March US covers, good and horribly wrong.

This March, some magazines went above and beyond my expectations, some fell short, and some left me asking who on earth made the decision to publish that cover and why they got away with it. The latter is what I asked when I saw the newstand version of Harper's Bazaar. Now, the copy of Harper's that W received is the subscriber version, which looks as follows:

THIS is amazing. Everything about it screams fashion, while also being whimsical, fun, eye catching, and unique. Perhaps I'm biased because I adore pandas and the East Asian theme, but from head to toe Magdalena Frackowiak looks amazing, and the whole picture just cries to be on the cover of the Spring issue. Now let's take a gander at the cover that most people are unfortunately seeing on stands:

 

Why, Harper's, why?! If this cover doesn't already blind you from the overbearing, over present red theme, then I'll lay it out for you. First of all, Kim Kardashian is not a fashion icon, nor should she have anything to do with any magazine's Spring fashion issue. W's November art issue featured her creatively, and while I still have gripes about her as the model, at least they did not simply take a somewhat pretty picture and make it the cover. W took her out of her comfort zone of pretty and made it artistic. Looking at this cover, however, I feel as though I am looking at average snaps from a red carpet, not a cover by any stretch of the imagination. I could go on forever, but the point is that Harper's had an amazing cover in their hands, and chose to allow only a few to actually enjoy it. Bad call.

As far as other issues go,  I absolutely love Mila Kunis on W's March issue. While I appreciate when magazine's choose models for fashion issues and really dive into fashion rather than celebrity, Mila Kunis is really becoming fashion's next it girl, and if a celebrity were to be chose, she is a natural choice. The editorial is also gorgeous beyond words. The styling is perfect, as Alex White's always is, and Mila really delivers as a model. Here is the cover along with my favorite pictures from the shoot:

My other favorite's may not coincide with mass thought. When Elle came into the office, I was surprised, I loved it! Katy Perry has always been a style icon for me, even if her music is only so-so in my option. She is unique, while reminding me of cutesy Japanese fashion mixed with an edgy feel. Again, however, subscribers received a much better cover that what hit stands, though the cover for news stands was still okay for Elle. The colors were bright and fun, while definitely staying true to Katy's style.

Then, of course, is Vogue. The cover obviously leaked before the magazine came out, so everyone's had a long time to digest and criticize the Gaga cover. While I do admit the cover is not pretty, it certainly is edgy and different from the previous covers of Vogue we've seen this year. I love the pink hair, I love the dark lip, and I loveee the flowly dress to contrast it all. This cover is a step in the direction of true fashion for Wintour's powerhouse, and may not be easy on the eyes, but fashion isn't just pretty, it's controversial and thought provoking when done right. And this cover is definitely done right. And really, what else would you expect from Gaga?

There are more of course, but these covers stood out to me the most this month. Now, back to Japanese and Marketing homework....YAY!

じゃあ、また！

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