A curated selection of the week’s best fashion imagery.

 Danni Li by Trunk Xu for Harper’s Bazaar China
A visually striking story featuring outfits crafted solely from hand cut paper by chinese traditional paper-cutting artists – truly inspiring. (View full story)

Frida Gustavsson by Tim Walker for American Vogue May 2012
Julien d’Ys‘s one of a kind coral headpiece elevates an already exquisite Alexander McQueen dress. Definitely one of the more fantastical things we’ve seen from American Vogue recently.  (View full story)

Marie Piovesan by Fabien Baron for Interview
No one does the whole black / white / minimal / stark thing better than Fabien and this Interview story is an appropriately dramatic showcase for the season’s couture.  (View full story)

Toni Garrn by Camilla Akrans for Vogue Italia
An atmospheric beauty shoot featuring the flawless Ms. Garrn looking like something out of a Hitchcock flick. Summerton’s skill with lighting is really on display here. (View full story)

Acne Paper by Viviane Sassen
A shock of electricity, filled with color and energy – just what you’d expect from Acne paper . (View full story)

Much is said about the relatively short span of most modeling careers. If you’re among the lucky few like Malgosia Bela or Naomi Campbell, you can model for decades, but most people who start their careers on the catwalk find that 15 minutes of fame comes and goes quickly. This isn’t always a bad thing, many move on to bigger and better things; you can’t see a movie without spotting a model-turned-actress and you can’t work on a fashion shoot without stumbling into someone had a modeling moment. Today we take a look at a few of the fashion editors who’ve done their share in front of the camera.

Camilla Nickerson  – Camilla has been styling since the 80s, but back in 1993 she graced the cover of Vogue Italia shot by Steven Meisel and if that doesn’t count for a model moment, we don’t know what does.

Tabitha Simmons - Shoe designer, stylist, Vogue Contributing editor – Tabitha Simmons has got a full plate on her hands, but somehow she found the time to strut down the Balenciaga runway back in Spring/Summer 02 when she was modeling. We have to say that Ms. Simmons looks right at home in those Ghesquière trousers – wouldn’t mind seeing her on back on the catwalk again if she ever gets a moment free!

Julia Sarr-Jamois - Wonderland Magazine‘s Fashion Editor is a rising star and a regular on the street style blogs, where she always looks camera ready. It should come as no surprise then that she modeled in her teens in ads for brands like Diesel and Fred Perry, but switched to styling because she wanted to express herself creatively.

Grace Coddington - If you’ve Netflixed The September Issue, you know that Grace began her fashion tenure as a model for 60s superstar photographers like Avedon & Carpatian – see her 1962 Vogue cover below. Her modeling career was cut short by a car accident at 26, but she went on to innovate the industry behind the scenes at British Vogue & American Vogue.

Edward Enninful – When he was 16, Edward was spotted on the train by none other than Simon Foxton, two weeks later he was scouted by a modeling agent! By 17 he was shooting with Nick Knight and introduced to i-D’s Terry Jones – thus began one of fashion’s most prolific and interesting careers.

Vogue Italia has never shied from controversy and its March cover story has people talking left and right. From The Huffington Post, to Jezebel debate is raging over whether or not the story is in poor taste, misguided and/or exploiting negative stereotypes about blacks and Latinos. On the Vogue Italia website, the inspiration for the story is listed as “messy drags: untidy, dishevelled, counter-intuitive cross-dressers.” Meanwhile Jezebel’s intrepid Jenna Sauers, found direct links between the hair styles featured in the editorial and the gallery of Ghetto Fabulous Edible Hair dos. We can’t help but wonder what the originators of those colorful, candy-inspired styles think of the VI story and its intentions.

Controversy aside, the Steven Meisel cover of Joan Smalls marks the first time a black model has been on the cover of VI since the infamous Black Issue, which makes another triumph for Joan. Getting a VI cover is always a coup for a model, but considering how rare it is to see a woman of color fronting the world’s most influential fashion mag, this is kind of a big deal. Perhaps the greater controversy is the fact that there are multi-year periods where we just don’t see  people of color on the covers of our fashion mags.

Styling: Lori Goldstein  | Makeup: Pat McGrath |  Hair: Jimmy Paul | Models: Abbey Lee Kershaw, Coco Rocha, Guinevere Van Seenus, Jessica Stam, Karen Elson, Lindsey Wixson, and Daphne Groeneveld

See the full Haute Mess story on Vogue.It

When Steven Meisel selects a model from thousands of girls working today, it means something. It takes a special girl to captivate the industry’s premier photographer and Laura Kampman has done just that. Take a look at her Vogue Italia cover story to see just what Miss Kampman brings to the table: her off-kilter appeal is showcased in a series of surrealist shots that owe as much to Dali as they do to Meisel. Looking at home in black veils and blue lips, Laura enlivens some of fashion’s most original pieces. Karl Templer, Pat McGrath and Guido Palau‘s talents combine to create a beautiful showcase for the season’s infatuation with the otherworldly and the special girl who captures the mood of the moment.

