UK Harper’s Bazaar December 2018 : The 'Women of the Year' Issue

magsaddict · Oct 31, 2018

will there really be 15 covers? Kylie will get one, surely? she's never been on the cover of British HB before!

Benn98 · Oct 31, 2018

magsaddict said:
will there really be 15 covers? Kylie will get one, surely? she's never been on the cover of British HB before!

Nope, not 15. Only 5 newsstand covers. I expect Kylie will get one, which will put her ahead with fashion covers this year of you-know-who.

8eight · Oct 31, 2018

i dont think kylie has one...

vogue28 · Oct 31, 2018

Nicole Atieno has a cover, stylist Miranda Almond posted the cover on her Instagram stories earlier on... and it looked very nice, full-length shot in a grown and very quintessential British Harper's Bazaar.

tigerrouge · Oct 31, 2018

The only cover on offer in my store today was Keira's one. Masthead not glittery or foil. Free Leighton Denny nail varnish.

vogue28 · Oct 31, 2018

Florence Pugh by Josh Shinner:

Lola701 · Oct 31, 2018

What's going on with the Michael Kors invasion on the covers of Europeans magazines?
I feel like being the Chanel ambassador is Keira best role after all. Too much velvet. It's a pity they didn't opened the side zip to create more drama.

magsaddict · Oct 31, 2018

wait so Kylie really won't get the cover? but that would have meant lots of ~~gays~~ umm fans would have gone out and bought it! Seems like an opportunity missed.

Benn98 · Oct 31, 2018

Lola701 said:
What's going on with the Michael Kors invasion on the covers of Europeans magazines?

Tell me about it! It's nauseating. 3 x Michael Kors covers so far?? Overmuch. I've seen Nicole Atieno's cover as mentioned by @vogue28 and it looks set to be the best of the lot next to Gemma's. She's wearing a gorgeous red evening gown and the shot is definitely very much in the vein of UK Harper's. Dunno if that's Kors as well.

So no Kylie then. A bit gutted, but oh well. At least there'll be free nail varnish (hopefully in black???)

honeycombchild · Oct 31, 2018

Why the Micheal Kors? Cause that guy gonna advertising money to spennnnd. I imagine they’re all now also after the money that’ll be heading into Versace via him too. It’s all about the advertising.

Benn98 · Nov 1, 2018

Nicole Atieno by Richard Phibbs

Got anything else to say about Harper's lack of diversity, @Miss Dalloway ?

ink: Adut better pull out all the stunts.

vogue28 · Nov 1, 2018

Apparently this is (one of?) the subscribers covers, featuring Keira Knightley by Tom Craig:

JPineapple · Nov 5, 2018

The issue doesn't include Carine's editorial.

versustito · Nov 5, 2018

beautiful covers !

Benn98 · Nov 5, 2018

This is actually a very solid edition. I've been working my way through it all weekend. Had to get the Keira one, but I'd like to get and seal Nicole's one for my collection. Issue starts off with loads of blue chip campaigns which is an indication of this magazine's profitability. 8 Pages for Chanel, plus 3 editorial pages for their Resort coverage, because, obviously. 6 For Dior, 5 For Gucci, and 4 for Valentino, Celine, Louis Vuitton, rounded out by Prada (3), Kors (3), D&G and some others. Nothing from Givenchy despite the fact that Clare was selected as winner, and the fact that Givenchy is heavily used in editorials inside the mag.

But what instantly impress me is the festive mood which starts with the editors letter and ends with the closing page. The sparkly, romantic type of imagery and accents. Justine really did a great job here. She inadvertently revealed why the covers featured Kors so heavily (he was a key sponsor of the magazine's Woman of the Year awards.) After a hefty set of Resort Collections reporting, which obviously only featured the brands who took out huge pages, Armani unveils his moodboard for his A/W 2018/19 collection - the 80s power woman. I don't see it personally, maybe just the detailing?
The Style Guide (normally the UK edition's very first editorial which focus mostly on accessories) shows a gorgeous icy blonde styled in monochrome looks and understated jewels. It's very simple and to the point, yet immediately sets a festive tone for what's to come. Flip past pages of more accessories and jewellery (it's that time of the year!), but inbetween Arizona Muse pops up looking gorgeous in a jewellery campaign, and I realise how much I miss seeing her on covers. Squizz over my horoscope which sounds ominous, then it's time for the actual features.
Keira takes up 14 pages, dressed only in Chanel. I can't complain, she looks amazing in it. Besides, why should Pop and Another be the only ones who can shamelessly run advertorials under the guise of being indie? Back to Keira, she's a true Chanel woman. The photographer pushed more of that velvet cover look onto us, but I can't get behind it. Besides that, everything else looks stunning.
Kristin Scott Thomas' shoot actually surprised me due to it's heavy Leibovitz mood. Liked each and every one. Not much was needed with her though. In one of the highlighted quotes she even remarks 'It's your job to keep everyone engaged even when sitting still', which is very apt considering that's what her closing shot did.
Designer of the Year is Clare Waight Keller who I've no interest in whatsoever. As usual the copy is written by Justine, and one page features a dreamy b&w shot of Meghan down the isle. The rest of the images were mostly supplied by Givenchy, meaning no original content besides the writing.
Cameron Russell, Lily James and Kylie Minogue both got double pages each, and Cameron's and Lily's shots are outtakes from their covers earlier this year. While Kylie's looks to me like a reprint. Simon Emmett is credited as photographer, with no styling credits.
Gemma Atherton and Jenna Coleman both feature in shots which are very textbook Harper's. Looking chic in glamorous gowns.
There's a short but stunning set of images shot by Solve Sundsbo. Features Susie Cave, and while I've never been a fan of hers at all, it was interesting reading about how she dealt with her son's death. These Sundsbo images served as a bit of a reprieve from the glossiness of this issue. Yet they still aligned with the visual style.
I don't know how Justine settled on what's arguably the worst shot in Florence Pugh's edit, because the rest are all beautiful.

But the highlight of this issue is Nicole Atieno's story! Each and every shot is out of this world. So much presence, she moves around in those luxury pieces with majestic ease. And where the cover photographer failed to show velvet Chanel in a good way, the shot of Nicole in Schiaparelli more than makes up for it. And that closing shot of her running in a red Valentino number was equally memorable. I know someone like @Melancholybaby will say 'oh, it's just another lady of the manor type edit', but I think it's more than that. Most magazines tend to style black models in Nicole's fold in a very stereotypical clown-like way. There's always something outlandishly avant-garde going on, either gaudy clothing or gaudy makeup. Like the current British Vogue cover with Adut Akech or any of the indies, for instance. But this editorial, and the recent one with Grace Bol for The Edit, is trying to make a case that those models can be styled in an accessible way as well! Because there are women who look like them out there and they love a simple look and dress as much as the next girl.

I thought the absence of Erik Madigan Heck would mean the end for UK Harper's. But with this issue, they've proven that their aesthetic is theirs, and that it can be replicated by more than one photographer.

Benn98 · Nov 6, 2018

Black & White

Photographer: Lara Jade
Stylist: Florrie Thomas
Hair: Shukeel Murtaza
Makeup: Bea Sweet
Cast: Kylene Oprinsen