Harper’s Bazaar—the oldest fashion magazine in the U.S.—has undergone its first major design renovation in a decade, prompted by a 12% decrease in ad sales last year. The new design debuts in the March 2012 issue, which boasts a subscribers’ cover that masks Gwyneth Paltrow’s biggest moneymaker: her face.

On the cover, Paltrow stands statuesque in a revealing floor-length dress by new designer Anthony Vaccarello with her face veiled by 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 with Paltrow pictured head-on, smiling, and surrounded by teaser headlines. The two-different-cover approach was the brainchild of Bailey herself, and one of the many major changes that comes along with the redesign, which was first announced in November.

The new Harper’s Bazaar will be a significantly lengthier and less-cluttered magazine. The redesign issues will be thicker by one inch, boast higher-quality paper, new typography, and a sleeker look thanks to tighter editing and utilizing white space.

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 L�vy.

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.

[View with PicLens]

It was Beyonce who said it best with her lyrics, “Who run the world? GIRLS!”  However, it looks like big names in modeling are complimented with even bigger makeup for this “Run The World, Girls” editorial in V magazine. Proving that models do in fact have that fashion edge over celebrities who have been taking over magazine covers for years now. Their cover makes us yearn for the return of the times of iconic modeling. Model crushes Joan Smalls, Candice Swanepoel, Lindsey Wixson, Bambi Northwood-Blyth, Sui He, and Hanaa Ben Abdesslem all posed for photographer Terry Richardson in some very vivid looks.

Above we see Candice & Joan hooping around in some haute makeup looks applied by Aaron De Mey. The genius behind the wardrobe is this shoot was none other than Carine Roitfeld herself, who’s eclectic styling always amazes the camera.

Brose the full eye-shot editorial on MyFDB.

Professional Credits:

Hats off to Laetitia Casta, because she has the career girls (and boys) in the modeling world dream of. Not only has she achieved lasting status in the industry, she’s also been able to branch off from posing in front of the camera to acting in front of it. With a staggering 100+ magazine covers under her belt, it’s hard to believe that Casta is only 33 and has two children. She was discovered at just 15 in Corsica by a scout, now her IMDb page is almost as impressive as her MyFDB page.

Back in February, the model raised some eyebrows with this hot cover for Purple magazine, where she’s seductively posing with a statue; she was of course shot by Terry Richardson. What’s interesting about Casta, and unlike other models, her industry work has remained pretty consistent throughout the years. She started off with contracts with Guess? and Victoria’s Secret and has continued to attract big names. Just this past summer she was one of the faces of Roberto Cavalli and has remained a staple face for L’Oreal Paris. She’s even had an entire Vogue Paris spread dedicated to her.

On the acting front Laetitia’s cinematic debut was in none other than the most expensive French flick ever produced, Astérix et Obélix contre César (1999). The film was a huge hit in Europe and stateside you may recall seeing Casta workin’ it as the sultry vixen in Chris Isaak’s 1999 video for “Baby Did A Bad Bad Thing” and more recently in a video for Rihanna. Don’t pin her as a video girl though, because her ability to take on diverse parts translates from her modeling work and into her acting roles. We can’t wait to see more from this stylish chameleon!

See more of Laetitia Casta’s work on MyFDB!

After ogling over Lady Gaga on MyFDB, I realized you can see her style progression from the earlier images on our site. She used to be considered “out there” and lately she’s taken her look to a whole new level with outlandish outfits and photoshoots which we love, but it’s crazy to think back to the days when she was a bleach blonde newbie. With this being the summer of Gaga (see her Verasce outfits, CFDA style, and beating Oprah), now is the perfect time to highlight some of her most popular recent images on MyFDB.

Here she is looking happy and wise with grey locks in her latest shoot for i-D magazine’s summer 2011 “Summer Solstice” editorial. She doesn’t appear in any zany outfits and there’s something so lovely about her seemingly innocent smile.

Moving onto the Gaga we all know and love, shot by Terry Richardson for Harper’s Bazaar‘s May 2011 issue, this “Going GAGA” shoot features the pop star in eye-shot settings with “interesting” props. Macaroons anyone?

After seeing the images above, it’s hard to believe the beach blonde babe below is the same woman. This is Gaga back in 2009 shooting with V magazine, note she only has one head and her outfit is hardly considered bizarre…She’s almost (dare I say?) normal looking.

First there was former plus size model Crystal Renn doing work on a raw steak and loads of seafood for Vogue Paris last year. Then there was the innocent Lea Michele of “Glee” playfully licking a lollipop in a scandalous editorial for GQ.

