Lara Stone coversVogue Paris August 2011 by Inez & Vinoodh
First cover I actually love since Alt has taken over Vogue Paris and Lara is killing it…! She looks gorgeous and curvalicious. This cover is a good start for Emmanuelle Alt. It brings back the sexiness associated with the magazine.
Lara Stone by Inez Van Lamsweerde & Vinnodh Matadin for Vogue Paris August 2011.
VOGUE PARIS JUIN/JUILLET 2011
Au Secours!!!!! Has the budget been cut for Vogue Paris? Whom do I contact for a bail out? hmm… I wonder if the failing of IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Khan has something to do with the recession-related cost-cutting that has Vogue Paris recycling itself lately. The latest two issues of the magazine have had an uncanny resemblance from previous years. Were these indeed coincidences or is it fated that Vogue Paris will inevitably live its future in the past.
This is Emmanuelle Alt’s May issue of Vogue Paris with Kate Moss on the cover. Gee….let me think! I wonder where I have seen this tri-coloured magazine before? Oh, yeah!
There it is. The October 1997 Vogue Paris issue.
This time, Emmanuelle Alt copied (shot for shot) a facsimile of a 1989 Steven Meisel spread in Vogue Italia’s February 1989 shoot of Linda Evangelista, titled “Cuba.” Only to fail miserably! Sure somethings are meant to be borrowed (ok…stolen), but if you’re going to imitate, the least you can do is try to make your version better than the original.
Though, I must admit that the cover is visually scintillating, the styling’s incredible; and goddess Isabeli Fontana looks ravishingly gorgeous in her rôle de femme fatale in the arms of male model Clément Chabernaud as un dieu Grec (lensed by Mert & Marcus), one thing I can’t help notice is that Alt has fallen short of Carine’s self-proclaimed “irreverence” that led her to push boundaries and cross some moral lines. Alt has moved the fashion bible from porn-chic to tawdry chic. Carine‘s editing was hardcore sexy, vulgar and yet expensive, where now unfortunately the magazine has become too “shoddy” and has moved too far away from its emphasis. Conclusion: sadly disappointing!
Quite frankly, I find the collection of my 7 year old children’s novel Fancy Nancy book a lot more appealing. I wonder if there is a thick, french version?
Vogue Brazil May 2011 Cover | Kate Moss by Mario Testino
In a stark contrast to her Vogue Paris cover, in which she appears all dolled up in haute couture. This time, Kate has stripped it all bare for May’s Vogue Brazil, wearing only a pair of bracelets and showing off her tattoos. Photo by Mario Testino. Image via FashionGoneRogue.
KATE MOSS EN COUVERTURE DU VOGUE DE MAI
Kate Moss in Haute Couture – doesn’t get better than this!!! For her second édition de Vogue Paris, rocker-chic editrix Emmanuelle Alt is bringing back the haute glamour that personifies Vogue Paris and restoring it to the former Roitfeld’s glory. With its sublime cover and tricoloured background, Kate Moss looks phenomenal as she strikingly poses wearing Armani Privé, with five men’s hands reaching out and grabbing her. The super also dolled up in Elie Saab, Givenchy, Yves Saint Laurent, Dior, Chanel, Alexandre Vauthier, and newcomer Julien Fournie. Kate was lensed by Mert and Marcus Piggott in London. I must say that I am already falling in love. Vogue Paris, may 2011, in kiosk April 25th. (Vogue Paris, mai 2011, en kiosque le 25 Avril).
Kate is actually wearing…
This Armani Privé Spring/Summer 2011 on the cover of VP.
Harper’s Bazaar UK May 2011: Kate Moss
Kate Moss photographed by Solve Sundsbo for Harper’s Bazaar UK May 2011
Emmanuelle Alt Réadactrice en chef (son premier numéro pour le mois d’avril 2011, Vogue Paris n° 916)
At the end of December, decade-strong editor-in-chief of Vogue Paris, Carine Roitfeld, announced that she would be leaving one of the world’s most iconic magazines at the end of January (to concentrate on personal projects). The “resignation” was a surprise not only to me, and the fashion industry, but also to the general public.
Carine had been with Vogue for a very long time. I was crushed to first hear she was leaving, and devastated when the news was actually confirmed by Condé Nast International.
A few weeks later, President of Condé Nast France Xavier Romatet held a press conference saying that Emmanuelle Alt, presently the glossy’s fashion director, would take the helm on February 1. I was like “hooray!”, a fresh face for vogue!”. Emmanuelle Alt is a renowned and respected fashion stylist not just in France, but worldwide. She has worked as a fashion director for “Vogue” Paris with Carine Roitfeld starting with 2001. She previously worked for French “Elle” and other French publications, such as “20 Ans” in 1993 and “Mixte” in 1998, before going to “Vogue” Paris in 2000. Besides her job as fashion director at “Vogue”, Emmanuelle Alt also styled ad campaigns and runway shows for Balmain, Giuseppe Zanotti, Balenciaga and Isabel Marant.
