My favourite September 2012 covers
TFS

I have been quite bored and disappointed with most of the September issue covers this year. Knowing that it's the most iconic month of the year, can't magazines actually make an effort?
Thank god for Vogue Italia and Interview! Franca Sozzani and Steven Meisel have, once again, created something completely different to everyone else. I love Carolyn Murphy and I love the vintage feel of the cover but also the idea behind it. I know not everyone gets Franca's work but whether you like it or not she marches to the beat of her own drum.
I was really blown away when I saw the September cover of Interview featuring Emma Stone. It's kind of genius that they went for her after so many people had featured her over the last months. The styling and the photography are something completely different to what they usually do to Emma. I personally really liked the choice of the Chanel neckpiece, the eye makeup and the studded earrings.

Vogue Italia goes 'Eyes Wide Shut' for April
TFS

It's always refreshing that every month Franca Sozzani refrains from using celebrities on the covers of Vogue Italia. Don't get me wrong, there have been a few hits in the past few months (i.e. Mary-Kate and Ashley on ELLE) but also plenty of disasters (i.e. any of the latest British Vogue covers). So it's great when we get original double covers like these.
For me the whole idea behind the shoot is very 'Eyes Wide Shut' with a bit of 'Cruel Intentions' – high society people who behave according to the norm during the day and who turn into completely different creatures at night. Somebody on The Fashion Spot also mentioned a 'Bal Masque', which fits right in as well.
I love the change of light from the dull unmasked version to the brighter more intense one. I wish this was one of those covers with a plastic overlay that adds the masks and the light, wouldn't that be cool?

Are you a fan of Vogue Italia? What do you think of this cover?

Karlie Kloss is Vogue Italia's present this Christmas
Fashion Gone Rogue

The thing is I don't know whether to praise or slate this cover. On the one hand, I would have never guessed it was Vogue Italia, this seems more like a thing Vogue España would do –neutral background, a simple sexy dress, young model. I would have never guessed it was a Steven Meisel shot. But this is, in fact, the December cover of Vogue Italia.
My favourite thing about it, of course, is the fact that Karlie Kloss is on the cover. She reminds me a lot of a younger Giselle Bündchen and she's definitely rocking the nude Valentino dress. I can appreciate that perhaps what Franca was trying to do with this cover is going for a 90's minimalist/supermodel vibe. But it doesn't quite work.
It's a little underwhelming to put an end to the year like this after such brilliant covers. They already went for a sort of supermodel revival a few months ago for the July issue with Christy Turlington. Perhaps this is a way to build up for January to start 2012 with a boom?

What are your thoughts?

TFS

I love the fact that Vogue Italia is always the last of the Vogue editions to release their new covers. It makes them more memorable whereas I have to think a little bit harder to remember who, say, British Vogue put on their last cover.

I must say I am loving the November cover. It's very Vogue Italia and very Meisel but in the best way, not in the dull way we saw in October. It's funny how you would have thought that having Lady Gaga as main inspiration for a suit could be so obvious but works so well in this case. The styling by Carlyne Cerf de Dudzeele is absolutely spot on and, quite frankly, also pretty edgy for Vogue Italia.
I know this is going to be one of those covers that people either love or hate but I've always thought that's a good thing because it's at least strong enough to generate a passionate reaction.

What do you think?

TFS

Vogue Italia has been the last of the big titles to release it's September cover. And what a cover!

Stella Tennant emaulates Ethel Granger –the late 1920's woman who held the world record for the smallest waist (13 inches/33 cm) until 1998. It is a very avant-garde indeed concept, very Vogue Italia.
To pull off the impressive cover the magazine brought together the most prestigious group of professionals –Steven Meisel for photography, Karl Templer as Fashion editor, Pat McGrath as makeup artist, and Guido Palau as hair stylist.
It's such a daring cover concept to actually carry out but the result they've got is very impressive. A Prada coat perfectly photoshopped at the waist top it all off. If you look for pictures of Ethel you'll be impressed of how close this image is to the real ones.

Now I just can't wait to see what's inside. And the cover has created such high expectations...

TFS

Franca Sozzani is the only Editor-in-Chief who is keen on tweeting and does so often. And it doesn't look like the does it to boost her confidence looking at how many people care about what she has to say. Instead, she uses her influence to make thousands of people discuss current topics.

This attitude she has online is the reason why she has been the editor of Vogue Italia for 23 years (she started on the year I was born). Vogue Italia is one of my two favourite editions of the magazine because it's not commercial. It is very Italian, which is often mistaken with commercial. It is also quite traditional in content but extremely fashion-forward and daring when it comes to covers and editorials.

After last month's much talked-about cover with the plus-sized models (one of the most beautiful Vogue covers in a long time), Franca puts her bets on Gucci's 70's collection for the July cover.

I love how they have slightly muted the colours to give the cover a very soft feel and I am ecstatic about the fact that they've used colour and not black, white, grey or location for the background. As I am with the choice of colour for the magazine title and the one (and only) headline. You know how I feel about busy covers. This one put its point across with three words.

"Vogue Italia is very Italian", that's what I constantly hear people say about the magazine. Something that, to me, is actually a really great thing because Italian style is the only one that has always managed to stay classic throughout decades yet it feels contemporary and relevant every season. Has Miuccia Prada not been one of the most forward-thinking designers in the world for decades now? I always love what Franca Sozzani does for her Vogue and if you include Jessica Alba in lacy masks, Giorgio Armani sequins and black feathers, well, I'm on board. The editorial, shot by Michelangelo di Battista, goes along an interview with Jessica, which I can't wait to read. I always giggle with her good sense of humour (I remember a particularly good one from Interview magazine) and I'm also constantly amazed at how real and down-to earth she seems. Give me a real woman with a Prada fur stole any day!

See the rest of the editorial here.

[Pictures: Vogue.it]

Let the supermodels return

It's funny how, over the last decade, celebrities have taken over the covers of fashion magazines in such a way that it strikes as a surprise when they use an über-famous model for the instead. Christy Turlington, my favourite model from the 90's, covers Vogue Italia's July issue in a look very much in line with the 50's inspiration for Prada's and Marc Jacobs' FW10 collections. The colours are beautiful but the cover is scarily autumnal for a July issue. I always feel like summer is the season we enjoy the least in terms of fashion because by the time we're happy with what we have and have got around combining the pieces it is too late and jackets need to be brought out.

If you're asking yourself why do I find this cover special, the answer is very simple. If you look about 20 years back, when the faces on the Vogue covers were those of supermodels (no celebrities then), you will also notice how the pictures always had neutral backgrounds that let the pictures stand out and they included very little writing. It always irritates me when Vogue spoils their beautiful covers with all the information that should instead go on the contents page. A cover is to be enjoyed, which is why I love Vogue Italia's cover, it is modern and classic, just like them.

What do you think of the cover writing? Do you mind it?
I'm off.

[Pictures: Vogue.it, coverbrowser.com]