UK Vogue August 2023 : Maya Jama by Steven Meisel

[Cocteau Stone]

A pretty gorgeous portrait and makes for a beautiful cover, although it's a bit too close and cropped. I don't like seeing that slither of a zipper in the bottom corner. Annoyingly placed and could have done without it.

The cover implies something more bombshell heavy so the previews are bit of a let down thus far. Edward's styling chops aren't really the same anymore too. Dunno what the thought process was for these looks so far with those hair choices. Still thrown off by the curve ball that is the Maya Jama/Meisel combination but it kind of works. And frankly this isn't the lowest of Meisel's low; those Anna Sui campaigns still exist, as does that awkward Timothee edit...

 

[Gary89]

Love Island host by Meisel on the cover of Vogue?

Maybe the rumours of Coleen Rooney for the September cover are true. It might even be a double cover month with Rebekah Vardy and the reader can pick the cover for what team they are on.

 

[vogue28]

Aside from the welcomed fact we've got ourselves a Steven Meisel-shot cover of British Vogue, what I love most about this is how unexpected it is! Upon first glance, I saw the hair and immediately thought Ashley Graham had scored the cover and then I saw a flash of Emma Raducanu. Never in a million thought we'd see Maya Jama on the cover - but I am 100% here for it!

The UK version of Love Island remains a guilty pleasure of mine.

 

[PowerDroid]

It's the August issue.... The stories inside are also dreadful, I had a sneak peek on IG.
I don't know, it feels like they don't care any more....

 

[Phuel]

^^^ They've stopped caring for a long while now.

The hair … it make her looks like she has receding hairline

LOL Can’t unsee this comb-over now… The fashion-poses-101 are hilarious if not tragic for a name like Meisel (…must be all the interns doing the work…). But that’s what’s become of Meisel when he isn’t working for Zara. Let that sink in: Mesiel for Zara in 2023 is far far far superior than Meisel for Vogue in 2023. I’m convinced even he must be in on the punking of Vogue LMAO

(Surprised many don’t know her from that voguing competition show where she was a producer, as well as a judge alongside Law Roach.)

 

[Deleted member 141523]

Googled what Love Island is. Looks a bit like some MTV shore stuff.

 

[blueorchid]

(Surprised many don’t know her from that voguing competition show where she was a producer, as well as a judge alongside Law Roach.)

Wasn’t that Jameela Jamil?

 

[RaisinBoy]

Guess its not allowed to say that Edward Enninful is such an old fashion person… his view on fashion and women is so dated.

 

[LastNight]

One of the only Meisel x British Vogue covers I don’t really like, something about it just doesn’t land for me. Can’t say I’m overly thrilled to get the issue - I have no real interest in Maya and the fact that she’s a curveball choice didn’t even excite me, my reaction was more like…. Oh? Ok.

I haven’t actually opened my July issue yet. I didn’t get the Miriam cover I wanted and the Rina cover they sent me is so drab that it’s just been sat on a side table all month. It’s not like I’ve had the expectation that at least there might be great content inside to make up for the dull cover.

I’m very ready for Edward to move on. He’s definitely delivered some stunning covers and it all started out so strong and full of hope, but the spark has long gone. Not that the next era seems like anything worth waiting for. I may just end my subscription with his last issue and, after nearly 15 years as a subscriber, that makes me quite sad to say.

 

[tigerrouge]

Did every subscriber receive the Rina cover? It feels like it, even though there were plenty of covers with Miriam on sale in my local shop.

Same as with Vanity Fair, I'll continue to subscribe for as long as it's inexpensive to do so (with the Christmas offers) but the issues do go straight into my ''read-then-recycle' pile.

 

[Deleted member 1957]

Love the cover it has that retro cropped vibe. The styling and hair in the ed would have been better coz she is very photogenic.

 

[LastNight]

I got my copy in the post - the cover is prettier in person, so I’ve warmed to it a little more since my previous post, but it’s still one of Meisel’s weakest offerings for the magazine.

I don’t have it in me to do a full review, but it’s roughly the same size as usual (oddly there’s no page number on the last page so I don’t know the exact count). There are more shots to the Meisel x Maya story, including a lovely one of her smiling. It’s very nice in print.

Other than that, there’s the Burberry shoot by Scott Trindle and the shoot with Anok in that leather jacket by Dan Martensen, both of which I think have already been posted in other threads. There’s also a 20pg studio shoot by Anthony Seklaoui, the Kit Connor feature and the Vogue World feature.

Basically it looks like every other British Vogue issue of recent times: Meisel studio shoot, a couple of reprints and an uneventful multi-girl studio shoot. Rinse and repeat.

 

[FashionMuseDior]

It's a very beautiful cover and I love the hair.

 

[crmsn]

With just 192 pages, it's also a thin August issue (though not as thin as the American edition that only has 98 pages).

 

[VogueGirl8910]

The portrait is very beautiful, reminds me to the covers of US Vogue from the 80's photographed by Avedon. The previews of the main edit are bland & disappointed.

 

[balmain1914]

What happened to Meisel these years? From VOgue italia to uk...his stuff are so disappointing

 

[carbon-made]

While I think Meisel's output has decrease in inventiveness throughout the years, especially after his semi-departure from VI, I feel this is very much a sign of the times. The era of groundbreaking editorials which explored topical themes is over. I see this every time I go through the Magazines section of this forum, which is now practically indistinguishable from the Ad section.

Meisel is just adapting to the market, he shots what he's asked. The fact that a semi-obscure Love Island presenter is on the cover of Vogue should be a good reminder. (and by the way, I think she's really a lovely and personable woman)

 

[Nimsay]

Best thing on the cover are those tasty Tiffany chains. LVMH really knocked it out of the park with the Hardware Tiffany line.

 

[WinstonH20]

While I think Meisel's output has decrease in inventiveness throughout the years, especially after his semi-departure from VI, I feel this is very much a sign of the times.

I completely agree with you, but without said inventiveness, what does Meisel have to offer in 2023 other than his name? His longevity as a photographer is down to not only his extraordinary understanding of fashion itself, but his versatility and inventiveness when it comes to photography. Sex, elegance, glamour, grunge, punk, minimalism etc, Meisel can and has done them all while drawing upon a vast well of references from cinema, fashion, music, news and popular culture at large, but in 2023 his work has become painfully formulaic. I know the argument is that he's done it all, so he gets a pass now, but when your whole legacy as a photographer is built on your extraordinary versatility, 'formulaic' is a death knell, especially considering that he is still the most expensive photographer in the industry!

The name 'Steven Meisel' is no longer enough to excite me in 2023 and as painful as it is to admit, there are photographers who can produce the work Meisel currently is, and for a lot cheaper too. Like you said though, this is also a sign of the times where art directors and editors are happy to coast on name recognition alone while delivering the bare minimum, it's just that a photographer like Steven, who still shows some spark here and there, can deliver more than he is in these current times, I just don't think he cares as much anymore. I can't fully blame him, but I also can't pretend that his name alone is enough for me to give him a pass anymore.

 

[tigerrouge]

It's like everything else in fashion these days - brands and names that are supposed to represent something above and beyond the mundane, but instead have been reduced to being labels slapped on subpar products, the level of which can be found anywhere now.