I had a good, thorough flip though the September issue of US Vogue over the weekend, and I was surprised to see how boring the advertising campaigns were. Firstly, Louis Vuitton was noticeably absent, which was very strange. And the magazine was also lacking in nice-looking campaigns, which, let’s face it, is usually the main reason we buy the September issues. I know that desperate times call for desperate measures, but the second, third, and fourth quarters of the magazine were crammed with tasteless, ugly campaigns from brands that are not “worthy of Vogue.” I guess they have had to drop their standards in order to fill their pages.

Before I go through my Loves and Loathes for the ad campaigns from the brands we know, I should point out that there was a very good article in Vogue about mothers in the US Army. Not only was it a riveting read, but it made me 1-feel so sad for children whose parents are in the military, and 2-hate the US Army more than words can describe.

I Love…

how amazing Karen Elson looks in this Balenciaga campaign. And the shape of that white furry coat is INSANE.

the way this ad highlights the unusual shapes Bottega Veneta is known for.

Roberto Cavalli at his best: glamour, leopard print, and fur.

these simple Celine ads.

that these Chanel photos look pretty relaxed.

the best trousers of the season, by Chloe.

that despite the fact that Gucci has basically repeated their Spring Summer photos, it still very luxury and on-brand.

Autumn Winter with Michael Kors. Only Carmen Kass can make grey jogging pants look great with a fur coat.

alien eye makeup at Lanvin.

gorgeous contrasts and hardcore hardware at Miu Miu.

that Nicole Miller suddenly looks modern and slick.

Prada's choice of models, Miranda Kerr looks amazing.

that Tommy Hilfiger does the American preppy look better than anyone else.

this beautiful photo. This Valentino dress looks absolutely stunning.

Cleopatra hair and dramatic stairs at Yves Saint Laurent.

I loathe…

the whole concept of this Bulgari shoot, plus the style of the photography, which looks quite tacky.

a boring Burberry campaign. Time to try something new.

ditto at Dolce & Gabanna. They also need to try something new.

when Hermes looks too equestrian.

this Jimmy Choo campaign. It is such a predictable fashion photo set-up, and the shoes look like nothing special.

when a campaign gets done too many times. The cute young Lacoste models jumping up and down were nice for a few seasons, but now they look like silly ravers.

that Ralph Lauren has chosen some of his most boring product for the seasonal ad campaign.

Kate Moss naked in this David Yurman campaign. She doesn't look nice at all, in fact, she looks a bit yuck.

Isabel Marant photographed by Inez Van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin.

I have a real problem with Isabel Marant and the way she presents herself in the media. Marant has developed quite the cult following in the past few years. Her Parisian collections comprise of beautifully effortless, easy, stylish, entry-level luxury products. But I think she should keep her mouth shut, as the clothes speak for themselves, and the last thing she needs is to damage her otherwise very cool brand by blurting out her stupid “I am not Fashion” statements. She is trying way too hard to be anti-fashion, and I’m finding it irritating to the point that I’m not interested in her clothes anymore.

Isabel Marant Fall Winter 2010 Collection.

Fashionologie posted the following quotes from her:

“I’m quite anti-consumerist; It’s difficult for me being a designer in an industry I don’t like. When I design a collection I find myself thinking, ‘Why do we need new clothes?’ I never think about the fashion people . . . They are not my concern.”

Isabel, let me explain something to you. If the fashion people didn’t like your clothes, and they didn’t talk about you in the press or buy your collections, you wouldn’t have a business. So stop pretending you don’t care, because it is boring to hear about it. And if no one needed new clothes, or wanted new clothes, they you wouldn’t have a business anymore. The only reason you have money, live in a nice apartment, have a job you enjoy, and wear pretty clothes is because people buy YOUR clothes, so perhaps you’d like to acknowledge this, rather than pretend you are too “cool” to look at the facts.

“Big breasts and lips. No! I hate those girls. I hate famous women. My ideal woman is Serge Gainsbourg. Not that he was a woman.”

Isabel, not everyone is blessed with a thin frame and a small chest like the typical French woman. You “hate” people with big breasts? That’s a bit harsh, isn’t it? And you don’t like famous women? I am sure you weren’t complaining when Kate Bosworth and Rachel Bilson helped to take your brand out of Parisian obscurity onto the wish lists of the global fashionistas.

