Vogue Portugal September 2018 : Crystal Renn by Branislav Simoncik

[AFWQ]

Jodé Santana (Artistic Director) post the picture in his IG and gave Felix credits as a model. Even Felix’s IG has pictures of him modelling.

I just check Jose Santana Instagram and doesn't have thing crediting or reference to Felix as a model:



Not even Vogue Portugal or Branislav.

Info I saw was on Alba IG:
20180905 031449

 

[Benn98]

..... there's nothing NEW under the sun.

Pictured you saying it with the same matter-of-fact cynicism as Meryl Streep in Doubt, lol......

I do think they've tried in a way to incorporate something new to it. I've not seen the full edit, but have hopes that they'll expand more on the sensuality shown on the cover and maybe less on the West Side Story angle. Yes, unfortunately for them it still looks very much like a copy and paste job, and as such the VI/Meisel/Prada comparisons would be inevitable, but at least we have a group of professionals who seem interested in providing a narrative beyond the ID-type youthquake or 'let's focus on the girl in the street' realism drivel which is everywhere right now. Yes, it's come to this now, Phuel. It's that redundant in fashion print that some of us are prepared to settle for mere rehashes.

Maybe this should have been the next eventual step for American Vogue. Because it's in a way very ageless, which I like. Where the indie-style almost exclusively caters to the younger reader.

 

[sixtdaily]

This would have been a lot more impactful had the team decided to go with just the first cover...

I just check Jose Santana Instagram and doesn't have thing crediting or reference to Felix as a model:

Not even Vogue Portugal or Branislav.

Info I saw was on Alba IG:
20180905 031449

Can you... get over it? Felix is first and foremost a model, just google him. He did say he was on set to assist Kaduri Elyashar and ended up modeling for the shoot as well, but it wouldnt be the first time a model does something else on set.

 

[niknak]

But clearly it IS Felix. This is gorgeous, and I think the second is my favorite.

 

[gbam]

a few pics from the main spread


instagram.com/besidecom_pr

 

[Les_Sucettes]

Yes, unfortunately for them it still looks very much like a copy and paste job, and as such the VI/Meisel/Prada comparisons would be inevitable, but at least we have a group of professionals who seem interested in providing a narrative beyond the ID-type youthquake or 'let's focus on the girl in the street' realism drivel which is everywhere right now. .

I do not think people are being fair here Ben, half of Meisel's career is also copy paste, he just happens to do it better than anyone else. So copy paste in fact that some of his work is just mere recreation and in the last years he seems to be less and less able to have an original start point, he has to work over some sort of reference, but lo and behold most people seem to be fine with. Not your case and mine most of times, but still I think we are all quite indulgent to his work . So i do not see why this cover, that is quite strong in itself, needs to be under some harsher light.

 

[matheus_s]

The only thing 'safe' in this magazine is the cover. the content is a horror! No interesting stuff, the paper is lousy and the art direction/layout is terrible!

 

[AFWQ]

source instagram elite lisbon

I am only thinking they crop wayyyyyyy too much? Also what is need of them putting logo on models face? It's already second this happens with this team...

So Vogue Portugal has 15 years. For 15 years (not counting this issue) the magazine has only had 8 portuguese models on their covers. Every year this magazine has 12 issues a year and could do more than cover... And promote more industry (and do it well, if isn't much to ask -- Crystal skirt is from Carlos Gil...)
Even Sara Sampaio only has 4 covers. And other models don't even have one and should, not only for being portuguese also for their work and achievements.

And this photo particularly I don't understand need of them of doing what did on the cover. They even put a Diogo Guerreiro, who has been doing lately fashion weeks on other side of photo. Don't get it.

 

[MagFan]

^She is lost in a full size photo. They did everything right cropping it

 

[fincher]

 

[Benn98]

A lot of interesting shots in the post above, yet completely unrelated. I'm a stickler for cohesive stories because the focus is on the theme.

 

[amby]

 

[MagFan]

^ these are three of five posters which comes with this issue

We know your Vogue Portugal is always an art piece in itself, but this time we took the concept a bit more literal: with your September issue, find one of these five posters with images taken from our cover fashion story with @crystalball1111, “West Side Story”. An issue to see, read - and frame. Out now. ♥️ Swipe for more.

instagram.com/vogueportugal

 

[dfl-001]

^ these are three of five posters which comes with this issue
instagram.com/vogueportugal

How many covers will front the magazine and how many will be posters?
It's like magazines don't do editorial content anymore, they just do covers.
So many of those covers look great; they have half a years worth finished.
Now what are they going to put in the magazine.

