Yesterday I Tweeted "Dear Vogue UK, why, when photographing celebrated size 16 Adele in your October 2011 edition, did you only snap her from the neck/chest up?" Cue an avalanche of replies in agreement; "I was thinking the exact same thing" was the majority reaction. While others tweeted about the seeming hypocrisy of Britain's ultimate high fashion glossy using our current greatest British music artist (and export) on its cover, and then not delivering her in full-length fashion shots inside.
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| Adele's cover (image from gossiponthis.com) |
what, no clothes? (Photo: Solve Sundsbo/Vogue)
The Clements Riberio dress is here somewhere....
Well, busted! I love the photos of Adele by Solve Sundsbo, the hair by Samantha Hillerby is stunning, the Charlotte Tilbury make-up sublime and those nails! Anatole Rainey, I salute you! Christa D''Souza's interview is, as always, frank and open, but I think Vogue are leaving themselves open to criticism over the way they handled the fashion shoot. I'm no disgruntled size 14, and have been slim my entire life, but I feel short-changed. Hey Vogue, why not demonstrate how to celebrate Adele's shape, and give fashion confidence to legions of shapely women?
Nice lace, same about the dress.... (Photo: Solve Sundsbo/Vogue)
For her part, Adele loves fashion. In the piece she tells Christa; "Before I got into Johnny Cash and discovered June Carter [his wife] and decided to wear nothing but black from there on, I wore loads of colour, and like, miniskirts over jeans. But, like, now I love old school. Chanel, Prada, you know. And Burberry, definitely." Adele changed her style from colourful to old-school black after being dressed for the Grammys by stylist Barbara Tfank on the suggestion of Anna Wintour.
Chanel's largest size is a French 50, or a UK size 16/18. Prada's largest size is Italian 46, or size 16, and Burberry and Clements Ribeiro goes up to a 16. So why couldn't Vogue put her in off-the-peg?
Q Magazine managed to show full length photos of Adele.... (from Q: July 2011 issue)
Anyway, for interested parties, I think I have found the "invisible dress" by Clements Ribeiro from the Vogue shoot (photo above), Adele wore it on Tuesday night for the Mercury Music prize, and indeed has been wearing lots of Clements Ribeiro on her recent tour of US and Canada. Doesn't she look lovely?
Adele wearing Clements Ribeiro on Tuesday to the Mercury Prize
What do you think? Please share your thoughts with me...
(Friday 9th September update: Scroll down to see the comment made by Inacio Ribeiro of Clements Ribeiro, staing where the dress can be bought)
I don't know whether I'm more pissed off with Vogue for only showing her exquisite face, or more pissed off with Adele for agreeing to an interview with a magazine that pushes everything she claims to be against, or have no time for.
ReplyDeleteI agree.
ReplyDeleteIt's funny, when I first saw the cover I thought to myself "Stunning" I then thought this cover looked different to most Vogue covers but I couldn't figure out why. I thought to myself it can't be because Adele's a size 16 because you can't even see her body... oh wait it's because you can't see her body that it looks different.
There is no reason why they couldn't have put her in an off the peg piece, but if there was they could even have used-dare I say it-high street.
I see this as a missed opportunity when I think of the benefits this would have had for Vogue and designer labels in terms of the new readers/customers they could have gained.
*kanye shrug*
Strut Mode
Very interesting post, either way, she has such a stunning face.
ReplyDeleteI'm a size 14/16 and an avid reader of Vogue.. To have seen Adele in her full glory would have been a bonus and to be honest it would have actually made me feel a little better. I love fashion, I am not the same size or anywhere near the usual models in the magazine and to have seen what shapes and cuts they'd have placed her in would have been interesting for me to see.
ReplyDeleteA size 16 is the average woman's size.. surely it wouldn't have been hard to source the clothes non?
I do love Adele and as she said, "I make music for ears, not eyes."
I totally agree with you. I think Vogue have really alienated a large population of their readers, those in the plus size category and those upset for not being able to see a fabulous role model for young women in a fashion editorial. I find it hard to believe that it is such a struggle and debate for Vogue to publish flattering photos of a plus size woman on the cover or within the magazine. Adele's outfits are beautiful and whenever she is snapped she looks a million dollars so why was it so hard for Vogue to find outfits for her to wear in an editorial? Isn't part of their job unearthing new talent or showcasing various brands in all their glory? I guess if you are plus size you dont exist in a Vogue world.
ReplyDeleteAs a size 16/18/20 woman (depends on the month) I find the way that Vogue dealt with photographing Adele both frustrating and heartbreaking. I have spent my whole life battling my weight-related self-loathing, and I have no doubt that it is contributed to by the fact that I so rarely see women of my size in magazines, on telly, etc. I am delighted that Vogue put Adele on the cover, she deserves it, she's beautiful, but in photographing her the way they did they send me one of two messages. Either a) it is impossible to nicely dress a woman of my size (as you've pointed out), or b) bodies like mine are too gross to appear on the pages of Vogue.
ReplyDeleteThank you for writing this. For some reason it means more to me that it's come from someone who hasn't always struggled with weight issues. If it's obvious to you it should be obvious to everyone.
Vogue should of published a full body shot.
ReplyDeleteI think the magazine could do with some curvy figures.
