L'Uomo Vogue November/December 2017 : Colin Firth, Rupert Everett & Paris Jackson

[Deleted member 141523]

It's a wrap

pressreader

 

[Deleted member 141523]

First cover: Colin Firth and Rupert Everett by Anton Corbijn, styled by Robert Rabensteiner.

Second cover: Paris Jackson by Francesco Carrozzini, styled by Rushka Bergman.

Pressreader

Personally I love both covers. Colin and Rupert are the perfect choice for this final note. And Paris looks stunning.

 

[Fontastic]

The main cover is perfect, and the Colin/Rupert photos are great. But the rest of the issue is such a let down.

Last month was their 50th anniversary (they like to pretend they debuted in the summer of 68, but I have the first issue and it's fall 1967 so...) and they let it pass without really acknowledging it, I was expecting something more for their last issue, some kind of celebration at least, with a look back (they would have easily filled pages without really having to create new content).

Oh, well. Farewell L'Uomo Vogue.

 

[gius]

I like the Church's ad...

 

[Benn98]

The guy with that hat is Rupert Everett??? Wow, ok. I don't know why I thought he would be in his late 40s now. I guess it's because I never really followed him nor his work.

This is such a weak way to bow down though. The cover is forgettable and depressing. L'uomo was their own worst enemy. I see the last IG post was 26 October, how did they plan on surviving if they didnt even bother updating their social media, which is a crucial part of longevity (like it or not.)

 

[gius]

Rupert is 58^

 

[Deleted member 141523]

Second cover:

 

[mepps]

Her again? At least she's not done up as vintage Madonna era this time.

 

[Deleted member 45369]

Her again? At least she's not done up as vintage Madonna era this time.

But that’s the only time she’s half interesting though.

 

[Phuel]

The guy with that hat is Rupert Everett??? Wow, ok. I don't know why I thought he would be in his late 40s now. I guess it's because I never really followed him nor his work.

This is such a weak way to bow down though. The cover is forgettable and depressing. L'uomo was their own worst enemy. I see the last IG post was 26 October, how did they plan on surviving if they didnt even bother updating their social media, which is a crucial part of longevity (like it or not.)

They already checked out long ago. You either go out all out with a roar and present your best work and burn bright knowing it’s the final time— or you just don’t care and fizzle away with forgettable, filler stories. They’ve been fizzling quietly away the last several issues leading up to them folding.

The end of a high fashion era ends without any attempt of bravado.

(Paris’ cover is nice though. Of all these celebrity children, she’s the most interesting and gorgeous. And this cover is strong with a masculine, Cuban vibe to her. Still a non-event in terms of the last cover... Sigh...)

 

[Benn98]

Cuban vibe to her....

I see that as well, but let's not say that aloud! Just now she'll consider herself Cuban instead of black.

Someone should start a 'Greatest Hits' thread with all their covers and highlight edits. It seems the magazine, despite the fact that I always deemed it irrelevant, does have a bit of a following on TFS.

 

[Phuel]

^^^ She is stunning in that Raf look. I love this brand of masculine tone on a gorgeous woman. And the color-palette is absolutely swoonworthy.

It’s bittersweet that it took a dead publication to present her in her strongest showing yet. (…Sigh…)

L’UOMO has been more irreverent than irrelevant up to a year ago. Last year’s Oct foldout cover with Jamie is still that capable of achieving gorgeous, dreamy cinematic heights … They’ve been around for 5 decades and this Paris cover— although nothing near a tidal wave of high fashion bliss, is still leagues ahead of all other men’s fashion publications. I mean, look at that lowest of all common denominators American GQ has been hustling for what seems like decades now… I’d kill off L’UOMO before it even comes close to that brand of insipid middle-America mall-ness.

 

[Benn98]

I’d kill off L’UOMO before it even comes close to that brand of insipid middle-America mall-ness.

Such a pathological maternal logic, lol, who knew you had it in you, Phuel!
I think they had the freedom to be irreverent as they could, what with being the spawn, or rather, male masculine counterpart to VI. In a way it naturally contrast against Anna's Mens Vogue which I found interesting if not a bit conforming. The content seemed good but I was always bothered by the logo and art direction, and I had doubts whether the L'uomo man actually existed or whether it was just Franca's brainchild (much like VI..... there are no 'VI women', after all, so the aestetic for me seemed more disposable and superficial.)

As for Paris, I'm still baffled by the CK partnership. Ive not seen her CK campaign yet, so I don't understand how it is that she's already doing ambassador press - this is her 2nd attempt after ID. Yet in her private time she literally looks the embodiment of those people you see selling crystal necklaces or crochet goods at the farmer's market (handmade, ovbviously), wearing tye-dye harem pants and leather sandals (literally.) That person is such an antidote to this androgynous fashionista. Imposter flashes of Kristen Stewart once again.

 

[Deleted member 141523]

They used to make beautiful eds for the magazine. But then, 10 years ago, Franca decided to take off all the fashion editorials beacause she though that skynny male models, that looks like children, can't sell. She keept the fashion for VI because woman loves fantasy. For this magazine she wanted the opossite for men, she put real people to show the clothes. It was a nice argument, but it lost the magic. If you look here http://teenagedirtstache.tumblr.com/, you can see that L'Uomo was a strong title. It's so sad to know that men's magazines are having all these issues. It's a cultural and economic matter.

