I'm turning Chinese....I really think so

Wow, just looked up W magazine which I haven't bought since I was in New York at the airport as America Ferrera was on the cover (Betty Suarez) and I needed a guilty pleasure for the journey. May I also add I was furiously hung over after one last night of partying on Spring Street till 5am. I digress...

At present I am reviewing ELEVEN, a book by the one and only Philip-Lorca diCorcia which consists of 11 portfolios that were featured in W magazine. To see the review please purchase the Spring Edition of LIP magazine. Needless to say - apart from the book being wonderful - I had to do a little jog down memory lane to remind me what the magazine was about and was thrilled to find this little gem of Natalie Portman. The feature has 19 portraits of actors who have inspired the magazine in the last year. It was hard not to make the comparison with Neeta Madahar's Flora series. The approach - with plenty of post-production - however does render each sitter to a level of perfection nobody living can actually achieve. However, despite this, the other-worldly nature of this portrait meets with my approval, for what it's worth.

The cheekier, naughtier Helena Bonham Carter appeals to the sexy woman who isn't afraid to go overboard on her makeup and still look extraordinarily fabulous. I think the curly hair also give a shout out to those blessed/cursed with natural curls who are terribly unfashionable as ceramic hair straighteners threaten to rid the world of all wild hairdos in the name of 'conformity'. (Good girls look well-groomed with neat do's, see here) This is not to say I have anything against prim and proper ladies, but times are tough and a little wildness goes a long way in my book.

PS: Lee Swillingham and Stuart Spalding at Suburbia have their own blog too, hope they like this one.

Photo credits:
Natalie Portman in "Black Swan"

By Lynn Hirschberg
Photographs by Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin
Styled by Melanie Ward
Portfolio designed by Lee Swillingham and Stuart Spalding at Suburbia

Helena Bonham Carter in "The King's Speech"
By Lynn Hirschberg
Photographs by Inez Van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin
Styled by Melanie Ward