Harper’s Bazaar, the oldest fashion magazine in the U.S, has undergone it’s first major renovation in a decade, prompted by a 12 percent decrease in ad sales last year. Bazaar daringly debuts their redesign in the March 2012 issue with Gwyneth Paltrow and a subscriber’s cover that masks Paltrow’s biggest money-maker: her face.

Paltrow stands statuesque in a revealing floor-length black dress, by new designer Anthony Vaccarello, with her face veiled by her long blonde waves. “It’s a very daring thing to do, where you don’t immediately see her face.” Glenda Bailey, Editor-in-Chief of Harper’s Bazaar told WWD.

However, the newsstand version will be more familiar to readers as it features Paltrow head-on, smiling, and surrounded by teaser headlines. This clever two-different-covers for the newsstand and subscribers approach, was the brainchild of Bailey herself, and one of the many major changes that comes along with the redesign, which was first announced as a plan this past November.

The new Harper’s Bazaar will be a compromise between old favorite attributes and new additions, as well as a significantly lengthier and less-cluttered magazine. The redesign is thicker by one inch, boasts a higher-quality paper, new typography and a sleeker look due to tighter editing and utilizing white space.

The new additions satisfy all kinds of readers, whether your vying for more fashion, beauty, culture or travel. One of Harper’s Bazaar’s most popular online features, the “Best-Dressed List” curated by Editor-at-Large Derek Blasberg, whose wit and impeccable taste make for an entertaining and eclectic list, will be a monthly column. Beauty-lovers have a lot to look forward to as the beauty section has been increased from four pages to 10 going forward. For globe-trotters, or at least those who hope to be, Bailey has introduced a monthly travel section entitled, “The Escape.” Lastly, there is a promise for more reporting on the latest in art, film and books. One of the most refreshing overall changes will be less of an emphasis on celebrity and popcorn stories.

When the March 2012 issue hits newsstands February 14th, it certainly promises to be celebration-worthy with contributions from the biggest names of A-list fashion set. Longtime contributor, and arguably one of the most in-demand photographers of our time, Terry Richardson shot the Paltrow cover and accompanying spread. The remaining features were shot by Karl Lagerfeld, Dan Jackson, Karim Sadhli, and artist Liu Bolin who literally painted his designer subjects, which included Alber Elbaz and Angela Missioni. Feature stories include a piece on the daughter-in-law of Bernie Madoff, Stephanie Mack, and a look at the controversial lifestyle of French journalist and love interest of Daphne Guiness, Bernard-Henri Lévy.

Beyond the redesign of the print magazine, Bazaar plans to rejuvenate the publication’s digital presence with a larger focus on online coverage and social media. “We’ve started to redesign online and we will see that continue,” explains Bailey to WWD. Towards the latter end of this year, Bazaar will launch an e-commerce which will literally sell the products they feature.

The unveiling of the March 2012 is shaping up to be a monumental move for Bazaar’s and it’s exciting to see the world’s oldest and most esteemed fashion publication employ a more modern design and embrace the latest technologies.

Disclosure: Compensation was provided by LEXUS via Glam Media. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of LEXUS.

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As you may have noticed we’re all abuzz here with the highly anticipated launch of our incredible Vintage section. We’ll continue to share noteworthy ad campaigns, covers, and editorials from yesteryear as their credits and new images make it in the database. Until then, we wanted to share some of the standout covers which caught our eyes when our vintage collection of publications made its way online.

September 1961 Seventeen Magazine Cover

August 1962 Vogue Cover

November 1971 Harper’s Bazaar Cover

Usually outfitted in wild outfits, elaborate makeup, and sometimes and extra head or two, it’s amazing to see Lady Gaga shed her theatrical skin for the cover of Harper’s Bazaar. The performer posed bare face sans makeup and zany costumes for an intimate peek at what she actually looks like. Believe it or not, the singer appears normal and could easily blend in with a crowd off the street. Shot by Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin, the au natural look suits her well and it’s something I wish we could see more of. Her talent (and she actually does have talent) is often overshadowed by her larger than life character.

Oh and the title of this shoot? Simply put: “The Real Lady Gaga.”

Professional Credits:

No matter where you’re from it’s always special when you show pride for your country. This weekend the US celebrates Labor Day, a time to honor our troops and armed forces and also spend time with family and loved ones. While most of us are out at the beach or a barbecue, we wanted to get into a fashionable patriotic spirit and wish all of our readers a Happy Labor Day weekend!