 

[Phuel]

^^^ Even L’UOMO at their most lacklustre, do “real men” better than all other men’s mainstream publications.

The diminished dreammaking, fantastical otherworldly-worldbuilding concept isn’t just a faded ideal from men’s publications… women’s publications are also plagued with conservatism and normcore; Look at i-D, Another, Pop etc. It’s riddled with uninspired retroism and that brand of faux-amateur, flat-lighting and DIY-aesthetic. Look at the Rihanna Dazed covers: Why not just have Rihanna take some selfies— teach her the basics of an analogue and I’m sure she can produce stronger, rawer and more “real” images than Harley. It’s depressing that this is what HF is overwhelmed with these days. There’s nothing to aspire to anymore— cuz everything looks just like the commoners already do...

Such a pathological maternal logic, lol, who knew you had it in you, Phuel!

High fashion at its most potent naturally attracts the pathological, sinister, sadistic snobs in all of us LOL I wouldn’t be so drawn to HF if I wanted to put humanitarian or social work first— which unfortunately, so many want high fashion to all be about these days.

 

[Deleted member 141523]

I think that some photographers are good with the 'real' aesthetic, like Wolfgang Tillmans, David Sims and Glen Luchford in the 90's, Lindbergh and even Meisel (remember 'The Group' ed or the Grunge one for american Vogue?). It's true that fashion is loosing the magic and versatility. It's so sad

 

[Phuel]

^^^ Glen… He was the best at that brand of raw, and still slyly stylized, saturated seediness: His vision of Alessandro’s Gucci was exciting-- initially. Even Juergen and Terry were absolutely inspiring with their snapshot sensibilities back in the 90s and into the early-2000s; Then they just got so arrogantly lazy. All of them had a sense of masterful and inventive composition even when their images were extremely candid-looking: that’s the difference between HF imagery from these greats and the blandness of the new ones that are clearly of limited "talent". And their subjects were not just standing or laying there, like a dead fish, with poor and/or flat lighting.

The problem is a sense of reservation, very limited creativity and/or capabilities with these new photographers; like…. people such as Jamie and Collier are capable of interesting imagery— although they’re nowhere in the league of the former names. I love Collier’s imageries for the SL SS17 campaign, but they seem either unwilling to move beyond their signature aesthetics and are so repetitive, or that’s all they’ve really got because they’re not that interested in shooting HF. Their lack of interest/passion shows. Whereas Meisel may be doing grunge, but it’s still coming from an eye that loves HF. Or Herb Ritts— who’s never been quite into fashion anyways, always managed to produce imagery that were striking, even when the majority of his subjects were not blessed with model-proportions. This generation of photographers are just lessors.

L’UOMO may not have been as strong as they were creatively even going back several years ago, but they still kept that exclusive, HF dreamworld alive.

 

[Benn98]

Luchford's creativity is still unrivalled, especially right now. I'd go so far as to say that he's the only one who's versatile enough to innovate right now. I think the rest are all plagued by fatigue. It looks like McLellan and Sims are at least trying, though many may not like it, to show something new.

I think there's quite a melancholic strain to Hawkesworth's realism which I can appreciate at times. And when you couple that with his trademark dusky hues it looks very pleasing on the eye. Based on his few studio forays, I think he could expand if he'd get as much spotlight as the Weir/Schorr/Noni/Bird/Collins/Capitan bunch. Initially I didn't think much of this clique, I just knew their work didn't appeal to me because it all looked the same all the time, and that they disingenuously applied marketing epithets such as 'the female gaze' to it when in theory it was purely a late 90's take on realism. But now that they're mainstream it's impossible to disregard them. And a lot of photographers are being passed over in favour of them. Thomas Whiteside, Erik Madigan Heck. Do agree with Phuel, their vision is very limited in many ways. Hopefully the Charlotte Wales build-up will put an end to that and provide something stoic yet glossy. Out of the studio she's a actually quite good.

 

[Phuel]

^^^ These are uninspired times in HF. Even Terry at his best in the mid-90s and early-2000s is unrivalled compared to the lesser talents of these days…

For the 5 people that cared about L'UOMO's last issue. With a mere 124 pages, this is a wimpy, limpy end to a vision that shaped by dreams of high fashion. …It really does look as abandoned as it feels already. ...Sigh…

The good:
Arnold Valois in a Saint Laurent advertorial by Matthew Brooks. Dark and moody and oozes greasy sexiness.

Paris by Francesco Carrozzini with shades of Peter Lindbergh. Paris never looked so good. Surprisingly, the Cuban-vibe is nowhere to be seen, although men's suits really wear her well. Instead, it’s more grungy lost highway hitchhiker vibe.

Vincenzo Craw by Alberto Zanetti. Classic L’UOMO texture and richness. But all of that matters not, cuz he is a gorgeous man in lots of lush leather.

The bad bad bad:
People by Harry Carr. Tribute to Chavs.

Land Escape by Alberto Zanetti that features… OMG— Asians LOL (not asian models…)

Karaoke by Matt Lambert. Gucci Resort 2018 advertorial looks like a cheap booze ad.

Dilpo in Prada advertorial. Diplo with trashy Florida trailer-park hair standing around shirtless.