Rachel Bilson in Isabel Marant.

There is nothing I find more irritating the people who are unappreciative of the things or people who helped to make them successful. Isabel Marant recently opened a store in New York City, no thanks to the fact that the celebrities wearing her clothes gave her brand a whole new visibility, and as a result, a brand new customer base. Personally, when I need a grey sweatshirt, I’ll go to COS and get one of theirs, which will have a special cut and a really cool shape, but set me back $75, instead of the $400 Isabel Marant version.

Isabel Marant suede jeans available on Net a Porter for $1,605.

I wrote about her a few months ago and about my irritation at the fact that they made it very difficult for customers to get their hands on product. I agree that it is is great to play “hard to get” as it increases the desirability of a brand. But Marant was just silly with her “no internet” policy (which has since then changed, as she probably realized she was being completely idiotic by not offering her products online.) This article in the New York Times, by Cintra Wilson, explores the fact that the clothes seem to be very overpriced, and over hyped.  Here’s how Wilson describes her first trip into the NYC store:

“What I figured to be platonically ideal Isabel Marant customers were milling around in full force: tall, willowy blondes wearing big mod Army jackets and chunky high heels. I was wearing a boy’s plaid rodeo shirt with snap buttons (eBay, $12), a charcoal-gray Hanes zipper hoodie (Wal-Mart, $12), skinny-legged Levi’s I bought at one of those loud discount places on lower Broadway (under $40) and an old wool Army jacket (eBay, under $20). Coincidentally enough, I looked, in texture, shape and substance, more or less like I got dressed right in the store.”

Isabel Marant Fall Winter 2010 campaign: Kate Moss photographed by Inez van Lamsweerde et Vinoodh Matadin.

I’ll let you all make your own decisions, but personally, when someone insults the industry that she is part of, is thankless of the people or phenomenons that made her famous, behaves like she is too cool to care about her customers, and is downright snobby, I won’t bother throwing my dollars her way. But I don’t think she will be around for that long anyway, my guess is that she will sell her business and get out in the next few years, claiming something like “It all became to commercial for me, and I hated that we were making so much money.” Meanwhile, she will have retired in a trendy apartment in Paris, having made a tidy sum from her clothing business, thanks to the famous women and fashion people who bought her clothes.

Isabel Marant Portrais and FW campign shot from her website.
Catwalk images from Style.com.
Rachel Bilson image source.
Suede jeans from Net a Porter.

BoF Fashion Pioneers | Natalie Massenet in conversation with Imran Amed from The Business of Fashion on Vimeo.

I am getting very excited about my Business of Fashion and the Digital Revolution event on Monday, and as a teaser, I’ve embedded the last Business of Fashion – Fashion Pioneer event, which was with Natalie Massenet from Net a Porter. I spend a many hours a month drooling over the goods on her site, and this interview gives us an insight into how she runs the company, and where things are headed for them and the fashion industry in general.

If you don’t have half an hour to watch the video interview (if you are a fashion student, FIND half an hour) then there is a blog post that includes a summary of the event, read it here.

For those of you attending on Monday, I can’t wait to see you all! Check out this Q&A with Imran on the Flare blog. Thanks again to my sponsors, OPUS Bar, Vancouver College of Art and Design, and Skyy Vodka.

Well, here they are. The most anticipated magazine issues of the fashion year. With my comments, of course.

I Love…

Doutzen Kroes on the cover of Flare. Yay to models instead of celebrities! What a great choice of a cover girl. Photographer: Max Abadian

Frida Gustavvsson on the cover of Elle Sweden. Not your typical magazine cover at all...love it! Photographer: Andreas Sjodin.

Jennifer Aniston on the cover of Harper's Bazaar. I loathe her, but it is so nice to see her without her silly haircut and a quote like "I'm still mad at Angelina." Photographer: Mark Seliger.

Gisele Bundchen on the cover of British Harper's Bazaar. Great photo. Photographer: Cedric Buchet.

Bianca Balti on the cover of Spanish Harper's Bazaar. How brave to cover the model's face with text. And it is a beautifully composed image. Photographer: Txema Yeste

Rosie Huntington-Whiteley on the cover of LOVE magazine. LOVE has about eight covers coming out (yes, that idea was interesting the first time, but now it is boring.) Some I love, some I loathe. This one is beautiful. Photographer: Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott.

