Controversy (be my sole survivor)

 

Nasya Piankouskaya, Margaryta Senchylo, Sabina Karlsson with Danguole Stancikaite and Alison Nix.
From Teen Vogue apr'08 (courtesy of Jewelbox), Teen Vogue may'08 (courtesy of Luxx) and Marie Claire apr' 08

Seems that today - or these months - it's easier to shock by the clean (clinic ?) aspect of a cover, the minimal styling of an editorial than with something that have breed controversy and misunderstanding through the last decades. No need for raw pictures anymore. No need for blood, clean is the new blood as blood was the new black. No need for sex. No rush for trashy and flashy any longer. Get a white background, a cleaner-than-clean hairdo, a pile of random clothes and put them together on a stiff-looking model and you can be sure people (readers ?) will be barking and howling.
When we saw Alison's latest cover for Marie-Claire Italia, our first thought was it looked like a very honest cover. Nothing striking but in the end something very simple with a little twist that makes it nonetheless quite interesting. We were really astonished by the reactions from other people. Never thought such a clean and quiet cover could make some violent waves. People laughed and people puked at a cover that should have simply been sticked to a monthly mainstream vision of global fashion. Without any attempt to catch a broader audience or make some extra headlines for being that controversial. Yes, there much more controversy today in making the cleanest picture possible. Maybe what's controversial is the obvious choice of a white background when dirt has become so easy to handle. And to picture. Dirt is cleaner than the white background. Dirt is less scary that the void. We love the void. Love the unknown. Dirt has lost it's appeal. Dirt has been cheapened all over the years while clean things were considered as uninteresting and anyone who worked on a clean picture took from this situation the greatest opportunity: consider the clean aspect as an alibi. And put the emphasis somewhere else. Alison's almost kitschy outfit and stiff pose, glossy skin and awkward hairdo bring much power to that "plain" cover. Plain is bewitching, plain is amazing. We want more plain. Plain. Plain is where imagination still have its word to say after the picture has been printed. Plain leaves room enough for the person who reads the mag and take a closer look at the pictures inside. But please, please, please. No fake plain. We want real plain. Like a Nastya Piankouskaya running barefoot on the beach, trying to smile, to look happy to be there. She might be happy, we don't know. But what's beautiful is the way she can't get rid of that melancholic thing she has deep in her eyes. Probably this editorial was meant to picture a young lady featuring clothes that would look good on the beach. In the end it's a marvelous mix of feelings, brought back by an excellent model who was able to show her full talent. Simply because it was just all about modeling clothes. Next issue, next step. Replace the names and let's go back to the same background. And experience some other smiles and discover some other hidden feelings (NB: Sole Survivor is the title of the last editorial in this month's Teen Vogue. Unfortunately it's only shoes).