Vogue Italia October 2025 : Sabrina Carpenter by Steven Meisel

[zacatecas570]

No doubt this is beautiful, but does always have to be black and white?

 

[tomtakesphotos]

Luigi and Iango have much better retouching.

why u lying

these look incredible

 

[Fiercification]

That's a beautiful cover, very much in the vein of Natalia's bronzed bombshell and Vittoria's Italian film star portraits. And then we get to the edit...and it's like Groundhog Day all over again.

I wish he'd stop shooting celebrities again. He just ends up shooting the same pop girlies (and Zoë Kravitz) over and over and the result is never what it could be if he were to shoot someone with gravitas, say Meryl Streep, Angela Bassett or even someone more omnipresent like dare I say Beyoncé (we know it won't happen for obvious reasons). He can't convince me that he really cares about them and if he's going to just shoot in front of the grey seamless from now on he should stick to working with models.

Happy to see Mary is getting paid for doing 0 work on set design here, get that cash!

 

[MModa]

That's a beautiful cover, very much in the vein of Natalia's bronzed bombshell and Vittoria's Italian film star portraits. And then we get to the edit...and it's like Groundhog Day all over again.

I wish he'd stop shooting celebrities again. He just ends up shooting the same pop girlies (and Zoë Kravitz) over and over and the result is never what it could be if he were to shoot someone with gravitas, say Meryl Streep, Angela Bassett or even someone more omnipresent like dare I say Beyoncé (we know it won't happen for obvious reasons). He can't convince me that he really cares about them and if he's going to just shoot in front of the grey seamless from now on he should stick to working with models.

Happy to see Mary is getting paid for doing 0 work on set design here, get that cash!

Personally, I think that if Meisel shot Meryl Streep again he would do it against a grey background in a studio in black and white.

 

[Fiercification]

^ You're probably right but my point was that the celebrity stories he's been shooting since Edward's UK Vogue tenure haven't said much and in those cases some kind of props, texture or location were seriously needed to add some intrigue to his pictures. And I think a lot of the problem is due to the figures he's been asked to or wanted to shoot. Only celebrities he actually cares about or models can carry these repetitive studio shoots.

 

[MModa]

^ You're probably right but my point was that the celebrity stories he's been shooting since Edward's UK Vogue tenure haven't said much and in those cases some kind of props, texture or location were seriously needed to add some intrigue to his pictures. And I think a lot of the problem is due to the figures he's been asked to or wanted to shoot. Only celebrities he actually cares about or models can carry these repetitive studio shoots.

I do agree that it is all repetitive but Meisel must like or care about Carpenter if he agreed to shoot her for the second time. The reason I write that is because he is very selective.

 

[aracic]

Repetitive maybe, but never redundant. Peter Lindbergh photographed mostly in black and white, because that was his style. Richard Avedon photographed mostly in black and white, with either light or dark studio backdrop, because that was his style. And classic portraiture, mostly in black and white, is the Steven Meisel signature. Cinematics and grand productions came and went. He produced some of the most memorable and incredible fashion stories of all time between 1997-2007, but what persisted in his portfolio are precisely the studio portraits he's been doing since the start. His New York studio was dubbed The Clinic, that's how essential the studio was to his career. And let's face it, the time for elaborate storytelling in fashion is gone, young photographers don't do it so why would you ever expect an established legend in his seventies to be doing something groundbreaking in this day and age? He's done his fair share of groundbreaking, and to have him still active in photography, producing beautifully styled and posed photographs that still stand strong amid the mediocrity of most other photographers is astounding. Sabrina looks fantastic, easily the best she's looked and that's solely on Meisel and his team. The cohesive/repetitive style of his recent work may not be for everybody, but man is it tiring to read the same old negativity here whenever his work comes up. If you don't like it, go look at Kendall and Gigi playing cowboys.

 

[WinstonH20]

Repetitive maybe, but never redundant. Peter Lindbergh photographed mostly in black and white, because that was his style. Richard Avedon photographed mostly in black and white, with either light or dark studio backdrop, because that was his style. And classic portraiture, mostly in black and white, is the Steven Meisel signature. Cinematics and grand productions came and went. He produced some of the most memorable and incredible fashion stories of all time between 1997-2007, but what persisted in his portfolio are precisely the studio portraits he's been doing since the start. His New York studio was dubbed The Clinic, that's how essential the studio was to his career. And let's face it, the time for elaborate storytelling in fashion is gone, young photographers don't do it so why would you ever expect an established legend in his seventies to be doing something groundbreaking in this day and age? He's done his fair share of groundbreaking, and to have him still active in photography, producing beautifully styled and posed photographs that still stand strong amid the mediocrity of most other photographers is astounding. Sabrina looks fantastic, easily the best she's looked and that's solely on Meisel and his team. The cohesive/repetitive style of his recent work may not be for everybody, but man is it tiring to read the same old negativity here whenever his work comes up. If you don't like it, go look at Kendall and Gigi playing cowboys.