 

[TheVeed]

Vogue Italia 2004 - Gemma Ward

Definitely an homage to Meisel. I quite like it, it's respectful. It doesn't match Meisel but nothing will.

Love to see some glamour back.

As for featuring Portuguese models: 8 models in 15 years is ludicrous. This is a joke.

 

[YohjiAddict]

People are once again giving Branislav more credit than he deserves, he isn't even copying McQueen (which admittedly would have been a new trick for him) he's copying...you guessed it! Meisel! He did a "They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?" editorial YEARS before McQueen did that show. Adding insult to injury since we've all agreed this is a pastiche of references. Our collective memory isn't what it used to be!

Final veredict: Fine and nothing else. The first cover I don't even like, she looks far too greasy for my taste, the West Side Story glamour shots are more to my liking. Meisel's flawless storytelling actualy reveals how incoherent this whole thing is, there is a ton of different things going in Branislav story, yet the lack of a binding narrative takes the gravitas away. Is she dancing to death? Having an affair while rehearsing a community theather musical?

Vogue Italia March 1997: Fashion Marathon - Vogue.it

vogue.it

 

[thenewclassic]

Dang, how hard is it for some people to just give a compliment and keep it moving lol.

 

[Your Anchor]

wow Crystal's back! so glad to see her again.
this is probably the first Vogue Portugal cover i've ever like.
keep it up!

 

[Deleted member 130879]

People are once again giving Branislav more credit than he deserves, he isn't even copying McQueen (which admittedly would have been a new trick for him) he's copying...you guessed it! Meisel! He did a "They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?" editorial YEARS before McQueen did that show. Adding insult to injury since we've all agreed this is a pastiche of references. Our collective memory isn't what it used to be!

People do remember but they just stopped caring. If Off White gets major credit for pretty much blatantly copying other designers (from fashion to graphic), it was just a matter of time to start elevating copycat photographers too. Don't get me wrong! I do enjoy my tribute every once in a while but this is no tribute (also, people tend to admit it when things are a tribute, ya know? Haha).

I can pinpoint a few of Meisel's well known editorials here. Even the choice of Crystal (btw, I love her and she is indeed killing it here as she always do) is a complete Meisel move. I must admit it: Branislav is probably the best Meisel copycat out there nowadays. This cover/editorial isn't bad and it is probably my favourite Vogue Portugal cover to date. But it's a yawn. It plays with nostalgia. It is riding on Meisel's career. Give any fresh out of college photographer a good budget, a big team, connects and a pinterest account and he too would be able to reproduce Meisel's catalogue. Why would a (far from perfect) forgery of a Caravaggio be worth the same as a true Caravaggio?

I believe that things will just get worse from here. With new photographers presenting new ideas getting trashed all the time followed by "oh remember the Meisel/Testino/Weber/Walker/Ritts/whatever era?" comments, more and more photographers will get in the copycat wagon. Nostalgia sells and most of the photographers pursuing certain courses learn to reproduce "this" or "that" photography/light scheme anyway. The only thing stopping us from being inundated with them is the fact that you do need a big team and/or budget to reproduce Meisel or Walker. You do get a few Testino/Weber copycats every once in a while (the lower the budget, the easiest it is to copy) and will probably get more now that they were blacklisted. Remember all the Richardson copycats a few years ago? You couldn't open tumblr without 100 Richardsons popping up. I'm just happy Lindbergh is somehow out of this copycat race.

It's tragic and that's why I believe fashion photography is going through a crisis. And I don't see this ending well for creativity.

And I don't remember who said it but I would love to discuss the idea that Meisel is a copycat himself. I would love to get to know all these photographers that Meisel has copied throughout his career without no one noticing. (Not the biggest Meisel fan myself but wow).

 

[Les_Sucettes]

And I don't remember who said it but I would love to discuss the idea that Meisel is a copycat himself. I would love to get to know all these photographers that Meisel has copied throughout his career without no one noticing. (Not the biggest Meisel fan myself but wow).

Are you actually serious?!!!!!!! And no one noticed?! Ever heard of Avedon? (That must be rolling in his grave right this minute). Irving Penn, Antonio Lopez, Horst P. Horst, Slim Aarons etc etc? You do not even need to go that far, just need to pop to the Vogue Italia threads to see side by side comparisons. Sometimes he does not even bother to be "inspired", he straight copies all the elements that make the image. I find it amazing that are people in this forums that never heard of Meisel's legendary "homages'.In this last years is actually almost impossible to find a editorial from Meisel where anyone with a moderate knowledge of popular culture cannot find the source of his ideas, if not the original photographs themselves. Indeed people have incredibly short memories.