View the entire story and behind the scenes video at Vogue.it

Steven Meisel.
Laura Kampman.
Karl Templer.

An intriguing take on elegance from Vogue Italia and perhaps a knowing commentary on the line between fantasy and reality, constantly being pushed in fashion imagery. Laura looks world’s different from her rocker-chic turn in the Balenciaga campaign, makeup by Pat McGrath and hair by Guido Palau, have a way of transforming a girl.

Every year there are pieces that become repeat offenders: out of the hundreds of looks presented each season a few manage to monopolize editorial space and show up in just about every magazine. When you see the same piece in different images the importance of styling, hair & makeup really becomes evident – one wrong element and the clothes can look unappealing.

Lately we’ve been noticing a very chic Yves Saint Laurent coat popping up in editorial after editorial, looking different in each picture.  Made of “pale green lace jacquard with black cornelly embroideries” the coat was look one during the spring / summer show and looked pretty fetching on Kasia Struss. In the magazines the same look takes on a variety of guises: in the pages of Vogue Italia it turns into a harlequin costume for Querelle Jansen, while Harper’s Bazaar uses it as a retro topper for a blonde Bette Franke. W Magazine focuses on the graphic print with a black and white shot and some serious eye makeup on Cara Delevingne, while Elle goes in a flamboyant direction placing it on top of a red satin bra and a knit skirt from Chloe.

WHICH VARIATION OF THE LOOK IS YOUR FAVORITE?  

Ph. Craig McDean | Publication – Vogue Italia | Model – Querelle Jansen | Fashion Editor - Karl Templer | Hair - Eugene Souleiman | Makeup - Mark Carrasquillo

Ph.Lachlan Bailey| Publication – Harper’s Bazaar | Model – Bette Franke | Fashion Editor - Brana Wolf | Hair - Akki Shirakawa | Makeup - Francelle Daly

Ph. Emma Summerton | Publication – W Magazine | Model – Cara Delevingne | Fashion Editor - Edward Enninful | Hair - Odile Gilbert | Makeup - Miranda Joyce

Ph. KT Auleta | Publication -Elle | Model -Rasa Zukauskaite & Anne-Sophie Monrad | Fashion Editor - Lester Garcia | Hair – Bok Hee | Makeup - Benjamin Puckey

Were there an actual Italian Vogue channel we would watch it 24/7 as it would most certainly trump some of the lackluster “fashion” television on the air right now. The Conde Nast entertainment division has yet to provide us with such an incredible gift, but if the January Vogue Italia coverstory is anything to go by there is certainly potential for hilarity and hijinks. Sending up the popular Home Shopping networks with a Steven Meisel story featuring top models is a brilliant idea and one that translates beautifully. While we doubt that you’re ever going to be able to buy that Chanel gown off the back of Daria Strokous QVC, it is amazing to see the land of snuggies and SlapChops invaded by high fashion. With stellar hair by Jimmy Paul and gorgeous Dolce & Gabbana makeup by Pat McGrath all this story needed as a cameo by Joan Rivers to push it over the top and into the realm of iconic editorials.

View the full story & video on Vogue.it

Michelle Harper & Natasha Poly

Kegan Webb with Paula Patrice, Gertrud Hegelund & Karlie Kloss

Fashion has always followed its own beat and V Magazine first ever Music issue (on stands January 12th) pays tribute to the dynamic influence of trend setting performers through the ages. Inside V75 Sebastian Faena and Carlyne Cerf De Dudzeele explore the relationship between hip hop & high fashion in an outlandish editorial. Credited as the very first editor to embrace urban culture (Carlyne brought the look to the pages of Vogue Italia way back in 1990) Carlyne has a long history of taking looks off the street and translating them for the editorial pages. Cerf De Dudzeele tells V “I love girls that men want to follow in the street—glamorous, sexy, powerful. You’re born with it, it’s not something you learn. I have always been obsessed by hip-hop. L’attitude is always right.”

In Faena’s story she dresses Anais Mali, Cora Emmanuel, Rob Evans, Travone Hill and Chrishell Stubbs in looks that scream 90s-early 00s excess. Baggy pants, fanny packs and all the gold jewelry you handle. If we had to point to music references, we see little vintage Diddy, a whole lot of Lil Kim and a hint of Foxy Brown.