And who says models don’t eat?! The adorable Lindsey Wixson stuffed her face with spaghetti for Vogue Japan.

Apparently Wixson isn’t the only one who likes Italian…So do Stefano Gabbana and Domenico Dolce, the duo behind Dolce & Gabbana as seen in a recent issue of 10 Men. Yum?

And last but not least, a big thanks to Richardson for ruining one of my all time favorite desserts as he shoots American fashion designer Michael Kors getting quite friendly with an apple pie for Harper’s Baazar.

What do you think? In my opinion, I’m over the whole Terry Richardson aesthetic, or rather…I never was really all that in to it to begin with…I think it’s time to try something different, Terry.

Well fear not, because crazy photog Terry Richardson was and according to him and his camera lens, so was everyone else who was anyone in the fashion industry. The wedding, also known as “Moss-Stock” turned out to be a weekend long party…and for once Kate actually looks normal…maybe it really is “true love“? Check out the gallery below for more!

[View with PicLens]

[images via]

First it was Natasha Poly who was caught posing in front of a Gucci themed Fiat and now Jessica Stam stars in a video for Mercedes-Benz. While Poly was photographed for Fiat by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott, Mercedes, a global Fashion Week sponsor, opted for a racier approach by hiring Terry Richardson to get consumers rev’d up over the sultry Stam. The short video below shows Stam stealthy maneuvering through a warehouse in search of the silver sports car. What happens when she finds it? She does what any girl who’s been searching for misplaced car in a parking lot does- she gives it a big hug. But instead of getting in the car, she lays down next to it.

I don’t know if it’s fashion moving towards the car industry or vice versa, but there’s a sleuth of fashion’s heavy hitters getting behind the wheel for luxe auto brands. Along with the aforementioned ads above, Volkswagon has enlisted Karl Lagerfeld to shoot a new ad campaign (will Baptiste ride shotgun?) and Rolls Royce has hired Rankin to create a commemorate photo series for the 100th anniversary of the automobile, Spirit of Ecstasy. We clearly haven’t seen the last of fashion and the automotive industry colliding.

[source]

Lea T. has the modeling career that women (and men) dream of. Now the transgendered model, who has been making major waves in the industry, recently bared almost everything for her first swim campaign in Brazil for the brand Blue Man. Shot by Terry Richardson, we see Lea T. and her amazing body frolicking on the white sandy beach with a sleuth of shirtless man at her beckoning. I wonder how much of the beach background will be photoshopped out…note the gymnastics action happening behind Lea in the top image.

These behind-the-scenes shots of the shoot were recently leaked online and what got my attention (more than Lea’s body), is that hipster king Terry Richardson is wearing dark denim, plaid, and converse in the blistering Brazilian heat. He’s staying true to his basic fashions, but must’ve gotten a little warm because he’s also shot in a black tee which he had on under the plaid…because that’s practical for the beach?

The photog also captured two male models locking lips for the swim campaign. I can’t wait for the shots to be releases and I’m sure they’ll receive tons of attention for their racy nature.

There’s more of Lea T. on MyFDB.

[source]

Now, I don’t own a gun and I’m no arms specialist, but I do know all the serious stealth weapon moves and poses used to track down bad guys thanks to movies. Although I’m hardly a film buff, the gun toting model in this Vogue Hommes International Paris editorial also starred in the film Point Blank. I don’t remember the movie, but I’m pretty sure it’s one of those masculine films with explosions, car chases and guns. The actor-turned-model is Werner Schreyer and he clearly means business–I wouldn’t want him chasing me!

This editorial shadows Schreyer in the “Line of Duty” (the editorial’s title) as he practices his shooting and enemy tracking techniques. The infamous Terry Richardson also does some shooting of his own, as in he photographed Schreyer. After both Baptiste Giabiconi and Isabeli Fontana pulled off some gun-slinging poses, I’m starting to think shooting being armed and dangerous is a new fashion trend.

Browse the full shoot on MyFDB.

Professional Credits:

Aldo is known for their fun ads and with the weather in LA (finally) warming up the latest campaign totally has me craving more sunshine, daily. The ads shot by Terry Richardson also released an accomopanying video, which for Richardson’s usually contoversial ways, is actually quite appropraite. No nudity or sex, just the cute Lily Donaldson and Sean O’Pry laughing, dancing and playing on an invisible beach with floaties and fake sharks. Peep the video below! What do you think? Boring or cute!?