"For me the best thing is knowing that someone really has your back," says Jenna Lyons in an interview for the March issue of V Magazine. Also in the issue is the result of Lyons's first public photo shoot with her partner, Courtney Crangi, a black and white portrait of the duo shot by Willy Vanderperre. In it, both women wear white shirts (Lyons's is from J.Crew, naturally, while Crangi's is from Rag & Bone) and both rave about each other.
Now that everyone's lives are somewhat back to normal (read: Fashion Month is over), perhaps we'll all have a little extra time to thumb through some of the stunning November 2012 issues of our favorite magazines.
This month's selection of images runs the gamut from colorful and sparkly, like Taylor Swift on the cover of Glamour, to clean, spare, and high-end — Aymeline Valade's cover of Vogue Japan, on which she wears a piece from Raf Simons's debut couture collection for Christian Dior, is a perfect example.
A look at all the covers revealed thus far here, in the gallery.
Newly appointed Dior couturier Raf Simons will grace the cover of i-D magazine's Summer 2012 issue. The cover photo, lensed by Willy Vanderperre, features Simons breaking through a wall of black and white flowers wearing clothing from his eponymous menswear label, styled by Olivier Rizzo. The one cover line of the "Lights, Camera, Action"-themed issue reads, "It's Show Time! Starring Raf Simons." An online teaser for the issue promises a story written by i-D contributor Holly Shackleton. The issue is available for preorder on May 7 and hits newsstands on May 10.
Photo courtesy of i-D magazine.
>> "It's a very sparkly collection, which, in a way, is very couture," Riccardo Tisci said of the 10 dresses he presented for Spring 2012 Givenchy couture. Sparkly, yes, but there was a dark romance at play as well, one that no doubt came from Tisci's main inspirations: the 1927 film Metropolis and the 1924 Russian film Aelita: Queen of Mars. See the entire collection here, which — as is the recent Givenchy tradition — was photographed portrait-style by Willy Vanderperre.
Photos courtesy of Givenchy
>> A deal that has been rumored since March 2010 could go through as soon as this Friday, Cathy Horyn reports, although she notes that the talks are not yet complete.
European private equity firm Permira — which took a 45 percent stake in Proenza Schouler four years ago and is also the principle owner of Valentino — is expected to sell its shares to a group of New York investors led by Andrew Rosen (founder of Theory, overseer of Helmut Lang, and investor in both Rag & Bone and Alice + Olivia) and John Howard, an early and successful investor in Seven for All Mankind and Aeropostale.
Horyn speculates that after the deal is complete, Proenza Schouler may explore more product categories like denim or bolster its accessories offering with more leather goods, shoes, and eyewear.
As for Proenza launches already in the works, the label just released its Fall 2011 ad campaign (left), shot in New York's Milk Studios by Willy Vanderperre, styled by Marie Chaix, and starring Zuzanna Bijoch.
>> This morning in the Spring 2011 ad edition: Proenza Schouler released a trio of images featuring ghostly pair Julia Nobis and Melissa Tammerijn by Willy Vanderperre, a new shot of Gisele Bundchen for Balenciaga, a first look at Joan Smalls for Roberto Cavalli, and more.
>> Two colorful campaigns for two colorful collections — but the approach for each is markedly different. The full Spring 2011 ad sets are out for both Jil Sander and Louis Vuitton; while Willy Vanderperre shot a pink-haired Daria Strokous against a washed-out white background, part of her face obscured in many of the images while the clothes take on a watercolored feel, Steven Meisel captured Kristen McMenamy, Raquel Zimmermann, and Freja Beha Erichsen in an environment of opulent excess.
>> Italy-based brands seems to love Miranda Kerr's high-fashion stint: two have cast her in their Fall 2010 campaigns, first Prada, and now Jil Sander. The latter, which appeared today, was shot by Willy Vandeperre, as usual for the brand.
But the news may not stop there: Australian press is reporting that the recently-engaged Kerr has indicated that she will make a personal statement in the next couple of hours, spurring speculation that she "could be releasing wedding plans . . . or [announcing] that she is pregnant." When asked about the baby rumors, Kerr's Australian agent said recently, "I am sorry but I am unable to make a comment." And Kerr herself said a couple of weeks ago: "The rumours started as soon as it became known we were engaged. We are ignoring them and enjoying this moment. I have always been very open about wanting to be a mother one day and I've always thought Orlando [Bloom, her fiance] would be a great dad."
UPDATE: Kerr's publicist confirmed that she and Bloom, who were engaged June 21, have married overnight. Kerr has canceled an appearance next week in Australia for department store chain David Jones, of which she is the face: "David Jones very graciously released me during this period so we could celebrate an intimate ceremony and honeymoon together."[Sydney Morning Herald, Sydney Morning Herald]
>> Raf Simons is sticking to the same team as Spring 2009 for his Fall 2009 Jil Sander campaign — stylist Olivier Rizzo, photographer Willy Vanderperre, model Natasha Poly — and the images, shot May 1 in Paris, are very similar to Spring 2009 — Natasha Poly standing in profile, but instead of a high contrast white background, she's bathed in black. Another thing that's similar in these two ads — Natasha Poly's face doesn't seem to change.
>> The longtime Jil Sander campaign team of photographer Willy Vanderperre and stylist Olivier Rizzo have done it again — this time with Natasha Poly going solo. The Spring 2009 campaign captures the essence of the brand — all minimalism, all the time — with its stark, high contrast take on black and white and shadows. It's quite the departure from their more commercial image turn for the Fall 2008 season, and highlights all the best parts of the Spring 2009 collection — the shape of the shoe, the silhouette of the fringe, the slice of the earring.
