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Elizabeth Lake, Wayne Booth in 'Bold and Graphic' for SCMP Style December 2021 AOC Fashion
Models Wayne Booth and Elizabeth Lake wear ‘Bold and Graphic’ 2022 Resort looks styled by Brit Cato. Photographer Luke Dickey is behind the lens for SCMP Style Magazine December 2021./ Makeup by Andrew Colvin; hair by Kazuto Shimomura
Versace Resort 2022 by Lea Colombo Delivers a Big Spirit, Mega Dose of Optimism AOC Fashion
Donatella Versace demands that we put on our big-boy pants — and no granny skirts allowed — and march forward into optimism. “I think there’s a renewed sense of optimism right now and I wanted this collection to speak to that,” said Versace via email to Vogue about the 2022 resort collection. “This season is about having fun again and it feels right to put something positive into the world. We’ll never return to the old world or to the old ‘normal,’ there’s no going backwards. This is what the new now looks like to me.”
If COVID reality and raging white nationalism have dampened Donatella’s spirits seven months later, she’s keeping her angst under wraps in a mind over matter Versace Resort 2022 Campaign that has an infectious, optimistic spirit.
The Medusa has taken a psychedelic spin toward a Summer of Love, lensed by Lea Colombo [IG]. It may be 110-degrees in Puglia or its reverse — snowing in July seaside — but optimism is self-created, even when circumstances are dire.
If we’re not in denial and actively trying to save the planet, our heads are in the right place. If we’re still marching for social justice, the activewear should be polished.
We’re doing our best to find a new groove, inspired here by Versace models Akon Changkou, Alyda Grace, Habib Masovic, Kelvin Adewole, Kiki Willems and Ryan Park. Just make refusal your middle name, and we’re going to get through this.
NEVER let them see you sweat. That’s the AOC approach, and I speak from experience. ~ Anne
Marjan Jonkman Glitters in Seaside Glam Lensed by Martina Keenan for ELLE Russia AOC Fashion
Model Marjan Jonkman takes the stage in ELLE Russia’s December 2021 Riviera focus. Liliya Simonyan styles Jonkman in images by Martina Keenan./ Hair by Tobias Sagner; makeup by Mickael Noiselet
Related: Cindy Bruna Dazzles in the French Riviera for ELLE Russia December 2021 AOC Fashion
Cindy Bruna and Marjan Jonkman Cover ELLE Russia December by Martina Keenan AOC Fashion
Fan Bingbing by Leslie Zhang in Vogue Singapore as 'The 355' Debuts January 7, 2022 AOC Fashion
Fan Bingbing greets 2022 with two digital covers in Vogue Singapore’s January - February 2022 issue devoted to the concept of grace. Coke Ho styles the actor/fashion icon and Chinese superstar, who is lensed by Singapore-based photographer Leslie Zhang [IG]. Sandhya Mahadevan interviews Fan Bingbing in advance of her 2022 film ‘The 355’.
“Grace to me, is having both beauty and elegance—always strive to do the right thing, be refined and well-educated, and have self-respect. Then you will embody grace from the inside out."
”Every woman wants to be more beautiful, but I believe beauty is not only on the outside—it shows through every aspect of a person. Beauty is having ideals in life, determination, and confidence.”
Meinke Klein Captures 'Culture Club' Style for ELLE France January 6, 2022 AOC Fashion
Photographer Meinke Klein [IG] delivers a high-impact fashion story ‘Culture Club’ starring models Gabriella Michelazzo, Kaigin Yong, Mopesola and Olamide Ogundele. Aurelia Donaldson styles the fashion quartet in disco hues for the January 6, 2022 issue of ELLE France./ Hair by Yuri Kato; makeup by Pamela Cochrane
Note: a smaller version of the fashion story also appears in ELLE UK December 2021.
