Vogue Netherlands October 2022 : Muna Mahamed by Casper van der Linden

[Petrus]

The rest of the eds look really good. Surprised (or rather shocked) with the cover choice.

 

[THD96]

The entire issue is laughable.

If you're going to do a Paris Issue, go all the way, hire Parisian stylists, they're the one who knows how to "sell" their city by heart. Don't waste your opportunity and presented something mediocre like this.

Why don't they save their budget and be mediocre in Amsterdam and leave Paris for the professional (M magazine)?

 

[FashionMuseDior]

I'm all for new talents but it's very evident how unexperienced the cover model is. Felice's and Hana's editorials are great.

 

[Phuel]

They really should have rethink about calling it “The Paris Issue”. It’s so… insecure.

I really enjoy Casper’s brand of spontaneity with an experienced eye for outdoor lighting. But Muna is not the right person for this style of fashion photography. Her face is too harsh for natural lighting and she’s way too inexperienced to know her best angles. She’s more ideal for in-studio shoots where a severely angular sensibility— almost a hyper-Cubist style, as is evident in the only shot of her that’s solid, in the B&W stylized pose, in-studio. Her casting seems such a desperate bid for a Vogue to prove how supportive they are of Black Muslim representation but ends up revealing that virtue-signalling is more important to them here than actual experience. It’s so desperate it’s embarrassing— like suburban White women making the extra effort to fawn over Black celebrities LOL

Their Vogue Living has always been stellar, with its strong reliance on outdoorsy, easygoing approach and aesthetic that, at its best, is superior a showcasing their signature of an effortless elegance, both in the models and their environments. At its best, all the fashion stories in this issue possesses that glow. That’s their identity, and along with the solid art direction. I hope they don’t lose it to gentrified reprints that will ultimately stripe their fashion and national identity— like what’s happened to Vogue Mexico.