I like the shot of Scarlett that’s used in the cover actually, but the the layout is appalling. Florence’s solo cover is pretty and nice but nothing groundbreaking. But then this is Marie Claire, I don’t think anyone expects anything other than pretty and nice do they?
I detest collage covers in general, they are the one thing that can be guaranteed to wind me up, I think they're incredibly lazy and most magazines that put them out are utterly incapable of producing a good image with the technique. You might as well put a 12-year-old in charge of making the cover during one of those "bring your child to work" days. Back in the 90s, US Vogue did one and it was an embarrasment to the magazine. And I remember German Vogue produced a collage cover about models, instead of arranging a special group shot or something else worthwhile.
US Marie Claire Winter 2020 Marvellous Women! Photographer: Quentin Jones Stylist: Cher Coulter, Molly Dickson Hair: Declan Sheils, Danny Dimauro Makeup: Alex Babsky, Frankie Boyd Cast: Scarlett Johansson, Florence Pugh US Marie Claire Digital Edition
US Marie Claire Winter 2020 Tomorrow Comes Photographer: Tierney Gearon Set Designer: Griffin Stoddard Stylist: J. Errico Hair: Tetsuya Yamakata Makeup: Asama Matsuda Cast: Ling Tan US Marie Claire Digital Edition
US Marie Claire Winter 2020 Speaking Selena Photographer: Meg Young Stylist: Jill & Jordan Hair: Renato Campora Makeup: Jenna Kristina Cast: Christian Serratos US Marie Claire Digital Edition
US Marie Claire Winter 2020 Willow the Wise Photographer: Tyler Cole Cast: Willow Smith US Marie Claire Digital Edition
Agreed, certainly better than Scarlett's one which just looks so generic. Glamour under Cindy Leive! The editorial is of course lost. Not the strongest debut issue for an EIC, but I enjoyed some of the written content and I can actually still see potential for this magazine. Won't be as great as it was, but they have good writers on board and should work on the overall layout. The BLM article is interesting because it's so different from what we've seen over the past few months. It speaks about how the movement manifested very differently in certain countries across the globe, the UK, Australia, Brazil, France, Japan, South Africa, and Italy because their pain points are different. Sally Holmes would also need to work at defining her visual direction because I can't see anything right now. You have Scarlett on the cover when the focus of your issue is BLM, then there's Ling Tan's edit which is actually stunning but looks like a reprint, and Christian's UK Harper's reject. It's too all over the place at a time when it's all the more important to have a point of view. Also, enough with this quirky artwork and short blurbs. All magazines have them even VF, but they keep it to the bare minimum, not half of the issue! I know the cardinal rule of digital content is that it should be short and compressed because of people's attention span. But anyone buying a magazine would be prepared to put some time aside to really delve into it. She's clearly aware of that because the final edit isn't an 'object of desire' (usually some overpriced fashion victim fodder) or one of those one-page 'what I've learned' stories where celebrities dish out random 'life advice', but a crossword. Really?!? Don't get me wrong, I like crosswords, but they require time and mental focus to complete. So why does the other half of your magazine look like Instagram in print form? The IG crowd don't even have time to read an article let alone tackle a crossword.
Dumbfounded as to how that collage cover ever saw the light of day, when those two solo covers of Scarlett and Florence are par superior - particularly Scarlett's, which I find to be rather refreshing (despite it feeling more appropriate for summer as opposed to winter).
Jesus Christ, after a year like 2020, with every systematic issue beginning to be challenged, they decide to put two, bland blonde white women (who look creepily similar) on the cover with a tag line like ‘Will save the world’. HOW can an entire team of people so utterly tone deaf and completely blind to these choices?