law and order: steven meisel

although i don't often delve into the personal - i've got to come clean. thanks to my friend kate, and a small business enterprise called netflix, i have developed an unsightly addiction to law and order: svu. at first i scoffed at kate's addiction, but then i discovered that EVERY season is an instant play on netflix and everything just sort of spiraled out of control. it's not even a guilty pleasure anymore. it's a disease.

so, because we should all come clean about what ails us, i'd like to thank steven meisel for "state of emergency" a sept. 2006 editorial from vogue italia that made me instantly think of svu when i saw fashion gone rogue's picture of the day today. as you all probably won't be putting yourself to sleep watching mariska hargitay, as detective olivia benson, fight new york city's most heinous sexual predators...consider this a guilty pleasure.

















images: cyanatrendland

a little bit of narcissism on a saturday morning

black hair, pale skin, red lips. just a few of my favorite things. 

vogue italia cover - feb 2010. 

photomagic

if you've experienced an actual editorial shoot, then you understand the power of a photographer. a pretty model, good styling, and a fabulous locale mean very little without some creativity behind the lens. again, searching through cool hunter (can you tell that i find a blog and then go craaazy looking through past posts? my endearing passion, we'll call it.), i was struck by robert jaso's vibrant and evocatively saturated fashion photography. discovering that he works primarily for italian vogue made complete sense, and i was again struck by a longing for the brilliance of all things european vogue. can you imagine if these were the pages we opened up to each month, rather than over-styled celebrities?

lady stone

oh lara stone...as the entirely stupid subject of her weight is brought up over and over again, she seems to defy it all by becoming increasingly transcendent. this editorial "style noir," shoot for the nov issue of vogue italia by paolo roversi is amazing and wonderful - so so chic. she's a brazen character, and i appreciate her more and more as she divulges more information about herself.

fashion copious

it's september

i absolutely love this poster, and can't wait to see the film when it wide releases on sept 11. apparently la wintour stood in line with the rest of the commonfolk during its ny premiere in this adorable little 'fit:


what a fierce, unyielding personality packed into such a spritely little figure.

...although, i'm starting to develop an increasing beef with us vogue. after perusing the sept vogue italia covers, and then perusing vogue uk at barnes and noble this afternoon (which has free wi-fi now...score!), i'm just so disappointed with the stagnant, non-conceptual, aged aesthetic that has become us vogue. anna wintour is such a brilliant mind, and her eye for design and fashion is truly impeccable...yet us vogue just doesn't seem to be moving forward. not in its layout, not in its editorials, and, for the love of god, not with its covers. i'm so tired of these celebrity beauty shots that continually grace each cover...and i don't think that it's just me being a 20-something, wanting some edge. i want fashion! i want models, and designers, and beautiful, styled coverage of fashion's key players. not jennifer aniston, not charlize theron. i'll, of course, always love vogue. it's vogue. it's the visual and literary staple of every ardent fashion lover, and it's an unwavering and legendary institution. i just wish that anna wintour would transfer some of the brilliant energy she's put into "the september issue," and her collaboration with fashion's night out into keeping vogue us fresh, exciting and new.

agree? disagree? let's start a revolution.

derelict

the new vogue italia cover, featuring sasha pivovarova and ash stymest, shot by steven meisel, is unbelievable. sometimes i wish anna wintour would take off her sunglasses, take a cue from her european contemporaries, and give us something more conceptual. i love charlize theron...as an actress. what she's doing on the fall cover of the september issue is still quite beyond me.

i love all the bold colors in this photo: sasha's eyemake is unbelievable, and the lettering of the vogue logo compliments the photo perfectly. sasha's scarf, the jewels on her fingerless glove, the orange border of ash's helmet...it's all so brilliantly and meticulously styled. i can't wait to see the actual editorial.

additional covers were shot, also (a trend, i'm seeing...)

anna jagodazinska

i love the all the character in this photo, a bit cheeky and wry. and anna's brocaded velvet gown is magnificent.

jamie bochert

just lovely. thanks, vogue italia.

modelinia

the stam, mannequin style

jessica stam/steven meisel -- vogue italia '04

it's a doll's life

i love skin which exudes a porcelain quality. perhaps it's just my love for my own alabaster skin, but there's something so pure, so exotice, so eye-catching about the majesty of flawless, glowing, white skin. abbey lee looks like a beautiful doll here...and the gold jumpsuit is freaking unbelievable. with her hair so perfectly coiffed, and her red lips and distant expression...it's breathtaking.

i also love that the editorial is called "neo romantics." it is romantic...yet the purity and etherealness of the romance make it slightly haunting.

vogue italia / starbucks and jane austen