Buela the doll, on the cover of LOVE Magazine. It would be nice to see more illustrations and dolls on the cover of magazine. (Dolls look about as real as the overly photoshopped images we see nowadays.) And they are SO much more interesting than celebrities. In fact, a toilet would be more interesting than a celebrity. Photographer: Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott.

Gisele on the cover of LOVE Magazine. The best hair, ever. Photographer: Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott.

Lauren Hutton on the cover of LOVE magazine. Well, they've got the doll cover, so why not the old supe cover. Boring, but she looks amazing. Note to self, look like that when you are 66. Photographer: Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott.

Liu Wen on the cover of Numero China. Black and white makes such a nice change for a magazine cover, and what a gorgeous dress.

Lady Gaga on the cover of Vanity Fair. Love Lady Gaga, love Vanity Fair, love when a magazine photographs a celebrity in an unexpected way. Photographer: Nick Knight.

Scratch off covers on V Magazine. There were a few versions of this, with different models. Again, it is so nice to see something unexpected on a magazine cover. Photographer: Mario Sorrenti.

The Chinese supes on the cover of Vogue China. With makeup....and without. Fei Fei, Liu, Ming, Shu Pei, and Tao by Peter Lindbergh & Daniel Jackson.

Constance Jablonski on the cover of Vogue Germany. She's winking at me! Photographer: Alexi Lubomirski.

Marion Cotillard on the cover on Vogue Paris. First celebrity cover since September 2005, and she's a respectable one. Photographer: Mert Alas & Marcus Piggott.

Olga Sherer on the cover of Vogue Portugal. Sepia rules. Photographer: Bojana Tatarska.

Caroline Brasch Nielsen on the cover of Dansk. I love a simple magazine cover. Photographer: Henrik Bulow.

Daria Werbowy on the cover of Elle Quebec. There's nothing surprising, or particularly interesting about this, but it looks good. Photographer: Raphael Mazzucco.

I loathe…

Halle Berry on the cover of US Vogue. Bad hair, and even worse photoshopping. Plus it is boring as hell. Photographer: Mario Testino.

Mary Kate Olsen on the cover of Marie Claire. Aren't we over those twins? Photographer: Tesh.

Ashley Olsen on the cover of Fashion Magazine. Boring: see above. However this is the only September isue I have actually read cover to cover so far, and there's some good stuff in there. Just ignore the cover. Photographer: Cedric Buchet.

Alessandra Ambrosia on the cover of LOVE magazine. She is gorgeous, but here she looks...uninteresting. Photographer: Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott.

Agyness Deyn on the cover of LOVE magazine. What a hideous photograph, although at least she closed her mouth. Photographer: Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott.

Kelly Brook on the cover of LOVE magazine. It is just tits and ass. Photographer: Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott.

Sienna Miller on the cover of LOVE magazine. Didn't she stop being interesting five years ago? Photographer: Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott.

Kate Moss, Lady Gaga, and Naomi CAmpbell on the cover of i-D. Maybe the reason why the magazine is almost out of business is because they keep doing the same thing over and over again. Photographer: Nick Knight.

Emily Blunt on the cover of British Elle. She is simply not cover-worthy. Photographer: Matthias Vriens-McGrath.

Julia Roberts on the cover of Elle. She looks like a drag queen on the bottom one. Photographer: Carter Smith.

Leighton Meester on the cover of Cosmopolitan. What is wrong with this cover? A: That the words "OMG" are on the cover. B: That she is wearing a strapless mini dress for a September issue. C: All of the above.

Guinevere Van Seenus on the cover of 10 magazine. Gross.

Vanity Fair has been publishing an International Best Dressed List for over 70 years now, and this week they released their 2010 List. I love Vanity Fair, it is a magazine that takes more than 15 minutes to read, cover to cover, and it contains interesting content, something that many magazines fail to deliver in this day and age. But the International Best Dressed List is lame, predictable, and boring.

I guess Vanity Fair isn’t about to include anyone who isn’t ultra rich and famous, but it would be far more interesting to see a list of people who manage to look incredibly stylish on a salary less than $50,000 a year. The people on this list should not be commended for dressing well, they should simply be shot down if they don’t. There’s no excuse, with massive amounts of money and style consultants at your disposal, not to look good.

Here are some of the “Best Dressed” individuals, and my comments.