All my friends read each fashion magazine and they say they wish they were as skinny as each model. If all magazines weren't full of skinny figures, the majority of girls wouldn't sacrifice they're body to get the slimmest body shape and be proud of who they really are.
Interesting points being made, generally I think it's good to showcase a range of faces and figures in editorial. However, I read this and recalled that when Alexa Chung was featured recently(June), it was just a head and shoulders shot. I randomly picked up a couple more vogues strewn around the bathroom(I like to read Vogue in the bath ok?) and found same thing; Kate Winslet(April),just a head shot; Raquel Zimmerman(summer 2011), just a head shot. I think the style in which Adele has been photographed is representative of her style (dressing well, and in mainly black). Like S.P says in the earlier comment, she has a stunning face and they've shown it,is this really anything to do with size?
ReplyDeleteDear 2redsdontmakearight, er...no. You are mistaken. Maybe all the steam from the bath has gotten in your eyes?? I keep British Vogues on my desk in a magazine holder right in front of me, and the two issues you refer to - April with Kate Winslet on the cover and June with Alexa on the cover - do not feature solely head and shoulders shots. In the Kate Winslet editorial we see her back, her arms, the shape of her torso and her shoulders. In the Alexa shoot we see her clothed from the knees up in most of the shots. Anyway, I don't want to fuss and get OCD about this, I merely wanted too point out the missed opportunity, and the discrepancies at play, and allow people a voice.
ReplyDeleteI agree totally, very disappointing! This was definitely a missed opportunity. Am I mistaken, or is the q magazine image photoshopped at the waist? Adele's waist looks larger in the paparazzi shot. If so, q shouldn't get too much credit,
ReplyDeleteBloody fantastic shout lady!
ReplyDeleteHelen, x
http://areyoudressingupordressingdown.blogspot.com
Dear Melanie
ReplyDeleteSuzanne and I appreciate your point of view and are very impressed with your detective work.
The Clements Ribeiro dress Adele wore is a custom made version of look 23 from our A/W 11 show - we call it 'Rebecca' dress.
In London that dress can be found at the new destination store Mooi in Kensington.
Net-a-Porter is our main stockist in the UK, but they did not buy that particular style.
Adele is a fantastic woman, beautiful and voluptuous. Like many big girls she loves fashion and we are very happy and proud to have her wearing our designs.
She is our muse right now, actually.
Congratulations for spurring the debate and thank you for your great backroom research. Very best,
Inacio Ribeiro
Well said. And, have to say I was also disappointed with Italian Vogue's supposed plus size issue (earlier this summer) - the models they used were mostly in their underwear...
ReplyDeleteI picked up my issue today.
ReplyDeleteThe cover image of Adele looks incredibly striking in print, but - let's not coat this with sugar - it is indeed predictable, and more than a little patronising, to have another head shot/decapitation in which her body is obliterated from view.
Would it really be shocking or repugnant to show more, really?
Sarah x
http://stylesouk.wordpress.com
Um, Grazia, recent airbrushing scandal and glasshouses comes to mind?
ReplyDeleteFanatastic post.
ReplyDeleteI've also been slim all my life, and I am with you on this 100%. How ridiculous that they treat her as though she is, as they, Such A Pretty Face. Euphemism for, we can't show the rest of her.
ReplyDeleteThanks for all your comments. I wanted to pass on the details of Mooi, the shop Inacio referred to as the stockist for their Adele dress. Mooi, 12 Abingdon Road, Kensington
ReplyDeleteLondon, W8 6AF. It does not have a website, but the telephone number is: 0207 938 1534
very interesting debte. i do not have anything very clever to add, just wanted to say thanks for starting the interesting conversation.
ReplyDeletea great article indeed and what a missed opportunity as you say. It would have been lovely to see a bit more than just her lovely face and great makeup and hair do.
ReplyDeleteLove the blog too :)
xx
TFC
I noticed this too, and I'm so glad you have actually tried to do something pro active about it. There is absolutely nothing wrong with not being stick thin, and since most women in the Uk aren't, shouldn't Vogue realise that and change their views? I agree with you completely about it being a missed opportunity, they could have changed the way women all over the world think about themselves and others, yet they decided to play it safe and just give her nice hair and nails- okay gorgeous hair and nails! Still, it was definitely wasted. Great post!
ReplyDeletewww.styleisalwaysfashionable.blogspot.com
Fantastic post!!
ReplyDeleteAdele is incredibly talented and gorgeous,and I love her figure!! Mind you,we're the same size,so why wouldn't I?!
Sometimes it seems like the fashion world is getting a grip.....but then they go and do this.Are we being paranoid and suspicious?? I think not.:)
They're not very bright, are they? Clements Ribeiro should be raking in the money selling those dresses in those sizes. Instead, they cannot be found.
ReplyDeleteI Love Adele, but as a designer of Women's clothes up to size 22 I have to say she looks bigger than a standard 16/18 to me. Maybe the reason they couldn't source of the peg..
ReplyDeleteAnd if the items were not particularly flattering she may not have wanted to be shown in full length.
Suppose I'm a 20 living in South Africa. I watched the 2013/14 Burberry designs on FTV and I was salivating so I decided to Google their sizes. When I had the body towering at 1.8m I didn't have the money now I can afford the designs they don't have the sizes ...damn!
ReplyDelete