Sports Illustrated has a new cover girl, but Kate Upton hasn’t met with approval from everybody…
Kate Upton is the new 19-year-old covergirl for the Sports Illustrated 2012 swimsuit issue.
However, she’s not being universally embraced.
When the cover was leaked early on the internet – much to Sports Illustrated’s annoyance – commentators split sharply about whether Upton is the right fit for the coveted cover spot
. The argument for Upton? She’s ‘naturally curvy’, a size 2 instead of a 00, and so is a positive role model for women, who often feel alienated by Sports Illustrated’s taste.
The protests against her? Upton is different from previous Illustrated cover girls in that she’s commercial, not couture, and has relatively little experience. At 19, her only major campaign has been Guess, while her predecessor Irina Shayk had Armani and Lacoste campaigns under her belt before she got the Swimsuit Issue cover.
She also has a ‘girl next door’ look, as opposed to the Russian cheekbones-and-prominent-bones look which is currently in vogue in fashion.
Victoria’s Secret casting agent Sophia Neophitou has said they would ‘never’ hire Upton, calling her ‘a footballer’s wife with too-blonde hair and that kind of face that anybody with money could go out and buy.’
The other major controversy about the cover? The size of the swimsuit. Upton’s bikini is barely there, more skimpy than in many previous issues, enraging female commentators who say she’s representing an unrealistic body.
Upton herself says she is very happy with the shoot and has no complaints. It will be interesting to see what Sports Illustrated does next year in the face of the criticism.
What do you think of the cover? Image: Upton on the Swimsuit Issue cover.
One of the most influential photographers in fashion history has passed away.
Lillian Bassman, who was 94, has been given a full-page obituary in the New York Times, an honour reserved for only the elite in American society.
She was at her peak in the 40s, 50s and 60s, where she took intimately styled pictures of models and actresses and developed revolutionary techniques in photography development.
If you’ve ever admired a picture of Suzy Parker, Barbara Mullen or Dovima from those heady years, chances are that it was either taken by Richard Avedon or Bassman, who dominated the fashion landscape.
She defined the advertising and fashion imagery of the period, and was one of the first female fashion photographers, paving the way for people like Annie Liebowitz.
John Galliano has said her photography was one of his biggest inspirations, and she’s commonly acknowledged to have turned fashion photographs into art – although that didn’t earn her much praise in the beginning.
“I didn’t bring you to Paris to make art, I brought you here to do the buttons and bows,” legendary editor Carmel Snow apparently yelled at Bassman during a shoot in the 50s – but Bassman held her ground.
As with any fairytale, there was a period of long estrangement, where she hid most of her negatives and retired in disgust from the fashion world in the 1960s. Then she was rediscovered, and enjoyed massive popularity before her death.
Image: Photograph by Lillian Bassman.
Thom Browne, the enfant terrible of young designers, has always had a taste for shock.
He made headlines a few years ago with shrunken men’s suits deliberately cropped to show three inches of ankle. However, his latest stunt at New York’s Fashion Week is making several commentators wonder if he’s gone slightly too far.
Browne’s show included models laying down in coffins in apparent ‘body bags’ made of muslin, while women in dragon-style architectural coats patrolled the room for the press.
The PR kit for the show assured the crowd that the models had ‘loved and died for fashion’, and that they were ‘living a dream’ – but commentators are accusing the show of being in bad taste.
The show, held in the New York Public Library, garnered good reviews for its clothes, which included impeccable suiting and fantastical plays on volume, but the staging left something to be desired.
The practical disadvantage of the coffins was that no fashion editor could see how the suits of the ‘dead’ models moved, making the point of a runway slightly irrelevant.
Stunt staging is hardly new – Karl Lagerfeld has held Chanel shows on gigantic fairgrounds and in mock-barns, while Viktor + Rolf always manage a surreal spectacular – but gossip indicates Browne may have gone too far.
What do you think? Image: Thom Browne Spring 2012.
After Fergie appeared on the Grammy red carpet wearing orange lace with black underwear, the lace trend appeared to have reached the ultimate point of bad taste.
However, you can still wear lace in a way which isn’t reminiscent of your grandmother or a Black Eyed Pea. The key is to balance it with harder-edged materials and make it sophisticated rather than whimsical.
Look for lace in chic shapes, like pencil skirts, rather than full-blown 1950s dresses, or you may look slightly like a cupcake.
Pussy-bow blouses in sheer lace are experiencing a vogue at the moment, though they need to be balanced with a darker, plain layer underneath to make them palatable.
Look for lace patterning which is delicate and intriguing rather than cookie-cutter. Art deco motifs and odd patterns, like beetles, are edgier than florals.
As for colour, black and white are always in, but deep rich jewel-toned lace is also a good addition. Look for scarlets, deep greens and sea-blues. Stay away from pastel lace unless you’re sure you can pull it off.
Let the lace be the focus of the outfit. Leather and lace is a cliche, so pick something more interesting, like a wool skirt or silk trousers, to complete the look.
A hint of lace – a lace collar, cuffs or lace-embroidered heels – is also a lovely way to add a feminine note to an otherwise blank outfit.
Be aware of lace’s sheer qualities – do a proper lighting test before you go out the door, so you know exactly what’s on show!
Image: Emma Watson works a lace Valentino creation.