I love…

the way Carey Mulligan dresses, although this photo, chosen by Vanity Fair, is definitely not one of the better ones I have seen.

Diane Kruger in this Calvin Klein dress. Even thought she's an A-lister and probably has a stylist, you rarely see actresses pulling off a simple dress like this. And well done to her for not being all about leg and cleavage.

Lady Gaga. No matter what people say, you can't deny she is a breath of fresh air with her crazy outfits.

Martin Scorsese's eyebrows, does that earn him a spot on the Best Dressed List? Maybe not, but out of all the boring suited-men on the list, he is definitely the one who comes closest to earning a spot.

that Michelle Obama has proved that First Ladies don't need to be all about Oscar de la Renta and conservative pastels.

I loathe…

that working at Vogue and not wearing makeup entitles you to a spot on the Best Dressed List (although perhaps Emmanuelle Alt, who has the same credentials, could have been on the list a few years ago.). This photo clearly demonstrates that Alexandra Kotur is not "Best Dressed" at all.

spoilt kids living in the shadow of their stylish Mom (Vogue Paris editor Carine Roitfeld.) Neither Julia nor Vladimir Restoin-Roitfeld are particularly well-dressed. I'd give them an award if they actually both managed to get a real job and prove their worth, rather than just doing "creative" things and getting credit because their Mom is famous.

that Carla Bruni Sarkozy is on this list. She is gorgeous, and super well-dressed, but she is an ex-supermodel and First Lady of France. She HAS to be well-dressed! And how can she not be, with all that Dior clothing?

fashion magazine editors on a Best Dressed List. Again, this is part of their job description. It is like congratulating an gardner for planting a flower. This is Cindi Leive, Editor in chief of Glamour.

that someone who dresses reasonably well, but is married to the worst-dressed woman in the world, is allowed to be on this list. Sorry David Beckham, but your wife brings you down.

that the three people who count Ralph Lauren as their father, are on this list. How hard can it be to dress well if you've got one of the world's most famous fashion designers as your father?

All images taken from the Vanity Fair website.

British Vogue's September 2010 issue. Bryanboy says "I look at that cover and there's no WOW factor."

I follow Bryanboy’s blog, I like that he is always so thankful about the nice things that happen to him (like getting invited to the Chanel Haute Couture show) and that he rarely posts any negative criticism. So this recent post definitely caught my eye, he has posted an image of the cover of British Vogue’s September issue, and criticized that it was Kate Moss’ 30th UK Vogue cover, and her 6th September issue cover (the September issue is the biggest, most important magazine issue of the year.)

More Kate Moss: British Vogue September 2009

I am not surprised that Kate Moss is one the cover of British Vogue…again. It takes a lot to surprise me these days, when it comes to glossy fashion magazines. There is no thrill, excitement, or joy involved in reading these magazines, they are purely work for me. But when Bryanboy wrote “I just think it’s sad that we have to look elsewhere to get what we want from the magazines that we love…” I remembered that there was a time, a long time ago, when I actually took great pleasure in reading fashion magazines.

The reason why I got into fashion in the first place, was thanks to my mother’s copies of Vogue and French Elle. (One day I’ll post some of the fashion illustrations I did when I was 9 years old. Very slutty dresses.) When I started my career in fashion, in the late 90’s, I loved fashion magazines, even US Vogue was exciting. Nowadays, I read them purely for the information I need to know: who is one the cover, what brands they are featuring, what pieces they are featuring, and who is on the masthead. They are business, not pleasure.

Kate Moss on the cover of British Vogue April 2010

It is rare that I open a fashion magazine and stare in awe at the images, or devour the articles. What’s happened to magazine publishing? I guess difficult economic climate, and the pressure to retain or increase advertising revenues means that magazines can’t just post beautiful images and stuff they love. Maybe we have reached a new era of publishing, and magazines will no longer be our source of inspiration, because of the control the advertisers have. Maybe we need to look elsewhere (online?) to find inspiration.

I couldn’t agree more that Kate Moss is an extremely tedious choice of a cover model for British Vogue’s September issue. It is like choosing the most boring, most safe option. Kate is fabulous, and a true icon, but I really feel her days are over, for now. She needs to take a break for a few years, so that she can “come back” and be exciting again. British Vogue could have been safe and still somewhat interesting by putting Lara Stone, or Doutzen Kroes on the cover. Someone that reflects the season, which is all about curves, not waifs.

