US Elle September 2023 : Zendaya by Steven Klein

[Zorka]

DOUBLE BLOOM
Photography: Brigitte Niedermair
Styling: Anastasia Barbieri
Hair: Shon Hyungsun Ju
Make-up: Peter Philips
Models: Ella Richards & Lucie de la Falaise



US Elle Digital Edition

 

[Zorka]

NIGHT MOVES
Photography: Ezra Petronio
Styling: Anastasia Barbieri
Hair: Stéphane Lancien
Make-up: Marion Robine
Model: Felice Nova Noordhoff



US Elle Digital Edition

 

[Zorka]

BODY SHOP
Photography: Scandebergs
Styling: Patti Wilson
Hair: Evanie Frausto
Make-up: Yumi Lee
Models: Diana Achan & Margo Whitely



US Elle Digital Edition

 

[Zorka]

Ladies & gentlemen, *THIS* is how you do a September issue in a time of absolute fashion drought!

 

[Lola701]

There’s something very refreshing about an issue of a magazine that gives you something else than runway looks over a white background.
Everything is not perfect, some things are actually off like Anna in that rendition of Emmanuelle Alt for VP but overall, it’s good.

For me there are 2 types of good fashion stories: when it’s about the pure styling (generally white background) and when it’s about a full story…And in that case, the clothes almost disappears.

And I love how the clothes almost disappears in Gallery Girl or Night Moves. It’s about a feeling or a vision of a woman.

Body Shop is great too.

Solid September Issue.

 

[GivenchyAddict]

^ Easy rider is the weakest editorial in this issue and too summery imo.

I really like gallery girl !

 

[Fiercification]

I don't love this issue but it's clearly better than anything else that September has delivered thus far.

Alex White has kind of lost it now for me, her work is just forgettable and doesn't make any impact and you can see that in her edit.

'Night Moves' is the best - I love a night time story and even though I find Felice beyond bland she looks very good here. No surprise that Anastasia smashed this concept; totally her in her element.

 

[Avonlea]

Disjointed issue. Each ed looks like it was taken from a different vogue edition, Gallery Girl - VI, Night Moves, Easy Rider - VP, Double Bloom - Vogue UK, Body Shop - Vogue China. The cover story could come from V magazine.

 

[GivenchyAddict]

Absolutely ! Even though the quality is there, I have a hard time to identify this magazine’s aesthetic or fashion POV. I blame White for that.

She did not surround herself with a steady group of creatives to come up with something purely for Elle US.

 

[Lola701]

Absolutely ! Even though the quality is there, I have a hard time to identify this magazine’s aesthetic or fashion POV. I blame White for that.

She did not surround herself with a steady group of creatives to come up with something purely for Elle US.

Is it White or Nina Garcia though? Because after all, she is the one who came from the team that established Elle Magazine. She is the one who is supposed to perpetuate the spirit of ELLE.

But at the same time, Elle is taking chance by trying to fill a void missing in magazines in a way that some French publications don’t.

The down side is that finding that perfect line of accessibility and elevated high fashion is tough and in the end, the magazine looks like a mash-up.

‘Maybe they are also missing a leading photographer… Nathaniel Goldberg could have been great for the magazine for example.

 

[Benn98]

Even though the quality is there, I have a hard time to identify this magazine’s aesthetic or fashion POV. I blame White for that.

It seems to me there's a push and pull between White and Gan in terms of aesthetics, and that's what causes the inconsistency.

The editorials are all great and moody enough for an autumn issue. It does look very Europeant down to the cast, so I'm wondering whether American readers will connect with the content, which again brings it back to the question - what is US Elle actually about, fashion-wise? They need to figure that out, and fast. Samira's Harper's Bazaar is already quite heavy and hard to digest.

 

[GivenchyAddict]

@Benn98 @Lola701

It may be Garcia, Gan and White all together but White has been quite a disappointment for me.

Unlike her, Gan is quite consistent on his vision of fashion and women in general. Look how good V is.

If he had that much input we should have seen more of the creatives he adores collaborate with.

If it is Nina who is the issue, White is still the one who has to execute her ideas for the magazine and she is not great at that.

White has the experience, the means and the publication to do something great and she has, so far, more misses than hits imo.

Where is the roster of closed photographers to create a distinctive imagery for Elle US ? Where is the mix of established contributors with new talents (who are easier to manoeuver) ?

For me, Elle US should have Lachlan Bailey, Chris Colls, I&V and maybe Bryan Liston.

Then stylists such as Barbieri (great choice), Jane How and others but not Patti (her approach has nothing to do with Elle US, she should stick to Vogue Japan) or Santissi (can be quickly boring).

 

[Lola701]

^^
Yes Patti Wilson is such an odd choice for Elle US…

‘It’s so interesting to look at Elle US versus the Europeans ones.
Obviously in France, ELLE has never been a direct competitor of Vogue even if the ELLE aesthetic trickled down to Vogue.

In the US, ELLE is the competitor of Vogue, even more since Bazaar has ceased to be incarnated by a strong voice (I hate to admit it but HB had more weight and relevance in the industry under Glenda…).

 

[Fiercification]

Since Samira refused to take the golden opportunity to bag more of the top photographers who have been largely shunned from Condé/US Vogue (with the exception of Leibovitz, who's not really strictly a fashion photographer like her peers), you would think Alex White for example would've used the opportunity to not merely call I&V over to work with Elle, but even McDean, Roversi or Jansson. I know they are not what they used to be but sometimes creatives, especially stylists/editors need to realise who they "vibe with" best.

Not every established top tier editor can work with new(er) photographers and make it work. I think McKenna and Katie Grand often can gel with newer talents but we've seen that Carine for example can't do it and it's pretty much the same case for Alex.

This is why I admire Templer so much. Even if it's a bit of a shame that he doesn't really work with newer photographers, he knows which teams work for him (very established photographers) and therefore the quality is always very high.

At any rate US Elle and Bazaar both need a stronger in house vision for their fashion pages, as you have all said but we can at least see from the September issues that the ability to still be independent and not have to share content globally (yet) has allowed Hearst to slowly ascend above Vogue and Condé.

 

[Scotty]

It does resemble Vogue Paris but to have 4 solid editorials. I'm shocked!

Nina Garcia, you are IN!

 

[caioherrero]

@Benn98 @Lola701

It may be Garcia, Gan and White all together but White has been quite a disappointment for me.

Unlike her, Gan is quite consistent on his vision of fashion and women in general. Look how good V is.

If he had that much input we should have seen more of the creatives he adores collaborate with.

If it is Nina who is the issue, White is still the one who has to execute her ideas for the magazine and she is not great at that.

White has the experience, the means and the publication to do something great and she has, so far, more misses than hits imo.

Where is the roster of closed photographers to create a distinctive imagery for Elle US ? Where is the mix of established contributors with new talents (who are easier to manoeuver) ?

For me, Elle US should have Lachlan Bailey, Chris Colls, I&V and maybe Bryan Liston.

Then stylists such as Barbieri (great choice), Jane How and others but not Patti (her approach has nothing to do with Elle US, she should stick to Vogue Japan) or Santissi (can be quickly boring).

Gan is responsible to choose the stylists and photographers

 

[Xone]

Honestly for me it's not a mashup, i remember US Elle from the 90's and you can get the same "mix and match" styles on one issue in fact this issue took me back to that time...it is true that they need to adopt a specific roaster of photographers and stylists who shape their style and fashion pages...in general i think they do a consistent job much better than HB for sure...