Cover Try

This is UK ELLE’s December cover of Kate Hudson and it’s so good! The beautiful S shape of her arms and body is so aesthetically pleasing. Her skin looks great but not over photoshopped and I love the large black eyeliner flick. It’s great seeing an actress strike a more modelesque pose, really using the angles. I also like how unstyled it is, although I think I would have put a cocktail ring on the right index finger.

In contrast American Elle’s December cover of SJP is rather average. A bland pose with too  much beige as a colour tone. The smile looks slightly forced and there is far too much script, giving it a cluttered look.  UK 1-0 USA!

Cover Try

This is Natalie Portman’s December cover for V magazine photographed by Mario Testino, styled by Clare Richardson, and I really like it. Her expression is intriguingly ambivalent and Danny Zucko would be proud of the quiff and the attitude. I like the dark eye make-up: it looks to be dark brown rather than the black shade typically used and the heavy brow looks great. It isn’t very Christmassy but then I don’t think it needs to be.

Source: Popcrunch

Fireworks

Remember, remember, the 5th of November, Gunpowder, Treason and Plot! For those of you don’t know, Guy Fawkes Day is when we celebrate with fireworks a failed attempt at blowing up Parliament 300 years ago. I am pleased with how the photos have come out; I was really suprised when I found that my Canon G10 had a specific fireworks setting.

My Girl Lollipop

Cover Try

It pains me a little to write this Cover Try of Harper’s Bazaar, because I like this picture but I just wish it wasn’t Victoria Beckham. So I’m going to look at the image first pretending that it’s not her and then I’m going to remember my dislike! The December issue is another important one for a magazine; as a January birthday girl I am always very sad about how thin January issues are because they’ve used all the good stuff in the December issue. I like the composition of this picture, the black and white is lovely and strong and I think the veil looks beautiful.  Why is it that a veil can make women look so elegant and classic…maybe just because it hides the sins of red wine or perhaps because it actually gives a softness to the face while also letting us have intriguing glimpses of what lies beneath? Ok, but now here is where I remember it’s Victoria Beckham: I’m really not loving the angle on her nose and I don’t think she should be on the cover! There I said it. But for me it’s true; she is no longer ‘famous’ for her singing, she’s now trying to be a ‘serious’ designer. Well, I haven’t seen Luella, Alice Temperley or Roksanda Ilincic on a cover of a fashion magazine.  What is VB selling or promoting except herself, a common interest story? More Hello magazine than Harpers. For me it is not a good enough reason for a prominent front cover.

Source: Catwalkqueen.tv

Classic mixed with Contemporary

I went to Somerset House this week to see not one but two exhibitions. The first was Norman Parkinson: A Very British Glamour. An absolute legend in fashion photography, his images are arresting and beautiful. His portraits were so innovative at the time for his use of location, movement and unusual poses, yet despite the fact that they started a new trend they retain their freshness and appeal for now.  They are elegant and sophisticated, revelling in the pure luxuries of fashion.  I loved them.

Source: NormanParkinson.com

The other exhibition was SHOWstudio: Fashion Revolution.  This is Nick Knight’s continuing online examination of the fashion industry. It is in the lowest floor at Somerset House which I think is a slightly awkward space, with a thin corridor and a small area before you have to walk upstairs to the main gallery. It was interesting and if you’ve never looked at SHOWstudio before you get a really good sense of what Nick Knight is trying to do. Some of it is abit weird and I can’t say that I loved all of it. One highlight was a dinner party table filmed from above with a camera on each setting, recording the movement as food came and went, people’s hands appeared and disappeared etc.  As you moved around the table the audio changed depending on which of the fashionable guests you were directly behind. Another was towards the end, where patterns from John Galliano, Yohji Yamamoto, Gareth Pugh and Martin Margeila had been downloaded and made up – a very modern idea and a good one too. Dressmaking from patterns, especially in these credit crunch times, has become much more popular, you get to chose your fabric and make something unique. I also enjoyed the voice messages left by models such as Lilly Donaldson, Karen Elson and Lily Cole as they went about their everyday professional lives all over the world.