US Vogue September 2024 : Blake Lively & Hugh Jackman by Baz Luhrmann

[Patricio]

Why am I not surprised that the second this woman gets given a new project, Anna will throw her a cover like that?

This is proof that directors need to stop trying to shoot fashion imagery or just still imagery full stop. You can't capture the stylistic touches evident in film/motion in a still. That's why whenever W does this blasted project with the directors every year, the best results are always collaborations between the film directors and fashion photographers, who shoot the final pictures.

As for Meisel, well my heart still kind of skips a beat when I see his name these days but the level of his output is often very disappointing and unexciting. I've realised that I only rate his current work when he works with Mary Howard, who can at least throw some texture into even the simplest of his pictures with some props or backdrops. Shame that this Vuitton editorial pales in comparison to anything produced in their August issue, like Malick Bodian's Chanel edit that Lulu also starred in. Particularly since he hasn't worked with Grace since 2016 IIRC.

Malick Bodian's Chanel edit is one of the best things that I have seen in years but I would have loved to see more pictures.

 

[Drusilla_]

who is even checking for Blake Lively in the year 2024??

Anna's attempt to make fetch happen for her was always irritating but now it's downright nauseating. I guess she got her 'buzz' aka controversy out of it but - the September cover?? what blackmail material does this chickadee have on Anna because this is officially ridiculous.

 

[kokobombon]

^isn't her new movie based on a worldwide book phenomenon? if there was a time to have her on the cover, this is it.

 

[Bertrando3]

I hate this with a passion my gosh it's so CHEAP CHEAAAAAAP

 

[Bertrando3]

I don't understand how some are so easily pleased by big hair and a big diamond necklace. I mean, sure... it's glamour in the way a child's beauty pageant or a drag show might be considered glamorous... true glamour? The type that Vogue used to offer? This ain't it.

THISSSSS THIS SHOULD BE FRAMED IN EVERY PEOPLE'S HOUSE for the people who work in high fashion in 2024 !!!!!!! Vogue 2024 is nowhere near Vogue's golden era 15-20 years ago lol.

 

[Drusilla_]

^if 'movie based on a worldwide book phenomenon' was enough for a Vogue September cover, Emma Watson, Kristen Stewart and Dakota Johnson should have been on it years ago

I even understand Sienna Miller's frequent cover presence for 00s Vogue better than this - hated her, but had to admit she was actually relevant to fashion because she had an influence on how girls dressed that decade. Blake is just tacky - it doesn't matter what she wears, she always makes all those high fashion clothes look like they're from Bebe or something i.e. cheap and garish.

 

[guimon]

I don't get the hate towards Blake, didn't know she was so hated here, lol. I think she's great!

Anyways, the cover is beautiful and Blake looks great. I loved that the added Hugh, what a good looking man. And as tacky as it is, I also like the ed, at least there's a story, it feels like Vogue US. For a September issue is obviously weak, but it's not like we were expecting much these days anyways.

 

[Urban Stylin]

I even understand Sienna Miller's frequent cover presence for 00s Vogue better than this - hated her, but had to admit she was actually relevant to fashion because she had an influence on how girls dressed that decade. Blake is just tacky - it doesn't matter what she wears, she always makes all those high fashion clothes look like they're from Bebe or something i.e. cheap and garish.

Serena was a fashion icon for many and Blake and her team have maintained their industry connections and imo she has more of an effortless girl next door appeal that many can connect with, I don't see anything cheap about her red carpet appearances she does actually give off the opposite, more 'American old money' with the effortless hair and vibe combined with the high fashion.

vogue

 

[Drusilla_]

^nothing about a tight bright blue dress, high heels and full hair and makeup reads 'effortless' or 'old money' to me unless it's from the pov of a Love Island contestant.

 

[blueorchid]

^ she doesn’t even have a (nice) pedicure in that photo, what sort of old money would ever…

^if 'movie based on a worldwide book phenomenon' was enough for a Vogue September cover, Emma Watson, Kristen Stewart and Dakota Johnson should have been on it years ago

But were their movies perfectly timed with the September issue!? 🤣

 

[Drusilla_]

it has to be blackmail or senility, I thought Anna was at least savvy on the business front? does she want to avoid actually selling magazine copies or did she not know the stats from a decade ago saying Blake was one of the worst-selling Vogue cover subjects...

