This weekend I was lucky enough to have tickets to the 2013 Vogue Festival, held at London's lovely Southbank Centre. Buzzing with fashionistas, celebs, journalists and bloggers alike, the whole venue was a true hotspot for people watching and outfit oogling! The sister and I had tickets to the talk entitled Behind the scenes of a Vogue cover shoot with the fabulous Alexandra Shulman, Lucinda Chambers, Cara Delevigne, Charlotte Tilbury and Sam McKnight talking all about the true ingredients for a Vogue cover and all the secrets underneath.
Firstly, I will say that the talk was truly fascinating. Each speaker really had something to bring to the table and you can tell that they have previously worked as a team because there was great chemistry between all of them.
The delightful Lucinda Chambers, all clad in her kitsch little ankle socks and flamboyant oversized blazer, began talking about the importance of team work and how each person involved inputs to create something that truly works together. Sam McKnight stated that he never really plans shoots and it's more about how poeple are feeling that day but Lucinda (quite comically) said "I actually spend weeks planning every little detail", but of course these plannings and timings can change depending on who the team is, where the location is and what the clothes are etc...
The set up for the talk was a really great with each speaker getting the chance to answer specific questions but also for others to chip in and add. They spoke in general for the first five minutes or so and then moved on to individual covers and stories.
Behind the scenes: Cara Delevigne- March 2013
The first up was the recent cover which actually involved all of the speakers from that talk. Shot by Testino and clad in Armani, it was Miss Delevigne's first cover for Vogue and when asked what this meant to her she said: "Being on a Vogue cover made me so nervous it was like I had just started modelling. It's like a badge of honour, a stamp of achievement." She was extremely down to earth but delightfully confident about what she had to say.
Behind the scenes: Emma Watson Vogue Cover- December 2010
This cover had a VERY interesting BTS story. Whilst on the way to Paris, the Eurostar train manager stole all of the clothes that the team had packed for the shoot. Emma Watson apparently got quite "out of the zone" and said: 'But I've been waiting seven years for this!" So Lucinda shared with us that they cobbled together things they already had with them - the photographer's jumper, her sunglasses - but thank God the Valentino dress turned up for the cover. Lucinda said: "I think the train driver sold all of the couture, but he kept the Topshop stuff!" I LOVE HER- such a funny lady!
Behind the scenes: Natalia Vodianova- May 2008
As soon as this cover popped on the projection screen, Lucinda shouted "Total disaster!" She went on to explain; "We had about two seconds with her, traffic was awful and in the photograph we put on the cover she wasn't actually even wearing the dress. We just laid it on top of her and took the shot. And that cover flew off the shelves." I love this story! Apparently the clothes didn't show up until the last day and the dress they used was just on standby- and look how incredible it looks!
Having looked at all of the disaster covers, there seems to be a pattern- they have all been shot by Testino? Perhaps he is cursed/blessed with disasters that turn into masterpieces!
After the talk, the Sis and I headed over to the other stalls to see what else the festival had to offer. We tried on an array of Chanel goods, picked at yummy Vogue muffins and even starred in our very own Vogue shoot- photos not to be included in this post I'm afraid. But overall, a fantastic weekend for fashion and congratulations to Vogue and all that were involved in organising a great weekend.
Peace,
O x
O x
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