Steven Meisel’s Fabulous Fakes
If while thumbing through the November issue of W you stumbled upon some peculiar advertisements, such as Linda Evangelista hawking a shampoo, that’s because scattered throughout the magazine are nine completely phony ads—each photographed by Steven Meisel and styled by W’s Edward Enninful—starring a who’s who of pop culture today.
1
Wanting to create an image that was just plain naughty, the team conceived this lingerie ad, which features model Karen Elson surrounded by a cast of naked and submissive male models dolled up in diamond jewels and sporting reddened bottoms—the latter courtesy of makeup artist Pat McGrath. “Underwear in itself is so sexy,” explains Enninful. “We wanted to push the idea, to really make it shocking.”
Elson wears Agent Provocateur custom suede and satin lingerie set, agentprovocateur.com. Falke stockings, $34, shopbop.com; Tom Ford shoes, $870, at Tom Ford, New York, 212.359.0300.
2
When it came to casting a woman for a classic shampoo commercial, there was only one option: the iconic Linda Evangelista, who, aside from being an extraordinary model, was thought to have the chops to convincingly express the sensation of a tingly scalp. “She is the ultimate actress,” Enninful says.
3
Viewers of Drag Race, the reality-TV show and drag-queen competition hosted by RuPaul, will immediately recognize the illustrious Carmen Carrera, who became an instant fan favorite by flaunting her womanly curves. And while she worked it hard here as the face and bod for La Femme fragrance, behind the scenes the 23-year-old New Jersey native was a surprisingly modest dude. “She has no idea what a star she is,” says Enninful.
Carrera wears her own lingerie. Stylist’s own shoes; Tiara Time tiara, $38, at tiaratime.com; Leviev platinum and diamond earrings, price upon request, leviev.com. Lorraine Schwartz 18k white gold, pearl, and diamond necklace, price upon request, at Bergdorf Goodman, New York. Leviev 18k yellow gold, platinum, and diamond necklace (from top), price upon request, leviev.com. Lorraine Schwartz 18k white gold and diamond cuff, price upon request, at Bergdorf Goodman, New York, 212.872.8892; Jacob & Co. 18k white gold and diamond cuff, price upon request, at Jacob & Co., New York, 212.719.5887; Jacob & Co. 18k white gold and diamond bracelet, price upon request, at Jacob & Co., New York, 212.719.5887; Penny Preville 18k white gold and diamond cuff, $29,970, pennypreville.com (on right wrist, from top); Lorraine Schwartz 18k white gold and diamond cuff, price upon request, at Bergdorf Goodman, New York, 212.872.8892; Lorraine Schwartz 18k white gold and diamond bracelet, price upon request, at Bergdorf Goodman, New York, 212.872.8892 (on left wrist); De Beers 18k white gold necklace, price upon request, debeers.com (holding).
4
Joel Schumacher, 72, might not seem like the most obvious man to front a glamorous high-fashion label in the vein of Halston. But long before he was directing such films as St. Elmo’s Fire and Batman Forever, Schumacher was a fashion kid, designing window displays for Henri Bendel and styling stories for Diana Vreeland at Vogue. Additionally, “he’s just so chic,” says Enninful.
From left: Lanvin’s black silk strapless dress, $5,925, at Lanvin, New York, 646.439.0381. Harry Winston platinum, sapphire, and diamond earrings, price upon request, harrywinston.com; David Webb platinum, emerald, and diamond necklace, $525,000, at David Webb, New York, 212.421.3030; De Beers platinum and diamond ring, price upon request, debeers.com (on right wrist, from top); Jacob & Co. 18k yellow and white gold and diamond cuffs, price upon request, at Jacob & Company, New York, 212.719.5887; René Caovilla shoes, $900, at Neiman Marcus, neimanmarcus.com. Alexander Wang black cupro dress, $915, at Alexander Wang, New York, alexanderwang.com. Kwiat Vintage 18k white gold and diamond earrings, $18,900, kwiat.com; Lorraine Schwartz 18k white gold and diamond cuff, price upon request, at Bergdorf Goodman, New York, 212.872.8892; De Beers 18k white gold and diamond ring, price upon request, debeers.com (on left wrist, from top); Lorraine Schwartz 18k white gold and diamond cuff, price upon request, at Bergdorf Goodman, New York, 212.872.8892 (on right wrist); Michael Kors shoes, $895, at Michael Kors Collection, 866.709.5677. Schumacher wears own Ralph Lauren Purple Label suit, shirt, and shoes. Calvin Klein Collection black silk and wool sterling halter dress, $5,695, at Calvin Klein Collection, New York, 212.292.9000. Fred Leighton platinum and diamond earrings, price upon request, at Fred Leighton, New York, 212.288.1872. Chopard 18k white gold and diamond ring, price upon request, chopard.com (on right hand). Lorraine Schwartz 18k white gold and diamond cuff, price upon request, at Bergdorf Goodman, New York, 212.872.8892 (on left wrist). René Caovilla shoes, $1,214, renecaovilla.com. Giorgio Armani’s black viscose jersey beaded dress, $13,500, at Giorgio Armani, New York, 212.988.9191. Kwiat Vintage 18k white gold and diamond earrings, $15,900, kwiat.com; Chanel Fine Jewelry 18k white gold and diamond cuff, price upon request, available at Chanel Fine Jewelry stores, 800.550.0005 (on right wrist); Kwiat ring, $7,900, kwiat.com (on left hand); Tom Ford shoes, $1,150, at Tom Ford, New York, 212.359.0300. Juan Carlos Obando’s chiffon gown, $3,850 at Barneys New York, barneys.com. De Beers 18k white gold and diamond earrings, price upon request, debeers.com; Fred Leighton platinum and diamond bracelet, price upon request, at Fred Leighton, New York, 212.288.1872; Jacob & Co. 18k black plated gold and diamond cuff, price upon request, at Jacob & Co., New York, 212.719.5887; Cartier 18k white gold, lacquer, onyx, emerald, and diamond ring, $56,800, cartier.com (on right wrist, from top); Fred Leighton platinum and diamond bracelet, price upon request, at Fred Leighton, New York, 212.288.1872; Giuseppe Zanotti shoes, $795, at Giuseppe Zanotti, New York, 212.650.0455.