Karen Elson's Spring Fashion Lamp 'Brighter Future' for Harper's Bazaar UK February 2021 AOC Fashion
Very independent supermodel Karen Elson covers the February 2021 issue of Harper’s Bazaar UK. Photographer Erik Madigan Heck [IG] packs up his equipment and heads to Oxfordshire with stylist Leith Clark, a long-time friend of Elson’s. Clark chooses a wide range of dramatic fashion from Alberta Ferretti, Dior, Ermanno Scervino, Etro, Gucci, Ralph Lauren, Salvatore Ferragamo and more/ Hair by Hiroshi Matsushita; makeup by Andrew Gallimore
Lydia Slater conducts the interview of words spun around the spring 2022 fashion fest: Karen Elson on a brighter future.
"It felt like falling headfirst back into British life," the red-headed model activist says. "There was a house with a moat around it, built in the 1700s, there was a graveyard from the 1500s. Even the cold, the rain – give it to me! I’ve had more cups of tea this week than I ever have. And with the hair and the make-up and the beautiful location, there was a sort of wildness about it.”
Peng Chang in 'Heat Wave' by Zhong Lin for Vogue Taiwan January 2022 AOC Fashion
Model Peng Chang covers the January 2022 issue of Vogue Taiwan’s new sustainability issue. Zhong Lin [IG], who previously lensed Vogue Taiwan’s September 2021 issue cover story , captures Peng Chang in ‘Heat Wave’. Joey Lin is in charge of styling — and the clothes are not sustainably made, as part of the fashion story presentation./ Hair by Miley Shen; makeup by Sting Hsieh
AOC has referenced previously sustainability-focused fashion stories that channel ‘Water & Oil’ , lensed by Steven Meisel for Vogue Italia and featuring model Kristen McMenamy.
‘Heat Wave’ is no exception. In AOC’s opinion, it’s the first environment-focused fashion story to have equal visual impact . . . and perhaps more than ‘Water & Oil’.
The difference to AOC between ‘Heat Wave’ and ‘Water & Oil’ is ironic, within the larger issue of a profound analysis I read on the New York Times this morning. Nicole Lee writes about the January 2022 ‘Heat Wave’ story for The Vogue Taiwan website:
"A person who knows how to think about the beauty of the earth will get the concentration of power from it. As long as life continues, the power will never stop. In the constant recurrence of nature, it will bring infinite healing power-the dawn will finally be seen after the dark night , Always spring after the cold winter.” Rachel Carson said in "Silent Spring" released in September 1962. She used poetic narrative and rigorous research to introduce the concept of environmental conservation to all living beings in the most gentle way, and even realized it before our eyes like an oracle. The irony is that you and I are all beings who have not escaped, and live the days when they are responsible for themselves.
When AOC first saw the new ‘Heat Wave’ fashion story, the ‘poetic’ visual approach by the creative team was the most startling difference between it and Vogue Italia’s ‘Water & Oil’. I’ve written about Steven Meisel’s images on multiple occasions.
Nicole Lee continues:
The gloomy smog sky, the coastline full of waste, the stranded mermaid princess tail is covered with industrial oil, the water is full of dark foam, and the popsicle on the girl's hand is a mixture of sewage and garbage. This visual shock does not only exist in imagination. If you and I continue to ignore environmental issues, such a scene may not be far from the reality of the future. When the earth becomes a huge greenhouse and seawater gradually invades our life scenes, even in the foreseeable future, we all need to develop the skills of an amphibian in order to survive in the flooded country of Zee.
Two fashion approaches to the reality of environmental degradation. Top: Zhong Lin ‘Heat wave’ for Vogue Taiwan January 2022. Bottom: Steven Meisel’s ‘Water & Oil’ for Vogue Italia, August 2010,
The two fashion stories are dealing with nearly identical material and visual symbolism. Note that AOC is NOT suggesting that Zong Lin’s images are less worthy because of Meisel’s earlier ones. NOT for one moment is this a message we wish to convey.