The shot of the lovely (but sometimes annoying) Drew Barrymore above is vivid and amazing, besides even if you’re not a fan of her now you have to admit her role in the film ET will forever be a classic memory. This cover is actually a flashback from 2008, when the actress posed for the mag and was featured in the editorial entitled, “Peace, Love and Fashion“ — a saying we can totally get behind and felt was appropriate for the holiday!

Even though this shoot was a few years ago, Barrymore looks pretty much the same now. While, I can’t say I’m a huge fan or her adult acting she will forever be the cutesy little girl in ET.

You can see the rest of this editorial on MyFDB and for more red, white & blue style you should read this article.

Professional Credits:

Now that Kim Kardashian has tied the knot and she (and her ass) can settle down and eventually pop out a kid (pregnancy rumors continue to swirl) with her ball loving husband, I’m left wondering…Will the buxom babe continue to show her assets to the world now that she’s a married lady?  The last thing I want to see is Kim K. on the cover of  magazine revealing a fully prego belly (let’s leave that to the pros like Miranda Kerr). Although, I wonder if the newlywed will turn domestic? Could there be a Kardashian cookbook in the works? Oh, excuse me. I meant to spell that “Kookbook”, they are a K-centric family after all. (It’s all a little kooky if you ask me.)

Back in her single, err, dating days, Kim posed for fashion photogs and left nothing to the imagination (I think she likes the attention), so it’s time to celebrate (or make fun of) the Kardashian’s pre-wedding shoots.

Probably one of the most memorable Kim K. shoots is this silver painted shot for W magazine. Photographed by Mark Seliger you get to see all of the reality star (front and back), as she agreed to be completed naked and silvered for this editorial titled, “The Art of Reality“.

Then there’s the ad campaign for her namesake fragrance, where she’s just hanging around. I like to refer to this shot as a the “burlesque chicken” pose. Her furry arms are spread as she’s trying to be sexy with full lips, but you know balancing on that metal ring isn’t easy. By the way, since when has the word “voluptuous” been used to describe a scent?

Don’t forget about the Armenian-turned-Egyptian goddess shoot she did with Harper’s Bazaar back in March. The Kardashian really does make a nice “Cleopatra With a K.” It really is a K-world and we just live in it.

Last, but certainly not least, I have to mention the really awkward shoot she did with Justin Bieber for Elle titled, “The Graduate“.  This whole shoot is kind of creepy as Kim towers over the underage eenie meenie miny moe lover.

She might be known for her lady parts and reality TV antics, but I have a feeling this Kardashian wears the pants in her relationship (much like her mother) and we’ll continue “keeping up” with her assets on camera in the near future. Whether you like it or not, Kim doesn’t seem to be taking a break from the media anytime soon. If you’re not tired of her yet, you can view more of Kim on MyFDB.

Usually we see her in next to nothing at all, but model Erin Wasson is revealing a sophisticated more mature of herself to Harper’s Bazaar. The 29-year-old beauty recently posed alongside our Model Monday hunk Andres Velencoso Segura for the mag in an editorial titled, “Chic Easy Pieces” photographed by Alexi Lubomirski.

We see Wasson in some conservatively sexy pieces which is a nice change from her edgier ways, because sometimes less really is more. Her romantic interest in the shoot is Segura, whom she pushed into a pool for the start of this shoot–that’s one way to make a lasting impression!

See the full “Chic Easy Pieces” editorial on MyFDB.

Professional Credits:

We all know that designer turned director Tom Ford exudes major levels of sexiness…hello, have you seen his ads for…well…just about everything? Then there’s the ever-so-popular and controversial photographer Terry Richardson, who is best known for always pushing the envelope. So were we really surprised when news broke that Tom Ford and Terry Richardson made out? Not really, we kinda loved it. But we can’t lie…what we loved even more is what Tom Ford had to say about the kiss!

According to Harper’s Bazaar, Ford does kiss and tell…In celebrating his return to fashion, Ford collaborated with Richardson on a shoot saying, “I did a shoot with Terry, and we were shooting a girl and a guy kissing in the sunset with a windmill in the background. Terry and I decided to do a kissing shot, so we kissed and kissed and kissed. And Terry is such a soft, sweet kisser. That’s what I think is sexy now.” Oh, but there’s more, Ford went on to say, “Soft kissing with anyone. There’s an anger to everything in our culture right now. And I’m sort of ready for a kind of sweetness and a softness to things.”

What do you think? Was this a publicity stunt or something more?

[Image via Terry Richardson's Diary]