 

[Patricio]

I never support the idea of celebrities on Vogue and I didn't care about them. I just want to see the editorials of fashion and in the recent years they are a bit disappointed too. I just dream to watch models again on the covers like 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s and in some cases 90s.

 

[KoV]

who is even checking for Blake Lively in the year 2024??

Anna's attempt to make fetch happen for her was always irritating but now it's downright nauseating. I guess she got her 'buzz' aka controversy out of it but - the September cover?? what blackmail material does this chickadee have on Anna because this is officially ridiculous.

I don't think those cherry-picked stats from 13-14 years ago tell the full story. June issues are always among the lowest selling of the year (especially back when there were 12 issues a year) so Blake's June cover being the second-worst seller of the year was hardly surprising. A Gaga September cover being the top-selling issue of the year, as the article highlights, may have more to do with September and less to do with Gaga. It's hardly an exact science. The same article also mentions Blake's Allure cover from October of the prior year, which was the top-selling issue of the year.

I don't particularly care for her, but she is relevant and it's been over a decade since she had a Vogue cover. She's in the two top movies in the country (globally too, I think) right now. Earned or not, her marriage and friendships also help put her in the zeitgeist. She rarely makes movies but several of them have been modest hits. She's always in the conversation around the Met Gala. And to a segment of the population, she is something of an icon. I know, I know. The dreaded word. But she (as Serena, certainly, but also as herself) is an archetype in the culture. Emma Watson, Dakota Johnson, and Kirsten Stewart certainly have milked starring in adaptations of already popular books into many magazine covers and fashion brand endorsement deals. That's just how it works.

 

[Drusilla_]

^that's still putting the bar below sea level but it does illustrate how far Vogue's own standards have fallen.

For a September Vogue celebrity cover, you'd expect Taylor Swift (or someone relevant in their own right), not 'friend of'.

 

[Ribs666]

what is crazy is that we are expected to agree she is the “last movie star” … movie stars supposed to be in good movies, no!?

 

[JPineapple]

This cover is not aging well: the movie promotion is a dissaster thanks to her and her team

 

[KoV]

I don’t even like her as an actress or personality but the online ganging up on Lively around this is insane to me. The guy she’s supposedly beefing with hired Johnny Depp’s PR team to represent him, so no surprise the narrative has quickly turned against her despite no one really knowing anything. Reminiscent of the drama with Olivia Wilde and Florence Pugh from a year or two ago. People desperately need to get a hobby and touch grass in the process. And that goes for me too, even being aware of this haha.

That said, I think the drama/controversy has only helped the movie. It was tracking for a $15m dollar opening weekend a few weeks ago and wound up at $50m instead.

 

[blueorchid]

… movie stars supposed to be in good movies, no!?

Unfortunately, no... I don't think good movies have anything to do with being a movie star, going back to the 1920s.

 

[tigerrouge]

Coming from the Elle China thread, it seems like many September covers have reverted to trying to show glamour.

I don't know whether this trend will continue with the September covers we've yet to see - but look at UK Vogue, Italian Vogue, this Vogue - gone are the slapdash or stripped down messy sets, in favour of looking more 'done'.

Now, that doesn't mean these cover stories are doing it well - as with all themes, you can do something generic with it, or you can make an effort to elevate it - but 'glamour' no longer seems to be a dirty word in the magazine world.

Next they'll be rediscovering sex appeal in fashion photography, and acting as if they've invented it.

 

[Drusilla_]

I don’t even like her as an actress or personality but the online ganging up on Lively around this is insane to me. The guy she’s supposedly beefing with hired Johnny Depp’s PR team to represent him, so no surprise the narrative has quickly turned against her despite no one really knowing anything. Reminiscent of the drama with Olivia Wilde and Florence Pugh from a year or two ago. People desperately need to get a hobby and touch grass in the process. And that goes for me too, even being aware of this haha.

That said, I think the drama/controversy has only helped the movie. It was tracking for a $15m dollar opening weekend a few weeks ago and wound up at $50m instead.

I literally have no idea what you're even talking about, I just think she has no style and is not relevant enough to merit a September Vogue cover even in these days of fallen standards. Pretty much everyone has just been the her?? dot gif over the choice of her for a September Vogue US cover in the year 2024, acting like she's Amber Heard mk. II over that is a bit off base.

I mean, I don't like Taylor Swift or Kim Kardashian as musicians/personalities either but I'd never question their legitimacy as Vogue cover stars for a major issue because they're actually relevant and their bar for it is a little higher than a $50 million random romcom released in August.