Steven Meisel is a magazine’s dream catch. His work is controversial and always catches the attention of readers and the media. The team at W Magazine was thrilled earlier this year when they managed to book the photographer to shoot for their September issue but unfortunately the celebration didn’t last long. The photographer failed to mention to the magazine that he shot a very similar story for his beloved Italian Vogue, set to be released a month before W in August. The 22-page black and white portfolio was strikingly similar, down to the poses, in spite of having different models and stylists. This is a situation that can only really go poorly for W because if they kick up a storm and chastise Meisel, they will be losing a powerful contact for the publication, but if they roll over, they look spineless under the heel of an industry influencer. The image on the left is from the Italian Vogue spread and the image on the right is from W. After looking at the full portfolios, I think they might be exaggerating slightly, but with the kind of money that Meisel demands for his work, I’m sure the editors were hoping for something a bit more original.
To see the full portfolios, check out the forum thread here:
[WWD]
