Here's a mention of some of the articles in this 410 pg issue.
4 pg look at 'fantasy' pictures from Vogue's archives, ranging from illustrations of fairies in 1939 to Marsha Hunt's giant afro of '69. Plus some Tim Walker images. All pictures are quite small.
3 pg feature on 'Miss V' which is Vogue's attempt at a JT Leroy-type persona, and no less irritating for being unreal.
2 pg of actresses and designers talking about their most treasured item.
3 pg feature where people customise a fan, including David Downton and Christopher Kane. The results are so disappointing you wish they'd given the task to their kids, who would have been messily and merrily inventive at it.
8 pg section where four writers each tell 2 pg 'fashion fairytales' about a mermaid wanting to wear shoes, a Nigerian magazine in trouble, a cursed bracelet, and Julette Greco's black dress. Short and sweet, I wish there was more space for concise fiction like this in women's magazines.
2 pg article where designer (now researcher) Helen Storey talks about using science in fashion.
3 pg of 'dream walls' where creatives list their inspirations.
3 pg memoir of the passionate relationship between Rana Kabbani and poet Mahmoud Darwish. A momentary antidote to all the frou-frou in this issue.
2 pg article where the owner of 'The White Company' desccribes her quest for domestic perfection.
3 pg feature where Sarah Harris wears haute couture as part of daily life.
10 pg fashion illustration editorial by Karl Lagerfeld - it's OK but I wish a proper illustrator had done it, not a man who dashes stuff off because he has six full-time careers to attend to. Sometimes his photographic/art output suffers from him doing so many things at once, because it can lack vibrancy.
6 pg jewellery editorial with paper cut-out backgrounds by artist Su Blackwell.
The Nick Knight editorial - the problem with showing so many amazing pieces together is that they all start to meld into a continuous stream of outlandishness, because they lack the counterpoint of being contrasted with more ordinary clothing.
The Tim Walker edit makes me smile, but it also means I'm treated to more of Sophie Dahl's writing. The girl can string a sentence together, and thanks to her surname, she's got the opportunities and is making the most of them. But that doesn't mean she can write in a way that keeps your attention on the page. It reminds me that being a good writer takes a lot more skill (and experience) than you imagine, and she's still got to work her way towards that point.
4 pg interview with set designer Shona Heath, who sounds like an all-round nice person.
4 pg feature about garden designer Sarah Price.
4 pg interview with director Dawn Shadforth, who has overseen a lot of the most iconic music videos in recent times, and is now moving into feature films. Again, sounds like a great woman.
6 pg series of floral portraits by David Bailey.
The beauty section opens with a focus on club make-up infiltrating high-street cosmetic ranges.
To be honest, I was a bit underwhelmed with the depth of the content, the sight of all the mad dresses distracts you from under-par quality of some of the rest of the content.
AND in the editor's letter, Shulman herself acknowledges the idea that it's 'Kate Moss again' and said that her original plans were for Kate to feature inside, but when they started shooting, the picture of her in the Dior dress seemed to make for a perfect cover.
