Vanity Fair US & UK September 2010 : Lady Gaga By Nick Knight

[CrisGalaxy]

shes not really that pretty...

 

[MrFalconer]

True, but what she lacks in conventional good looks, she makes up for in fabulousness. I mean, look at SJP.

 

[WhitleyGilbert]

For all who were wondering about the nail polish. It's Deborah Lippmann's Waking Up In Vegas.

Info from the ALU blog: alllacqueredup.com/2010/08/lady-gagas-greige-nails-september-2010-vanity-fair.html#more-3411

 

[tigerrouge]

Profile a new designer or find out what Valentino is up to.

The latter was covered last month, with a line that still makes me smile: "All Valentino has ever wanted - at home as in his couture collections - is perfection."

Which brings me to the concept of this being the ‘style issue’ - no-one should view those words as a promise of there being any sort of take on the contemporary fashion world inside this issue. There are a few articles which look back at ‘fashionable’ figures, but they’re more in the flavour of Old Hollywood - although that’s what Vanity Fair does well, and I would rather read one specific feature about the inside life of some half-forgotten society beauty than yet another same-sounding empty magazine article about a much-hyped idiot of the moment.

The Preppy Handbook article is also included in this issue, which seems to confirm that the two editions are carrying the same editorial content, but have simply chosen to highlight different aspects of it on the cover, according to country.

What will vary are the adverts - I have the UK version, and this issue is no thicker than any other month, so ads are certainly not the reason to get it. Not an exhaustive list, but as a guide:

• inside cover is a four-page pull-out of Dior with Karlie
• four pages of Chanel
• that Vuitton values ad with Annie Leibovitz
• the same Gucci shots you’ll get in any magazine this month
• some Tom Ford (himself for Grey Vetiver and Freja for the fashion specs)
• two-page showings for most of the main brands (Prada, Bottega Veneta, Burberry, Hermes, Ralph Lauren, Bally)
• one-pages from Emporio Armani, Viv Westwood, Etro, DAKS and Temperley
• Calvin Klein Jeans ad with Lara is the ‘sitting on a bench with elastic legs’ shot
• back page is Patek Philippe watches with Filippa Hamilton

I must confess, I don’t like the cover. I have nothing against the colour grey, but for magazine that won’t be successfully competing on the newsstand in terms of its size or price, this is not an appealing palette, and I’m not the first in this thread to feel that way. And while Graydon long ago spoke about his strategy of reeling purchasers in with a soft cover story and then hoping that they’ll progress onto seeing the value of the rest of the content, it’s hard to see how a compulsive fan of Lady Gaga will spend any time reading about the machinations of American financiers.

But each issue sold is another tiny success for Vanity Fair, and it was certainly time the magazine took a look at Gaga, I just wish it wasn’t as weak as this cover story turned out to be. Given the amount of coverage she gets… I don’t follow her much, but I’ve still absorbed enough, that nothing in there was new to me. At the same time, I liked the tone of the article, that underneath the madness, this is a young woman who’s trying hard to be a good entertainer. Maybe because I’ve come to expect ever-increasing visual extravagance from Gaga, that it’s hard to appreciate a moment where someone takes a more simplistic look at her.

• Out To Lunch is business journalist Maria Bartiromo
• the letters page has people praising Sean Penn, and complaining there’s not enough about Canada in the contents
• a one-page look at Vuitton’s 1950s gowns on young actresses
• a one-page collage of what style blogs mention as autumn must-haves
• the Vanities girl is Gugu Mbatha-Raw
• the Q&A is with author Nicholas Sparks (The Notebook)
• and Arcade Fire get a one-page profile for their humanitarian efforts

There’s also a two-page shot of the four actresses starring in the upcoming Mob series Boardwalk Empire (Gretchen Mol, Paz de la Huerta, Kelly Macondald and Aleksa Palladino). Helen Mirren answers the Proust Questionnaire.

Christopher Hitchens’ contribution this issue is a short two page piece on the discovery of his cancer, but it’s probably the part I’ll remember. He likens the moment when he has to call the emergency services to “…a very gentle and firm deportation, taking me from the country of the well across the stark frontier that marks off the land of malady”.

