smalls looking stunning, I am loving the latest Harper's Bazaar UK double cover with Cate Blanchett. She is one of the most elegant women on the planet so it's no surprise both covers. She is also at the front of the March issue of Interview Russia. A very different photograph. But I am quite keen on what the magazine it's been doing since it opened and she looks so beautiful on it.

Catch up on more magazine news at Coco's Tea Party, she's incredible at keeping on top of things!

The first thought that crossed my mind when I first saw Britney's story on the new Harper's Bazaar had to do with how much I wished she dressed like that for public events. If she stuck LBD's, however short, and classic pumps there wouldn't be much risk of her looking, well, like she normally does. Her latest Hervé Léger red carpet moments haven't been the best, which is a shame because she can still rock anything like you can see to the right.

I'm not the biggest fan of the story, shot by Alexi Lubomirski, but I can appreciate some of the good ol' Spears smile along with a few nice fashion choices signed by Dolce & Gabbana, Isabel Marant and Ungaro. Once the Brit-shock wore off I suddenly realised the editorial looked very familiar to me. And this is why.

Back in 2009 Emmanuelle Alt styled a story shot by Mario Sorrenti called "Graffiti Couture". It's one of my favourite shoots of all time because it seemed to me like such a brilliant idea to bring together the highest of fashion and the most urban form of art. Also, the Vogue Paris teamed up with American designer KAWS to create the set for the story.

[HB, TFS]

Bearing this in mind, Britney's story is not only unoriginal but a blatant (bad) copy. Additionally, if you look closely enough at the full-size pictures you'll realise Brit has actually been photoshopped into all of the backgrounds and not shot in them. Maybe simple studio pictures would have worked better?

The Spanish edition of Vogue has been getting better every months in the last couple of years. Even though they're probably one of the biggest titles (after US, UK, Italia and Paris) and somewhat commercial they seldom feature celebrities on their covers. For the April issue they have not only chosen a fairly unknown model but she's also the focus of one of the main stories. And I love that concept! The styling, by Vogue's lead stylist Belén Antolín and shot by Alexi Lubomirski, is not anything that hasn't been done before but the attention to detail make it a treat. I'm also looking forward to Alberto Ammann's story (styled by Marieta Torres), the new Chanel guy.

[Pictures courtesy of Vogue España]

Anja and her boys

Today the March issue of Vogue España hits the newstands. Now, I know I often say this or that is the best cover so far but I genuinely mean it this time. This feels quite different from what Vogue España usually does and it works so wonderfully way. For their main story "Anja y sus chicos" (Anja and her boys) my favourite model in the world (she's my laptop wallpaper) dresses up in Givenchy, Pucci and one of those fringed Versace dresses in blue to reinterpret the 70's. And to do so she surounds herself with remarkably underdressed models Andrés Velencoso, Jon Kortajarena y Oriol Elcacho, who also happen to be the most iconic Spanish male models of the moment. The story, shot by Alexi Lubomirski and styled by fashion director Belén Antolín, proves that a studio shoot doesn't have to be boring. Watch the making of the video here.

They also devote a broad story, "Lección de Anatomía" (Anatomy lesson), to six women with very different body types. This is a constant topic to be discussed in fashion and recently brought to the frontline of news by Erin O'Connor. My other favourite editorial in the issue is "El arte de la seducción" (The art of seduction) shot by Camilla Akrans (who shot those beautiful Dior pictures for the last issue of Industrie). Malgosia Bela, the up-and-coming model of the moment wears Sissy Vian styling for this story. I can't wait to get my hands on a copy!

I'm off.

[Pictures: Courtesy of Vogue España, TFS]