5
Now that Botox has become as common as a hair blowout, a beauty ad featuring women aging gracefully seemed like a refreshing idea. And who better to star in it than legendary stylists and longtime Meisel collaborators Anna Dello Russo, Marie-Amélie Sauvé, Brana Wolf, Carlyne Cerf de Dudzeele, Polly Mellen, and W ’s Style Editor at Large, Lori Goldstein—all of whom got a kick out of posing together before Meisel’s lens. “People think everyone hates each other in fashion,” says Enninful. “They got on like a house on fire!”
Clockwise from top left: Dello Russo wears own Charvet shirt, Wolf wears own Jil Sander shirt, Cerf de Dudzeele wears own Helmut Lang shirt, Mellen wears own Helmut Lang shirt, Sauvé wears own Charvet shirt, Goldstein wears own Junya Watanabe shirt.
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Most folks watch Dennis Basso and Joan Rivers’s QVC segments for the good deals on embellished wares; others, like Enninful, tune in solely for the entertainment value. “They’re incredibly funny and have great chemistry,” he says. As such, they were the perfect pair to pose in a fur coat ad inspired by Blackglama’s icon-laden Legend campaign from the Sixties and Seventies.
Rivers wears Dennis Basso’s own fur. Fred Leighton 18k white gold, morganite, and diamond earrings, price upon request, at Fred Leighton, New York, 212.288.1872; Fred Leighton platinum, ruby, and diamond ring, price upon request, at Fred Leighton, New York, 212.288.1872; Fred Leighton platinum and diamond bracelet, price upon request, at Fred Leighton, New York, 212.288.1872; Fred Leighton platinum and diamond bracelet, price upon request, at Fred Leighton, New York, 212.288.1872.
7
What do you get when you tap Eden Wood—the six-year-old beauty pageant vet and star of TLC’s reality show Toddlers & Tiaras—to model a lavish children’s wear label? Lots of laughs—and some pain. “She was running around karate chopping everyone,” Enninful says. “My back was sore for three days.” On camera, though, it was a different story: “She didn’t need any direction. You couldn’t even distract her. She was a total professional.”
Wood wears Marchesa’s tulle and silk dress, price upon request, at marchesa.com. Wood’s own tiara, socks, and Nina shoes.
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Not every product needs a face to sell it—some simply require a mood. Such was the idea for Vainglorious, an exhilarating new fragrance for women who like to be the center of attention—as exemplified by models Karen Elson, Guinevere van Seenus, and Coco Rocha.
Van Seenus wears Carolina Amato gloves, $225, carolinaamato.com. Rocha wears Adrienne Landau’s Mongolian lamb capelet, $495, at Neiman Marcus, neimanmarcus.com, Elson wears Yves Saint Laurent’s blouse, $1,790, and feathered coat, $30,550, at Yves Saint Laurent, New York, 212.980.2970.
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Formula 1 heiress Petra Ecclestone made headlines this summer when she purchased Candy Spelling’s L.A. über mansion for a cool $85 million. So what’s a girl to do next? Launch a signature scent, of course! Here, the model and fashion designer stars in the ad for Petra, her imaginary eau de socialite.
Ecclestone wears Dolce & Gabbana’s custom silk corset, not available for purchase. Ecclestone’s own ring, Cartier 18k yellow gold bangle, Cartier 18k yellow gold and diamond bangle, both cartier.com (on right wrist, from top); Jacob & Co. platinum and diamond ring, at Jacob & Company, New York, 212.719.5887 (on left hand).