James Wolcott takes a look at Obama’s reputation in terms of sound-bite summaries, and how similar criticisms were being made about Kennedy years ago. An article about the dullness of CNN is the very definition of the word. James Franco goes in search of Ginsberg. The Preppy Handbook - updated thirty years on - is the American equivalent of the Sloane Ranger Handbook that also came out in the 1980s. The Best-Dressed List can be seen on the website. Washington, We Have A Problem is about the true state of the West Wing. There’s a piece about the downfall of Kenneth Starr and the celebrities who allegedly lost money, which is written in a slightly more accessible style than a lot of Vanity Fair’s financial articles, (unlike the one a few pages later about Steve Rattner’s recent problems).

Right at the back of the magazine, the more fashion-oriented features start happening, and even then, the emphasis is on the social aspects - Cassini Royal is accompanied by shots of Oleg Cassini with 'his women', such as Grace Kelly and Jackie Kennedy, but the article centres on a family fall-out over his estate, and the lifestyle his children experienced.

Last but evidently not least, the Countess Jacqueline de Ribes gets a tribute that runs to nearly 14 pages, but then again, she has been around for a while - or as Vanity Fair phrases it, "chronicling de Ribes’s six decades of haut monde iconoclasm".

As a subscriber, this issue is business as usual, but if I were a casual purchaser getting it in the hope of seeing fashion content, I would be sorely disappointed.

 

[tigerrouge]

The thing I remember best from this issue, is that on one page, there’s a 1974 shot of David Bowie at Max’s Kansas City, with David Johanson - who looks a bit like a manly Freja (maxskansascity.com

 

[Miss Dalloway]

^

Last but evidently not least, the Countess Jacqueline de Ribes gets a tribute that runs to nearly 14 pages, but then again, she has been around for a while - or as Vanity Fair phrases it, "chronicling de Ribes’s six decades of haut monde iconoclasm".

Not a fan of much in this review (thanks as always), but i will buy this issue for this alone, de Ribes deserves a tribute like that, looking forward to it.

 

[tigerrouge]

It's only now that I've noticed how much I've mangled someone's name - "Kelly Macondald". I mean Kelly Macdonald of Trainspotting fame, and a slideshow of that shoot is here.

The Hitchens feature - Topic of Cancer - is here.

 

[justaguy]

Finally got my subscriber issue yesterday! What a total dissapointment! Couple of cool pics of Lady Gaga, but absolutely nothing exciting in this issue. Only saving grace are the great ads!!

 

[justaguy]

Lady Gaga's Cultural Revolution
Photo Nick Knight
Stylist Jessica Diehl
Text Lisa Robinson
Subject Stefani Germanotta



vanity fair

 

[justaguy]

The Last Queen of Paris
Text Amy Fine Collins
Subject Countess Jacqueline de Ribes


vanity fair

 

[justaguy]

2010 Best-Dressed List
Lettering Matt Owens


vanity fair

 

[justaguy]

Tommy Hilfiger F/W 10.11
Photo Craig McDean
Stylist Karl Templer
Models Luis Borges, Max Motta, Max Rogers, Noah Mills, Andre Douglas, Sam Way, Iselin Sterio, Jacquelyn Jablonski, Gracie Carvalho, Julia Hafstrom, Unknown


vanity fair

 

[justaguy]

Gap F/W 10.11
Photo Craig McDean
Stylist Karl Templer
Models Catherine McNeil, Lily Donaldson, Abbey Lee Kershaw., Karmen Pedaru, Jasmine Tookas, Anna Jagodzinska, Tao Okamoto


vanity fair

 

[justaguy]

St. John F/W 10.11
Photo Greg Kadel
Model Karen Elson


vanity fair

 

[justaguy]

Calvin Klein Jeans F/W 10.11
Photo Mert & Marcus
Models Lara Stone, Sid Ellisdon, AJ Abualrub


vanity fair

 

[justaguy]

Perry Ellis F/W 10.11
Photo Unknown
Model Tommy Dunn


vanity fair

 

[justaguy]

Versace F/W 10.11
Photo Mario Testino
Models Iselin Steiro, Anna Selezneva, Valerija Kelava


vanity fair

 

[justaguy]

Hugo Boss Boss F/W 10.11
Photo Peter Lindbergh
Models Natalia Vodianova, Lars Burmeister


vanity fair

 

[justaguy]

Bulgari F/W 10.11
Photo Mert & Marcus
Model Julianne Moore


vanity fair

 

[justaguy]

Burberry F/W 10.11
Photo Mario Testino
Models Nina Porter, Douglas Booth, Sebastian Brice, Thomas Penfound, Rosie Huntington Whiteley, Sam Rollins, Gwilym Gold, Rory Cottam, Samuel Fry


vanity fair