What intrigues me, as it relates to my morning reading about ‘disgust’, is the reality that Meisel’s ‘Water & Oil’ images scream revulsion and disgust overall. Lin’s do not.
Both editorials seek to raise our consciousness around our global environmental peril. But they take very different visual approaches.
While I have embraced Meisel’s images as being of epic relevance, they also repulse me in a way that Zhong Lin’s do not.
Admittedly, I initially read ‘How Disgust Explains Everything’, with a feminist patriarchal analysis. The connections between disgust over women’s body and functions is a defining fact of human thought patterns. Psychologists who study disgust go deeper, calling it a primal emotion the defines — and explains — humanity.
“Part of disgust is the very awareness of being disgusted, the consciousness of itself,” the scholar William Ian Miller wrote in 1997. “Disgust necessarily involves particular thoughts, characteristically very intrusive and unriddable thoughts about the repugnance of that which is its object.” Think of women being considered unclean while menstruating and sent to live for days in cold, shockingly barren of comfort huts, so as not to contaminate men and the larger society.
I’ve taken ‘disgust’ tests over the years, and like so many liberals, we register lower on the disgust scale than conservatives. In a 2014 study, participants were shown a range of images — some disgusting, some not — while having their brain responses monitored. With great success, researchers could predict a person’s political orientation based on analysis of this f.M.R.I. data.
The research has not concluded why liberals are less impacted by disgust than conservatives. People typically attribute the difference to cultural upbringing, but the science has not confirmed that assertion. We know that the more education people have, the more liberal they become.
Nevertheless, plenty of easily-disgusted, Ivy-league educated conservatives exist. Many are now serving on the US Supreme Court.
Returning to the relevant discussion at hand, a simplistic overview of both Steven Meisel’s and Zhong Lin’s imagery commentary about environmental peril is a perfect, real-world study on theories of disgust and their relevance in political persuasion. I have no answers, but this is very fertile territory for image-makers to explore. ~ Anne
Gucci [Water] Tiger Collection Welcomes Lunar New Year on February 1, 2022 AOC Fashion
Luxury brands including Gucci, Nike, Prada and more are launching special collections to honor and celebrate the Lunar New Year arriving on February 1, 2022.
The Gucci Collection leaves no doubt that soon we will herald the Year of the Tiger, with an 80-piece collection. Creative director Alessandro Michele is giving new life to a 1960s archival design of a tiger print by Vittorio Accornero, the artist and illustrator behind the House’s signature Flora design.
Christopher Simmonds worked on art direction for the campaign. The Gucci Tiger collection can be viewed at Gucci.com. As with its recent The North Face collab, all packaging in this collection is eco-friendly.
In February 2020, Gucci joined The Lion’s Share Fund, a unique initiative raising much-needed funds to protect endangered species and their natural habitats.
A third-party animal welfare organization, @americanhumane, monitored the set on which animals were present in photographing Gucci’s Year of the Tiger campaign. The organization verified that no animals were harmed in creating this visually-exciting campaign
The third animal in the 12-year cycle of the Chinese Zodiac and calendar, the Tiger is known as the king of all members of the animal kingdom in China. If you were born in 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, or 2010 — or are a baby in the making — you are a Tiger.
The Tiger represents strength, courage and the power to rid the world of evil. This year’s tiger specifically is called a Water Tiger, which inspires a strong sense of self-esteem and desire to acquire knowledge .
Retailer Holt Renfrew Yorkdale and Holt Renfrew Vancouver will host dedicated Pop-Up experiences in Canada that feature the Gucci Tiger collection, while stores in New York Wooster, Chicago Michigan Ave, Las Vegas Forum Shops, Santa Clara Valley Fair, and Manhasset boutiques will also feature Pop-In creativity to bring the Gucci Tiger into closets across North America.
