Fashion icon Tom Ford, former Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent creative director and the guest artistic director of Vanity Fair's 2006 Hollywood portfolio, says of the sexy Annie Leibovitz cover shot of Keira Knightley, Scarlett Johansson, and Ford himself, "People won't believe me, but I did not want to be on the cover." Ford had envisioned a gorgeous female threesome, but when one of the young actresses demurred as the clothes started coming off, they were left with only two. "Three girls in a bed is a bedful of girls, but two girls in a bed are lesbians. At the end of the shoot, Annie asked me to slip into the picture as my contributor's photo," says Ford. Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter adds, "When I saw the shot of Keira and Scarlett, and Tom, I thought the cover worked better with the three of them."
The Hollywood Issue of Vanity Fair hits newsstands in New York and Los Angeles on February 8, and nationally on February 14.
"We didn't force anyone to take off their clothes," insists Ford. "In a couple of instances we had to ask them to put them back on! I've always said, and I mean it, that I find people better-looking without clothes than with clothes. I also did not want the portfolio to be about fashion, but rather to try to bring out some side of each subject's character," says the man who turned Gucci into a luxury powerhouse.
"There are two Hollywoods," says Ford, "the real-life Hollywood, where people go to work and do their jobs, and the mythical Hollywood, which is defined by the films and images you've seen." The portfolio addresses the latter, says Ford.
Of working with Ford, Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter says that "Tom was, from beginning to end, a gentleman and a wonderful collaborator. A perfectionist certainly. But funny, and entertaining, and always in good spirits. I can see why Tom has been so successful. He can focus his attention on something and hold it for a good spell. He was at all but six shoots for the portfolio, overseeing everything from location, clothes, and lighting to the position of a subject's hand."
"My main criteria in considering what individuals to include in the portfolio were 'Am I tired of seeing them, or do I want to see more of them?' and 'Are they part of the New Hollywood?'" says Ford. He considers this "one of those New Hollywood years," explaining that "the buzz isn't around the usual suspects." Ford names featured portfolio players such as Philip Seymour Hoffman, Heath Ledger, and Jake Gyllenhaal as being part of the New Hollywood.
The actors in the portfolio didn't always do what Ford wanted. He envisioned Eric Bana "in a Speedo, stretched out across the water with his body just floating, shot from above." Bana wasn't comfortable with that, but the resulting photo still smacks of L.A. fantasy. "I had a great time telling Graydon that I was photographing Harvey and Bob Weinstein wrestling nude in front of a fireplace like Alan Bates and Oliver Reed in Women in Love, which actually I think would have made a great picture," says Ford. "In the end we shot a powerful portrait of them both fully clothed."
Most of the subjects were eager to go along with Ford's visions (or fantasies), which include Peter Sarsgaard in Japanese bondage posing for Art Streiber; Jason Schwartzman alongside a nude model "in a contemporary take on a film still from The Graduate," says Ford; Taye Diggs as a centerfold; and Pamela Anderson and Mamie Van Doren in—what else?—a cleavage-baring shot. The portfolio's youngest member was dying to wear Chanel, Ford explains, so, in the ultimate game of dress-up, 12-year-old Dakota Fanning got styled just like an adult. Other stars in the portfolio include Reese Witherspoon, George Clooney, Sienna Miller, Viggo Mortensen, and Natalie Portman.
The Hollywood Issue of Vanity Fair hits newsstands in New York and Los Angeles on February 8, and nationally on February 14.
"We didn't force anyone to take off their clothes," insists Ford. "In a couple of instances we had to ask them to put them back on! I've always said, and I mean it, that I find people better-looking without clothes than with clothes. I also did not want the portfolio to be about fashion, but rather to try to bring out some side of each subject's character," says the man who turned Gucci into a luxury powerhouse.
"There are two Hollywoods," says Ford, "the real-life Hollywood, where people go to work and do their jobs, and the mythical Hollywood, which is defined by the films and images you've seen." The portfolio addresses the latter, says Ford.
Of working with Ford, Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter says that "Tom was, from beginning to end, a gentleman and a wonderful collaborator. A perfectionist certainly. But funny, and entertaining, and always in good spirits. I can see why Tom has been so successful. He can focus his attention on something and hold it for a good spell. He was at all but six shoots for the portfolio, overseeing everything from location, clothes, and lighting to the position of a subject's hand."
"My main criteria in considering what individuals to include in the portfolio were 'Am I tired of seeing them, or do I want to see more of them?' and 'Are they part of the New Hollywood?'" says Ford. He considers this "one of those New Hollywood years," explaining that "the buzz isn't around the usual suspects." Ford names featured portfolio players such as Philip Seymour Hoffman, Heath Ledger, and Jake Gyllenhaal as being part of the New Hollywood.
The actors in the portfolio didn't always do what Ford wanted. He envisioned Eric Bana "in a Speedo, stretched out across the water with his body just floating, shot from above." Bana wasn't comfortable with that, but the resulting photo still smacks of L.A. fantasy. "I had a great time telling Graydon that I was photographing Harvey and Bob Weinstein wrestling nude in front of a fireplace like Alan Bates and Oliver Reed in Women in Love, which actually I think would have made a great picture," says Ford. "In the end we shot a powerful portrait of them both fully clothed."
Most of the subjects were eager to go along with Ford's visions (or fantasies), which include Peter Sarsgaard in Japanese bondage posing for Art Streiber; Jason Schwartzman alongside a nude model "in a contemporary take on a film still from The Graduate," says Ford; Taye Diggs as a centerfold; and Pamela Anderson and Mamie Van Doren in—what else?—a cleavage-baring shot. The portfolio's youngest member was dying to wear Chanel, Ford explains, so, in the ultimate game of dress-up, 12-year-old Dakota Fanning got styled just like an adult. Other stars in the portfolio include Reese Witherspoon, George Clooney, Sienna Miller, Viggo Mortensen, and Natalie Portman.
Its all about selling sex now days.... There's designers out there that make beautiful dresses, they should have used them!