Then, the next question was ‘What’s the Vogue Paris cover going to be like?’ Well, Emmanuele Alt amazed me when she picked la top model brésilienne Gisele Bündchen for the couverture of her first issue… I have to admit that the ex catwalk vixen looks her usual amazing self. The magazine looks very fresh and summery, but it leaves me quite cold and uninspired. I feel like it lacks something stronger. I don’t know if its the fonts that cheapens everything, the blank pose, the boring background, or the light and airy styling, which is a complete departure from Carine Roitfeld’s porn chic.
Out of nowhere, a little voice just whispered in my ear “ The Magazine is cute” AAAh!…cute. Perhaps a little too cute. Please don’t get me wrong. I do love the dress, looove Gisele, love the freshness and the nude make-up which purrfectly fits the season, but I just feel the cover doesn’t sit comfortably within the magazine’s standards. This is too cute. Vogue Paris isn’t known for being cute. As a matter of fact, while Carine was the editor of Vogue, she earned the reputation for being the woman who invented Porn chic. Under her reign, Vogue Paris has established itself as one of the most iconic magazines in the world with a constant display of overtly sexual-provoking imagery.
As a French Caribbean woman, Vogue Paris is my magazine. In fact, its the only fashion magazine that makes its way into my boudoir. Every now and then, I’d pick up a copy of Elle France (because it’s full of some really good recipes) or a copy of the British version of Harper’s Bazaar en route home from the coffee/tea shop. However, I must admit that lately I have been a prisoner to buying Harper’s Bazaar UK every month since the beginning of this year. Harper’s Bazaar UK has always been a pretty close second, and with l’irrésistible Kate Moss occasionally on the cover, I would describe Harper’s Bazaar UK as a powerful and passionate shopping magazine for women of the world. Alright! Moving on.
Getting our first look inside rocker-chic editrix Emmanuele Alt’s first issue.
“Eco-Chic” featuring Gisele Bundchen.
Sur la route de l’été‘ is Emmanuelle’s eco-chic debut featuring Gisele Bündchen. La bombshell Supermodel is photographed by iconic Néérlandais fashion photographer duo Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin. Gisele portrays a care-free traveller, hitchhiking through rolling green hills and ending up on stony picturesque beaches. Gisele wears designs by the likes of Michael Kors, Donna Karan and Roberto Cavalli which has also been styled by Emmanuele Alt.
BEAUTÉ: “CORPS MODÈLE” par Frédérique Verley et Lili Barbery-Coulon
‘Corps modèle’ Beauté styled by Géraldine Saglio, photographed by Andreas Sjodin is dedicated to cellulite, slimming creams and firming lotions.
“IMMACULÉE SÉDUCTION”: ANJA RUBIK
Model Anja Rubik in Yves Saint Laurent, Celine, Calvin Klein, and more in “Immaculée Séduction” Stylist Marie Chaix by Hans Feurer.
“GREEN GIRLS”: Sasha Pivovarova
Sasha Pivovarova. Shot by Hans Feuer. Styled by Marie Chaix.
“WANTED!” featuring Isabeli Fontana.
“Wanted”, a cinematic editorial styled by Emmanuelle and photographed by David Sims, showing a bela e a gostosa Isabeli Fontana (the beautiful and sexy Isabeli Fontana) as a cowboy-ish femme fatale from an old Western brandishing a gun and looking wild and dirty.
“L’heure Pure” featuring Snejana Onopka.
Snejana Onopka modeling some stuff (watches & rings). Shot by: Katja Rahlwes. Styled by: Géraldine Saglio.
“COUP D’ÉCLAT”: MALGOSIA BELA
Model Malgosia Bela in Miu Miu, Guess, and more. Stylist Veronique Didry. Photographer Josh Olins.
“Chase-ing Love” featuring ballet dancers Chase Finlay & Laura Love.
Finalement, Chase Finlay of the New York City Ballet and Laura Love twirling around in tulles. Photographed by Bruce Weber. Styled by Anastasia Barbieri.
Despite its flaws, Emmanuelle Alt’s first issue may not be a disappointment to others, and unlike porn-chic sexpert Carine Roitfeld’s issues, Emmanuelle’s was fresh and clean with a minute amount of flesh in display – too boring for my taste. Although some of the editorials could be improved, I enjoyed the overall magazine. Some of the topics were intriguing, but the articles, themselves, left me empty with a whole lot of nothing. I really feel like the effortless inaccessible haute glamour that personifies Vogue Paris is sadly lacking.
Voilà! this is my take on Emmanuelle Alt’s first issue, qu’en pensez vous?
