For my 21st birthday two of my friends, Caitlin and Charlie gave me something I have wanted for such a long time!In fact, had I not just been given it, Mario Testino portraits would have definitely been switched with VOGUE COVERS on my Christmas list.
I admit. I save every magazine I buy with the hope of one day being able to say that I have all the Vogue magazines that have been published over the last hundred years (yes I will live till I am one hundred, if not older) and (yes my magazine collection will sell for hundreds) because (of course nobody else in the world is has the same plan!).
Ok. I admit it. I am well aware that I am not the only person in the world who saves every magazine and that the idea of collecting every magazine simply for the cover is utterly ridiculous because, silly people, a book has been published showcasing Vogue covers from 1916 up to the present decade. Unsurprisingly it is called Vogue Covers and I just can't stop myself from flicking through it every 5 minutes longing that I had a copy of the 1939 August issue in my collection.
The book starts with Helena Thurlows cover 'September 1916: Forecast of Autumn Fashions'
and concludes with Nick Knight's cover photograph of Kate Moss in the September 2006 issue: The New Smart.
Despite the glamorous 21st century covers sporting high edge photographs of celebrities like Kate Moss, Sienna Miller and Kylie Minogue looking painfully beautiful and nostalgic and the covers of the 1960s, everyone shining with the doe eyed face of Twiggy, it is the covers published between 1916 and 1930 which really attract my attention.
THEY ARE JUST SO BEAUTIFUL
I thought I'd keep my examples of these glorious covers seasonal and show you some of my favourite winter-themed Vogue covers illustrated predominantly by George Wolfe Plank, Helena Dryden and Georges Lepape.
December 1917. Winter Number. George Wolfe Plank.
November 1920. Winter Fashions Number. Helena Dryden
July 1928. Paris Forecast and Clothes for Scotland. Georges Lepape
Vogue Cover. George Wolfe Plank
Despite being just under one hundred years old, there is something so refreshing about these beautifully detailed and exquisitively illustrated covers which makes me feel all dreamy with mesmerised fascination.
There is something very magnificent about the hundreds of stars that float across each page and the rosy cheeks that are kept warm by fur coats.
The covers step away from the celebrity image and the glossy photographic limelight which preoccupies the covers of today. These covers dazzle as a result of their understated decadence. In a way they seem less self-conscious and image aware - a trait which could perhaps be seen as an ever-increasing flaw in society today. They are, as a result, more inviting and perhaps less intimidating? They remind me of the homely images you find on Christmas biscuit boxes or the comforting drawings on advent calenders. Every reader can sink into the dreamy world of the lady floating elegantly in a night sky surrounded by stars. In contrast, I know I can't relate to the perfect photos of Kate Moss that stare out at me from every magazine cover-I would like to but I simply can't. I just look at her in my insignificant form with a sense of awe. That sounds very sad but it is true!
This doesn't mean that after a year of beautifully drawn covers I wouldn't miss the flawless complexion of Claudia Shiffer or the natural beauty of Emma Watson. It just might be nice sometimes to be swept away into the mystical world of Georges Lapape.
I'm sure in eighty years, when I have collected my final copy of Vogue magazine, I will look back to the utopian days of Kate Hudson and Penelope Cruz and long for them to return and take over the superhuman race of celebrities that will line the magazine shelves in the future.
I certainly am going to be one of those 'Those were the good old days' kind of ladies. Oh dear!
A HUGE THANK YOU TO CHARLIE AND CAITLIN-YOU KNOW ME FAR TOO WELL!
Emma
