UK Vogue July 2019 : Zoe Kravitz by Steven Meisel

[GivenchyHomme]

Gorgeous. Meisel does not play! He’s a slave to fashion and glamour. That’s why he’s still the best.

 

[tigerrouge]

There’s a real frustration today in Meisel’s work. Most of the time, it feels like his name is more there as a stamp of approval or just for the name-drop. It’s a pity that people don’t use him in his full capacity...

I feel he's at that stage in his career that Helmut Newton reached in the end - if people are willing to pay him big bucks to shoot their campaign, he'll turn up, take some pictures, and most importantly, give them the ability to use his name - but he won't go beyond that.

I mean, I imagine Meisel is an a$$hole in his own way, but he is also responsible for introducing me to power and beauty of fashion photography. His work with Linda was what led me into the world of magazines, and there were years when I lived for Vogue Italia. But maybe the magic has gone out of the printed page for him, same as it has for us. The old ways in which he worked with models has gone, the people he worked for... have gone.

 

[phungnam96]

Steven nails it as usual, but it becomes repetitive now: basic studio shoots with some B&W/Monochrome filters. I'm gonna pass it

 

[mepps]

Reading some of these comments about how stunning, gorgeous, and masterful this cover, and editorial are, is hilarious. Zoe is a beautiful woman, so it's hard to photograph her badly, but that cover is as basic as it gets.Literally anyone could have shot it, so I'm not really getting the genius of Meisel here. He phoned this in, just like he's been phoning it in for the last few years. Either he has no more stories to tell, or he's just not interested anymore. It happens to the best of them.

 

[tigerrouge]

That said, if it were that easy, magazines should be overflowing with people replacing the old guard, and we'd be living in a new era of photographers who are making us forget about all the old ones.

 

[Deleted member 141309]

I must agree with meeps. No idea why y'all are so obsessed with this. Looks very basic, literally nothing going on here, even by the latest Meisel standards. The laziest stuff he's produced in a while, very stiff.

 

[reesewu]

I was surprised to find out that she was wearing Saint Laurent for this cover. Like since when did Anthony Vaccarello design anything with such a brazen color? But then I remembered that ridiculous part of his F/W 2019 show when he presented a bunch of neon, glow-in-the-dark looks.

Kudos to Edward for putting Zoe in such an overlooked look and getting a color I’ve always felt strongly ambivalent about highlighted in a fresh, vibrant manner. Even though this could practically be achieved by any photographer (except for maybe Juergen Teller~) whose rate is, I bet, a lot less expensive than Meisel’s.

 

[slayage]

 

[tigerrouge]

The cover that no-one asked for. As a woman, nothing says "fashion" to me more than Edward putting his mate on the cover when he marries his third wife who's well younger than him.

 

[aracic]

 

[mikel]

Wow, talk about unnecessary.

 

[honeycombchild]

I don’t get why this is a thing at all. Who needed / wanted that other than Edward? Stand by your decisions and have one perfectly executed cover and believe in it.

 

[LastNight]

The Zoe cover is sublime; I love it. The bridal cover is wholly unnecessary and has the look of a supplement, definitely not a shot elevated enough for the cover. How will it work? Will both covers go to newsstand? Is one of them for subscribers? I’ll be furious if they do me dirty and deny me the Zoe cover in the post.

 

[RanThe]

I love both covers!!!!! I’m assuming the bridal cover will probably be only sold in major US cities and all of England.

 

[A.D.C.]

Reading some of these comments about how stunning, gorgeous, and masterful this cover, and editorial are, is hilarious. Zoe is a beautiful woman, so it's hard to photograph her badly, but that cover is as basic as it gets.Literally anyone could have shot it, so I'm not really getting the genius of Meisel here. He phoned this in, just like he's been phoning it in for the last few years. Either he has no more stories to tell, or he's just not interested anymore. It happens to the best of them.

Like clockwork, whenever there’s a cover that gets praise, I see this exact comment coming a mile away. It’s obvious no cover is going to satisfy absolutely everyone but clearly you’re in the minority.

Although your point is valid about it not being groundbreaking but it just works.

 

[333101]

If the subscribers get that bridal cover I'm rioting. Save your wedding deals for OK Magazine

 

[GinAndTonic]

If the subscribers get that bridal cover I'm rioting. Save your wedding deals for OK Magazine

Agree! I’ll be furious if I get the bridal one...

 

[Blayne266]

I absolutely love this cover, everything about it from the colour choices to Zoe herself. I do agree about Meisel not being challenged anymore, a studio shoot is very predictable but it still works!

I’m excited for the content, Edward has flourished this year so far! Roll on September.

 

[mepps]

Like clockwork, whenever there’s a cover that gets praise, I see this exact comment coming a mile away. It’s obvious no cover is going to satisfy absolutely everyone but clearly you’re in the minority.

Although your point is valid about it not being groundbreaking but it just works.

Ditto to yours.
The citizens of Meiselstan always come through.

 

[dfl-001]

I love a classic well executed beauty portrait, and that Zoë cover is as good as it gets.
The Idris cover is as bad as Zoë's cover is good.