Steven Meisel has always been known for his edgy fashion spreads, but has he gone too far now? His latest fashion spread to appear in Italian Vogue is inspired by the BP oil spill catastrophe. The spread has beautiful model Kristen McMenamy clothed in couture drenched in oil lying helplessly on the shore. Does this send out a message or is this just distasteful? Many argue about the artistic credibility of fashion photography. Sure they do have artistic value, but the essence of them is to sell, to advertise. Refinery29, the online fashion magazine, believes the spread to be wasteful and hypocritical, disgusted by the idea of luxury items being flown in to be muddied, photographed and then advertised. Captions such as 'Oil is the new black' are particularly horrendous and insensitive. Or could it be Meisel's attempt at irony - portraying the tragedy and grittiness of an ecological disaster in a usually glamorous magazine. Is this a creative eye-opener or is this just opportunistic advertising? What are your thoughts? Well have a glance at the Look Book and judge for yourself.
If you're interested in reading what others have to say about this controversial shoot, check out Newsweek's article.
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