Adriana Lima with Designer Abdel El Tayeb by Hassan Hajjaj Covers Vogue Arabia January 2022 AOC Fashion
Adriana Lima headlines the January 2022 issue of Vogue Arabia, a Celebration of Creativity and Fresh Talent. Lima appears in two of the four covers, shot on location in Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
Abdelgader El Tayeb won the Franca Sozzani Debut Talent award. Photo: Courtesy of Fashion Trust Arabia
The supermodel is photographed alone [above] and then with accomplished Sudanese-French designer Abdel El Tayeb [below] by Moroccan-British artist Hassan Hajjaj. The artist lives between London and Morocco and is often called the Andy Warhol of Marrakech.
Designer El Tayeb was photographed with Lima hours after the young designer accepted his debut talent prize — named the France Sozzani Debut Talent award — at the 2021 Fashion Trust Arabia awards. Vogue runs down the story about all the winners.
AOC loves the work of Hassan Hajjaj and we think he should be shooting for Loewe. Check out past features on the vibrant energy, social commentary artist who rocks to vibrating colors and patterns below..
Imaan Hammam by Hassan Hahhah for Vanity Fair US
Imaan Hammam by Hassan Hajjaj for Vanity Fair US | Interview by Safy-Hallan Farah AOC Fashion October 2020
Dutch model Imaan Hammam is styled by Nathan Klein in ‘Pattern Player’, vibrant, bold prints from Celine by Hedi Slimane, Dries Van Noten, Erdem, Fendi, Stella McCartney, Versace and more. Photographer and artist Hassan Hajjaj shoots Hammam against his own renowned artistry for Vanity Fair US October 2020./ Hair by Rio Streedharan; makeup by Florrie White
Billie Eilish Covers Vogue US March 2020 by Ethan James Green, Harley Weir, Hassan Hajjaj AOC Fashion March 2020
Pop star Billie Eilish covers the March 2020 issue of American Vogue, lensed by Ethan James Green, Harley Weir, and Hassan Hajjaj for three different Vogue covers and her fashion editorial. Fashion editor Alex Harrington is in charge of styling and Rob Haskell conducts the interview: How Billie Eilish Is Reinventing Pop Stardom
Hassan Hajjaj in his shop and studio on Shoreditch, East London, on Sept. 20. A major retrospective of Mr. Hajjaj’s work is showing at the Maison Européenne de la Photographie in Paris.Credit...Ana Cuba for The New York Times
Hassan Hajjaj Turns Moroccan Clichés Into London Cool New York Times 10/9/2019
Moroccan-born British photographer Hassan Hajjaj’s artistry figures heavily in Vogue’s March 2020 Billie Eilish editorial. Siddhartha Mitter sat down with the artist in October, in his joyously messy Shoreditch, East London studio.
“There are two kinds of artist,” Mr. Hajjaj said in the shop’s back area, with its banquettes made of Moroccan Coca-Cola crates topped with flower-print cushions. “There’s the artist that needs space, to be on their own to work, and there’s somebody like myself.” He scanned the scene. “There’s always an ambience.”
Mr. Hajjaj has become Morocco’s most visible artist, “taking over the entire Maison Européenne de la Photographie, the photography museum. The city’s mayor, Anne Hidalgo, attended the opening, which included Moroccan Gnawa musicians performing with Yasiin Bey, the rapper once known as Mos Def.”
Carolyn Murphy's 'Homegrown' Upcycled Collab with Mother Denim Benefits Sierra Club AOC Fashion
When Carolyn Murphy was a little girl, she had a sewing machine. “I used to take logos off of old clothes and transfer them onto other garments,” Murphy explained about crafting her own line of beautiful clothes with Mother’s co-founders Lela Becker and Tim Kaeding. “I was fascinated by creating something new using pieces I already owned and loved.”
AOC completely missed the launch of Murphy’s 14-piece collection at the end of October. You can find it t Net-Sustain, in-stock, because we checked. Murphy’s upcycled collection is called Homegrown, and it debuted at an intimate luncheon with Net-a-Porter.
