Vogue Italia May 2009 : Sasha Pivovarova by Steven Meisel

[surrealseven]

THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THOSE AWFUL MODEL CARDS, AND NOTHING WAS SECRETLY COVERED UP AS A MISTAKE , WOW

Covered up or not, honestly only Meisel himself knows. No one else will know

 

[Karen0193]

I like the cover, its very arabic and a bit weird looking but It is one of the best covers recently.

 

[masquerade]

THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THOSE AWFUL MODEL CARDS, AND NOTHING WAS SECRETLY COVERED UP AS A MISTAKE , WOW

Faith wasn't implying that it was covered up, simply that it looked like that.

Same with the modeling cards. You gotta admit that the theme, saturated colors, and set up are similar

 

[thoth]

I can't believe people seriously think this was inspired by Supreme's tacky show package.

Still kind of lame, though. Meisel isn't delivering lately. Not for VI anyway, I've only truly enjoyed maybe two or three of his stories in the last year. Maybe the time is coming...

 

[*ana*]

who is the art director who had the terrible idea of putting that floral pattern on the cover? the picture itself is beautiful (and i agree with whoever said it looks like sasha styled it herself - great to see her in VI again by the way), but the final result is a bit disappointing. the ed is good though.

 

[lamies022]

Some people need to take a chill pill and relax...
Anyways I think the cover is just fine and would definitely be better without the aggravating flower motif (it actually reminds me of those templates you use in Powerpoint presentations) and the main ed is better, especially the last shot, but although there is certainly a Moroccan vibe it isn't ambitious or luxurious enough so in that sense it's just pretty fashion photography.

 

[elsaskywalker]

Good Cover, and sooo good to see sasha! Love it

 

[BerlinRocks]

THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THOSE AWFUL MODEL CARDS,

I can't believe people seriously think this was inspired by Supreme's tacky show package.

I agree with both of you ...
To me, this has nothing to do with this package. The package was very cliché (and mostly linked to Moroccan Nights like they could be shown in an épopée movie) ...

Anyway ...

I don't know too why people are comparing this to Eliza's previous cover when obviously there's nothing to do with this. What's the common point btw a recession-style spread and a story which tells about a white woman on holidays in Morocco ?

I would have followed the few people here who complain about Meisel not using a 'minority' model ... But then again, it's a woman on VACATIONS in Morocco ! And though, it could sound very pathetic in an american magazine (vogue US Natalia in Morocco), it feels pretty natural, to me, in an european magazine as Morocco is a very common summer destination in Europe.
Meisel and unkwn stylist cast two arabian-looking male models ... And those boys could be the 'odalisque' slaves. Meisel pretty changed the usual roles (some european women more and more go to Africa to find some lovers).

About it being shot in a studio ... Well c'mone it's not like it's a plain studio shot. It looks more like an interior shot than a studio shot. And I don't understand why 'interior' story would be a problem ? Why would it better to shoot outside ? [Interior shot] is one interesting direction, imo and a change - compared to other north-african casual shots.

It looks like a book you could DIY after your vacations overhere.

Now, I don't think this is a great story and I do prefer the past month story ... But this one is far from being that bad and far from worthing all the bad critics I've read here and that I barely read somewhere else when bad and boring stories should get those critics !

And I don't know if this counts .... BUT Italia is currently having some sort immigration issues and a very harsch policy (and behaviours) with foreigners ... Maybe when you know that you can 'see' this story diffrently ...
Though I doubt there is something linked ....

 

[DJGroove]

Are daffodils particularly symbolic of anything Moroccan? I must research this, out of pure curiosity.

i believe daffodils originated in spain, southern france, portugal, northern morocco and then became widely spread around the world.
some species though can still be found only in morocco.
i don't know if there's really any symbolism here.. maybe

 

[Royal-Galliano]

when i saw the thread title i was all hyped up but then i saw the edit... and then the cover...

and thats it. im not gonna buy this. that odalisque-like shot with a bare bum is pretty vulgar to me, .

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh. such a waste.

 

[mikel]

I HAPPEN TO KNOW THAT IV DEMANDED AN LOCATION STORY, THEY WOULDN'T PAY FOR ONE , AND WOULD ONLY PAY FOR A ONE DAY STUDIO .I THINK HE DID A MARVELOUS STORY IN ONE DAY USING HIS OWN PICTURES FROM A TRIP IN MORROCO ....PLEASE

That's interesting. How do you know that?

 

[iluvjeisa]

Well. That's a sad state of affairs for VI. You'd think that they'd get exotic location shoots paid for once in a while....what a drag. Especially in these times....a little bit of escapism would hit the spot.

Actually, that is the type of info that makes this editorial sadly poetic....there's one of the best models of our time, photographed by the most famous fashion photographer, holding up a daffodil to add that "exotic" dimension...about what any hobby photographer has to resort to to get a few shadows in the right place...

 

[tigerrouge]

If that's true, it explains everything that seems wrong to me about that editorial.

 

[tocceve]

MAYBE HIS STILE IS TS TAKING BEAUTIFUL PICTURES OF BEAUTIFUL MODELS LYING DOWN ....I GUESS THAT'S TERRIBLE

By saying I don't think Meisel has a signature style I was actually meaning that I like that his shoots are always different (except for US Vogue). eventhough you can tell him apart from other big photographers.


Oh god I like Meisel too trust me but who are you the aggressive Meisel-police? Seriously calm down..he's not god.

 

[modelhistory]

That's interesting. How do you know that?

MY FRIEND USED TO WORK THERE , I JUST THINK PEOPLE SHOULD KNOW THE REALITY OF THE BUSINESS

 

[vogue28]

^I think many people at tFS understand the reality of this business.

I'm looking forward to seeing Eva's editorial. Sasha's doesn't excite me in anyway.

 

[BerlinRocks]

MY FRIEND USED TO WORK THERE , I JUST THINK PEOPLE SHOULD KNOW THE REALITY OF THE BUSINESS

jadabelle you should stop the capitals ...
seriously !
people would think you're being agressive and not that it's a typo style !

 

[yalil]

I dunno if all this new info helps, god knows what even struggling photographers have to go through, so I can't say oh poor Steven Meisel didnt get a million dollar budget, cryy.
Meisel's recent work is still overloaded with photoshop gimmicks that hide his art and models. Period. But if he hid the likes of Peaches and Eliza under 5 layers of color manipulation and giant art patterns, I wouldnt mind. But Sasha should be able to stand on her own.

 

[BerlinRocks]

by the way ...
don't know if this been said ...
fashion editor = Marie-Amélie Sauvé

 

[Mchunu]

MAYBE HIS STILE IS TS TAKING BEAUTIFUL PICTURES OF BEAUTIFUL MODELS LYING DOWN ....I GUESS THAT'S TERRIBLE

the only thing i can argue with of this post is this one thought. i definitely agree with Marcel 100%, despite the fact i am a very die hard Meisel fan. He doesn't have a distinguished, recognizable style & i think why most people have a problem with Meisel is because of how established he is; you would think you could recognize Meisel's work at first glance, with being the biggest photographer of the moment AND because everything he does is deemed genius. You know Meisel's work because you know Meisel is THE photographer of italian vogue, prada, etc., not because of how it was shot. The direction of his photography, the glamour and the models he uses all are factors one could play close attention to, to differentiate Meisel from a Mert & Marcus, I&V, Steven Klein etc. and vice versa... This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but definitely not a positive because most of the biggest fashion photographers right now don't have the most striking work.

Idk, but for me, the only fashion photog. working now who has the most distinguished work is Camilla Akrans.