collage: made by me from images from the gentlewoman website
photos: la mignonette including that wondeful shot of Anastasia Barbieri that has become quite possibly one of my most favourite photos of all time, no joke!!
The second issue of the gentlewoman is just as wonderful as the first. Opening with a series of question and answers with various creatives types including Ashley Olsen and Film Producer Rain Li, and then progressing through the thick, blissful pages with such features as "Apple" - a celebration of that glorious fruit - winter editorials that focus on fighting the chil, "Navy" which features outfits comprised one hundred percent of navy clothes, the scintillating boot polish editorial that had more than a whiff of repressed sexuality, a fantastic interview with photographer Inez Van Lamsweerde which included some never before published portraits by Helmut Newton, a very cute back-of-book collage of "handiwork" past-times, where a hand model with beautiful hands knitted, carved, hand-dressed salad and chopped whilst the women of the issue talked about their favourite handiwork past-times.... That's quite enough to be going on with, right?
The best thing about The Gentlewoman is that it celebrates creativity in all its form. Whether that be actresses, designers, photographers, writers, or the head of a curry-making corporation. The articles are fresh and surprising - and although riddles with spelling mistakes and typography errors that irk - remind me of the kind of unbridled enthusiasm for life that i-D used to have in the good old days. I particularly enjoyed Marion Hume's wonderful article about Television News Anchors and the do's and don'ts of TV fashion. It was intelligent, humorous and ultimately gripping. My favourite editorial was the zoomed in "winter", where Parisian fashion types like Anastasia Barbieri wrapped up against the chill and enjoyed a sneaky cigarette or cup of coffee. "While most Europeans hibernate in the winter months", the opening lines read, "The Parisians elegantly embrace the seasonal chill. They'll be cruising the boulevards instead, or sitting out on terraces and sipping hot drinks, wrapped in the cosiest of knitwear." Definitely a true statement, and I can't wait to have another Parisian winter, enjoying that crisp winter chill on my cheeks.
Essentially the Gentlewoman is a creative magazine. Where else would you find editorials where the clothes are folded up, oragami style, to form pyramids of grey? Or an entire 8 page editorial on apples, from pink lady to granny smith? Or a wonderfully cheeky article about comedienne Julia Davis, complete with a collage of her wackiest characters? I do love glamour in a magazine, but sometimes glamour can become staid. After only two issues it is hard to tell exactly what will happen to The Gentlewoman's refreshingly, well, fresh tone. But right now, it's exactly what I need.
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