If you’ve been having withdrawals from your dose of fashion editorial images, don’t fret, the doctor is in. I hope you’ll forgive the delay, I assure you I have a good excuse – he’s 4 months old (and the other is 2 years old). So after months of sleepless nights (and endless diapers), I’ve recently found some respite in rounding up this selection of fashion editorial images from around the world. Inspiring, tongue-in-cheek and sometimes simply off (in the best sense of the word), here’s to a lighter, more serene 2016.
Two words came to mind while putting together this review : ‘strength’ and ‘discretion.’ They are words that echo strongly, and when mixed together at the right temperature, they can get you far. Take a look as model Barbara Fialho readies herself in this shot for ELLE Brazil’s January issue, shot by Gustavo Zylbersztajn. It all boils down to her perfect balance of swimsuit and poise, non ?
Or in Interview’s December 2015 issue, Mr. Demarchelier (the father, not the son) shoots Rianne van Rompaey with an asserted strength, as if getting her ready for lift-off in textural black and white tones.
Meanwhile, Maciek Kobielski photographs the Kloss (the model, not the machine) in WSJ’s December 2015 issue. She’ll certainly go far in that. But looking up into the sky to watch that magic can get a bit bright on the eyes, so follow the lead of lensman Beau Grealy in his image for Marie Claire US January.
And did I warn you about the wind? Hair beware, says Vogue US’s January issue, in these shots by Jamie Hawkesworth, or as illustrated on Kirsten Owen by Riccardo Vimercati in Vogue Ukraine December 2015.
Kai Z. Feng maintains a certain strength while going with the flow in this shot for ELLE UK’s February issue, while Yelena Yemchuk captures a celestial flow for Vogue Italy January.
Strong flows continue to dominate in Craig McDean’s images for W magazine’s latest issue, where the catwalk and the street converge. And in Steven Meisel’s shot for Vogue Italy January, it’s also nice to stop and observe the flow.
And now for discretion. French ELLE calls on the styles of some of the great original street photographers of the 1970s with this image by Cedric Buchet featuring Nadja Bender in the magazine’s October 2015 issue. Note to reader : discretion is possible when wearing a yellow dress.
In the latest issue of Vogue UK, models Damaris Goddrie and Frederikke Sofie give a lesson in dressing with discretion to us and to photographer Tyrone Lebon, while Alique shoots a smile that some may recognize, for Glamour Spain’s December issue (spoiler alert: hands down it’s Lara Stone. Pun intended).
Here comes another smile that requires no spoiler alert – that infamous gap belonging to Vanessa Paradis, captured by David Sims for Paris Vogue’s December/January issue.
Or perhaps an unrecognizable smile through an unexpected angle, and an unfortunate occupational hazard (remember to blot after applying lipstick!). But follow that up with a discreet protective plastic layering and I’d say you’re in the clear. At least, that is what happened in Numero China’s December 2015 issue, shot by duo Sofia Sanchez and Mauro Mongiello.
Not-so-discreet sensuality is the key in this shot by Will Davidson of Drake Burnette for the Fall/Winter issue of Exit magazine. And just in case this can be of service to you, Sunghee Kim demonstrates her version of a discreet exit strategy for that dull birthday party, lensed by Ed Singleton for W magazine’s December 2015 issue.
Those who master discretion know that stripes show a certain strength. They work best either pulled down over a body like Anna Ewers’, as seen by Alasdair McLellan for Vogue UK’s January issue, or better yet, getting the most memorable view from the sunroof of a car, as Ellen von Unwerth puts in our face in this image of Lindsay Lohan’s striped cheeks for Notofu’s latest issue.
So I feel the desire to conclude this press review with a moral to my ‘strength & discretion’ conundrum : be discreet about your cheeks, and may your smile be unencumbered (spoiler alert: Men, time to unleash the hidden powers of lipstick!).
To be continued…
@PatriciaNagy