It's interesting because I remember when Steven started out in the 1980s, people were quick to dismiss him as a second-rate Avedon imitator but in the decades since he proved them wrong with his longevity, wide scope of references and his ability to define what fashion photography looked like. And now in his late career, it's a full-circle moment because all I see when I look at his studio pictures from the last 8 years or so are second-rate Avedon imitations. It's true that the Avedon references have been sprinkled throughout his studio pictures over the decades but they were offset by the incredible cinematic works he did for Vogue Italia or the moody campaigns he did for Prada and Versace. I don't expect the groundbreaking work of the early 2000s, but it seems without these elaborate cinematic editorials, the 'Meisel style' in its essence is basically the greatest Avedon tribute in fashion history.

The difference is that Avedon was an artist whose work had more gravitas than Meisel's, even in his late career. Of course, Meisel has never shied away from being a commercial photographer first and foremost, but as a huge Meisel fan, it's disappointing to see a photographer of his calibre slip into the 'pre-lit studio shots of celebrities' stage of his career. And I know the argument is "well, the budget's not there for cinematic editorial work in 2025" and that's fine, Irving Penn never needed more than a canvas backdrop to create some of the most memorable images of his career, even well into his 80s. But, like Avedon, the difference is that Penn was an artist constantly motivated by a need to express himself through his work, even in fashion. I think Meisel's primary motivation these days is a paycheck, and he uses it to deliver the same pictures over and over again. As a fan, it's disappointing but to his credit, he's put in the work over the decades so he's earned the right to be lazy. I just miss the suprise factor that used to come with each new Meisel cover and editorial.

As for the editorial, Sabrina looks great. Sexy and in-control. A testament to Karl Templer's synergy with the whole team since she looked like a clown in Madonna drag with Ib Kamara for US Vogue earlier this year.

 

[Vision Ruan]

The cover looks like a photo Christina Aguilera did with a random photographer. I expect a more interesting, bold composition from meisel. And the ed was not impressive. He really likes to lay his models down these days! He used to do this once in a while and it works but now everytime?
And not everyone looks natural when they laugh, especially not under meisel's retouch!

 

[NakedAndAfraid]

I don't understand the enthusiasm. To me it looks like it was bought by the record company. I don't see her as a fashion girlie either, and this story isn't disproving that notion.

I would have preferred to see Paris Hilton, Ms Piggy, Tammy Slaton etc, anyone less calculated. There's nothing refreshing about this particular blond at this particular moment.

 

[oaklee91]

Wish there were more colored ones

 

[tomtakesphotos]

they are great

sorry its undeniable

they are timeless, they have gravitas, just beautiful images

 

[likeahurricane]

Sabrina Carpenter and “gravitas” don’t belong in the same sentence

 

[tomtakesphotos]

Sabrina Carpenter and “gravitas” don’t belong in the same sentence

no not at all but i think meisel took her there ..

 

[WAVES]

hate the letters being on the left side and that Sabrina’s close up isn’t centred.

it’s cute, the editorial is cute too. but just ‘cute’ for Vogue Italia feels underwhelming to me.

 

[Idyll]

The editing on the editorial images looks nuts. I like the cover but in the other images she hardly looks like herself and the airbrushing is on another level of insanity. Depressing.

 

[ivano]

She really elevated her looks since she left her previous music label. Along the music, her pictures and music videos post Disney took my atention. It's all about how good she looks, the glamorous dressing and make-up, the vintage allure from any era. I need to Google who made the pictures from her last albums, because I'm obsessed with the imagery behind. The art direction from her records could work as a fashion editorial. I don't remember someone that magnetic in recent times.

 

[likeahurricane]

No doubt this is beautiful, but does always have to be black and white?

Yes, because it's easier to hide retouching that way

This cover is reminding me of a SPECIFIC album cover from the 90s, does it remind anyone else of one too? I can't remember who the artist was, but if I saw it I would recognize it. I swear, it had that same font and colour scheme. It's on the tip of my tongue and it's bothering me so much. Someone who was about the level of All Saints or Robyn (in 1999), but it's not coming to me!!

When I look at the cover, I feel like I can hear this song

 

[90sfan]

Please retire darling

 

[Melancholybaby]

Yes, because it's easier to hide retouching that way

Meisel's retouching is like the Great Wall of China these days...it can be seen from outer space.