British Vogue, October 2008. Kate Moss, again.

Am I being overly critical? Or ridiculously nostalgic? I really feel that magazines these days have become catalogues of the season, rather than thoughtful, insightful publications. Since I’m being nostalgic, here are some beautiful UK Vogue covers…from back in the day.

An early Kate Moss cover: January 1995. Very cool.

Amazing colour on British Vogue's September 1991 cover.

Sun Style Shape on British Vogue's May 1983 cover.

British Vogue May 1966: a beautiful play on colour and shape.

Once the September issues have all come out, I’ll do a Love and Loathe on the covers…let’s hope there are some good ones.

All images from Vogue.co.uk.

I am usually hesitant to recommend a blog that has only been in existence for a few weeks (or maybe it is a few months, but it has not been around for long) but I wanted to introduce you all to Nancy Girl. The blog has been created by Mandana Towhidy, who I featured on my Fashion Chat, and its the perfect blog for fashion snippets.

I have a variety of blogs that I read, and my favourites tend to fall into three categories: important information about fashion that I need to know as a professional (Business of Fashion, Hypebeast), interesting opinion and/or features (On the Runway, Style Bubble) and snippets of information or images (The Cut, Dezeen.) I don’t really follow many blogs of people who post photos of themselves in different outfits, many of these bloggers are fantastic, but it is just not my preference.

Greta Silva Shoes

Nancy Girl is snippets of fashion stories with fun images and are very quick to read, in fact, I usually only skim the text and look at the pretty pictures. There is a different post for every day of the week, like Makeup Monday, Shoe Me Thursday and What’s Hot Fry-Day.

Drawing by Kelly Tunstall.

The only thing I hate about it is that sometimes she posts things that I wanted to talk about…before me. But I guess most bloggers all talk about the same things right now anyway…so don’t think I am copying her!

All images from Nancy Girl.

I’m having a bit of a love/loathe relationship with this photoshoot. It is ridiculous that anyone would be wearing tens of thousands of dollars of clothing in a dirty campsite. But I love that Vogue Italia can get away with publishing this sort of stuff. Imagine US Vogue doing something like this…never! The typical American reader would never comprehend (or at least, that is what US Vogue thinks, and I think they deeply underestimate their reader.) Wild is the Wind by Steven Meisel for Vogue Italia’s June 2010 issue. Styling by Marie-Amélie Sauvé.

Images taken from Contra.

Don’t forget to check out Searching for Style’s first giveaway here. It ends on Sunday!

The A&F Quarterly is releasing its first issue in 7 years this month. Abercrombie & Fitch’s soft porn “catalogue”, shot by Bruce Weber, has caused a lot of controversy in the past. Basically, they are a clothing brand but the models are mostly naked. I guess I wouldn’t be that impressed if I was a mother and my 12 year old daughter was looking at those images, but at least they aren’t dreadfully tacky. However, it is just a blatant attempt at generating some media exposure, by using the old sex = money equation. Abercrombie isn’t doing too well at the moment, so a catalogue full of naked jocks might help rev up the sales. It is annoying, although I guess I am only helping them by writing this post in the first place.

Read my Sex = Money post about Bruce Weber.

All images from Fashionista. See the rest of their A&F Quarterly sneak preview here.

I’m never one to miss an opportunity to criticize Agyness Deyn, so here’s my review of NAAG, her new online magazine: boring. It is a shopping page meets Daily Candy. Although, if I am perfectly honest, it’s probably not such a bad thing to be friends with Aggy, as she makes sure that all of her friends and family get on her tacky bandwagon. First it was Henry Holland, whose hideous collections we have to stomach season after season because he…is friends with Aggy. Then it’s her sister’s t-shirt collaboration with Uniqlo. Now it is a online magazine with her friend Fiona.

The above image (tacky collage might better describe it) is from their “Who we are” page. Does anyone want to take fashion advice from girls who wear plain tees, denim cut-offs, and hideous shoes? Personally, I’d rather have Anna Wintour tell me what to wear, at least she has an impressive wardrobe.

Who’d like to suggest Aggy’s next friend/family collaboration? How about an ugly underwear collection in partnership with her Dad? Or a collection of books, written with her first grade English teacher? She’s already been in a band, but maybe she could start another one…fronting it with a bunch of skinny English boys she has slept with? Any other ideas?