The 14-piece collection is entirely made from unwanted rags and Mother denim stock that Murphy reimagined with the design duo. It’s an extension of 60% Mother. a collection made from pre- and postconsumer waste, and recognizes vintage Americana through the use of deconstructed and reimagined quilts, bandanas and denim designed and made in L.A.
“One of the coolest things about the collection, since it’s made from recycled and reused deadstock or products that have been damaged, is that every single piece is unique,” Kaeding explained.
Supernova Hoyeon Jung, Star of 'Squid Game' Covers Vogue US February 2022 by Harley Weir AOC Fashion
South Korean model turned actor Hoyeon Jung covers the February 2022 issue of American Vogue. In her role of north Korean defector in the Netflix hit ‘Squid Game’, the 27-year-old is part of an established cast of South Korean actors who comprise Netflix’s most-viewed series ever.
Louis Vuitton’s newest Global House Ambassador for fashion, watches and jewelry wears a Vuitton cape and dress on her Vogue cover, accented with Alexander McQueen earrings. Alex Harrington styles the fashion story ‘From Squid Game to Supernova: Inside the Whirlwind with Hoyeon Jung’ with gorgeous elegance from Acne Studios, Givenchy, Junya Watanabe, Loewe, Miu Miu, more Louis Vuutton, Prada, Stella McCartney, Vera Wang and more. Harley Weir [IG] is behind the lens / Hair by Holli Smith; makeup by Thomas de Kluyver for Gucci Beauty.
Vogue’s Monica Kim catches up with Hoyeon Jung at New York’s Soho Grand.
Paragraphs are spent talking about the star’s low self-esteem — probably the most common thread of discussion among women talents these days. Five decades later from the second wave of feminism — with a third wave thrown in to fix all the failings of the second wavers — well, women’s struggles with self-esteem remain front and center.
Without brushing off the self-esteem struggles that affect women deeply, AOC refuses to dwell on them in such a fabulous story about the success of this super-talented young woman Hoyeon Jung.
It was during her first Fashion Week in Paris, in 2016, that she caught the eye of Nicolas Ghesquière, Louis Vuitton artistic director of women’s collections. “I remember the first thing that struck me was her smile,” he tells me over the phone from L.A. “I remember she had flamboyant red hair, of course a gorgeous silhouette, and such an elegant way of moving. Off of the walk, we already knew she was in—as we say.”
Adut Akech Feels Fashion Joy in 'Dream Maker' by Charlie Dennington for Vogue Australia January 2022 AOC Fashion
Supermodel Adut Akech Bior covers the January 2022 issue of Vogue Australia, wearing casual modern style in ‘Dream Maker’. Mark Vassallo serves as creative director and stylist on the shoot, injecting an abundance of sunny optimism into images by Charlie Dennington./Hair by Sophie Roberts; makeup by Victoria Baron
On the cover, which is Adut’s fifth Australian Vogue cover, the beloved top model is wearing Louis Vuitton with Tiffany & Co jewelry. The styling of Tiffany jewelry with LVMH brands is major this season.
Louise De Chevigny in 'The Big Easy' by Giampaolo Sgura for Sunday Times Style UK AOC Fashion
French model Louise De Chevigny covered the January 2, 2022 issue of Sunday Times Style Magazine UK. Verity Parker styles the model, who is a close friend of the house of Chanel, in ‘The Big Easy’, lensed by Giampaolo Sgura [IG]. / Hair by Franco Gobbi; makeup by Cosetta Giorgietti
Fearless Gigi Is Airborne in V#134, Mario Sorrenti's Part Two of Hadid for V Magazine AOC Fashion
Supermodel Gigi Hadid extends her special Contributing Editor relationship with V Magazine, soaring onto the cover of issue V134 Spring 2022. V brings together the original team behind Fearless Gigi Part One in V 114 [2018], with Hadid herself suggesting that they take a true ‘Leap of Faith’ by shooting the story flying-trapeze style on a rooftop near Manhattan’s West Side Highway.
AOC notes that Serena Williams interviewed Gigi in the first V114 Fearless Gigi story.
