Carmen Kass | Ellen von Unwerth | License to Thrill | US Vogue May 1999

This Noirfacade repost of a Carmen Kass | Ellen von Unwerth US Vogue, May 1999 editorial comes a day after we were thinking how little we post from the American magazines, and that includes US Vogue.

There is a superficiality and lack of emotion and a psychological hollowness in most US fashion editorials, even when shot by talented photographers like Ellen von Unwerth or Camilla Akrans, who shoots more mainstream for Harpers than Numero or her brilliantly beautiful editorials for Vogue Nippon.

We seem to want our mainstream fashion editorial as milktoast as possible in America. A lot of money was spent on this photoshoot!

We write often about the differences between Playboy US and Playboy France, in terms of imagery. The same can be said for major fashion media in America vs Europe and now China and India.

We produce Terry Richardson as our evidence of artistic excellence. Italy produces, yes via a life in America, Mario Sorrenti. Case closed.

Of course, there are stunning editorials on occasion in US fashion magazines.

We’re getting a lot of wakeup calls in America today, if we choose to read the tea leaves. Does our approach to fashion photography reflect our sinking math and science scores, compared to the rest of the world? Anne