Related: First Look: Gigi Hadid By Mario Sorrenti For V Magazine #114 w/Interview By Serena Williams AOC Fashion
Back to the flying trapeze proposal, master photographer Mario Sorrenti [IG] was game, as was stylist George Cortina. Hairstylist Bob Recine was onboard, along with IMG’s Luiz Mattos. Diane Kendal was on makeup and Mathias Rosenweig edits the text, based on Hadid’s interview of the ORIGINAL players: Sorrenti, Cortina, Recine and Mattos.
The result is a high-bar fashion story with Gigi wearing clothes from Balenciaga, Burberry by Riccardo Tisci, Coperni, Louis Vuitton, Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello and more.
Let’s not forget the Balenciaga heels Cortina choose to elevate the already impressive badass persona Hadid had embraced in suggesting the aerial fashion flight in the first place.
AOC imagines that multiple creatives working in New York can relate to Gigi’s own breakout desire to go aerial and original in the fashion shoot.
It’s not often that the model in a photo shoot interviews the remaining members of the ensemble. But Gigi Hadid has always been focused on being the center of a larger storytelling narrative. In her own words:
I wanted to interview everyone who was a part of this team so that the people reading it who want to be a part of the photo process, but not necessarily a model, get some perspective. When you do a shoot like this, what kind of expectations do you have, and then how have you learned to let loose and go with the flow? Because on a shoot like this, we’re at a trapeze-training facility on top of a building on the West Side Highway and you have to get the shot in. I went up there less than 10 times and you had, at most, under a minute.
When asked about his initial reaction to Hadid’s flying trapeze idea, Mario Sorrenti responded: “Well, you know me. I was like, “Oh my God, can she do it? It’s so dangerous.” I’m always worried about your safety first. And then I thought, “Well, she’s pretty badass, and she killed it when we did the jet ski, so let’s try it.”
AOC believes that Sorrenti actually quietly checked his insurance policy next, but let’s keep that part under wraps. What’s with that standard “reckless endangerment” clause, Mario?
Read on at V Magazine, clearly in breakout mode to start 2022. Goddess knows we need the adrenalin jumpstart, so thanks for this creative New Years gift.
Amrit Poses in 'Extra Love' by Cruz Valdez for Vogue India December 2021 AOC Fashion
Model Amrit is styled by Max Ortega in luxury blues and dazzling jewelry from Alexandre Vauthier, Bottega Veneta, Loewe, Louis Vuitton, Prada, Proenza Schouler, Sportmax, Victoria Beckham and more. Photographer Cruz Valdez [IG] captures Amrit in ‘Extra Love’ for Vogue India December 2021./ Jonathan De Francesco; makeup by Kuma
Lily Nova by Rui Faria in Vogue Thailand January 2022 Beauty Dazzle AOC Fashion
Plenty of shimmer continues into January 2022, with appropriately-named model Lily Nova covering the January 2022 beauty issue of Vogue Thailand. Bobette Cohn styled Lily in images by Rui Faria [IG].
The North Face X Gucci Quietly Drops Big a Second Time to Lead 2022 Collaborations AOC Fashion
The North Face X Gucci doubles down on a BIG New Year’s launch of chapter two of their collaboration. We say that emphasis has shifted from fashion runway camp patterns and global tribe explorers with good hearts in last year’s January debut to closeup images of practical technical gear that means business for 2022.
As more than one blogger has pointed out, no one is seriously mountaineering Tibet’s Everest North Face or Cho Oyu in these clothes. But there is a serious performance attitude in the pieces and accessories that creates a different energy and seriousness from the first drop. AOC loves the closeup shots, and we are always suckers for flowers.
Kudos to French photography duo, twin brothers Jalan and Jibril Durimel, [IG], who shot the campaign in Iceland. Born in Paris to parents from the island of Guadeloupe, at the age of 4 they moved to Miami where they first jumped into the waters of American culture.
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