Being appointed editor-in-chief of one of the most iconic and revered fashion magazines in the country brings with it a certain amount of stress, but having your inaugural issue come out less than two months after our nation’s greatest tragedy in a generation – September, 11 2001 – is horse of another color. Glenda Bailey, fresh from the helm of Marie Claire, handled the situation flawlessly, and ten years later she is still churning out jubilant, tongue-in-cheek, and at times slightly irreverent editorials that push the boundaries of fashion and photography in ways that other magazines shy away from. To celebrate her benchmark anniversary, Harper’s released Harper’s Bazaar Greatest Hits, a compendium of fashion photography at its’ best accompanied by contributions from models, actors and designers who took part in Bailey’s incredible first ten years.
The book itself is beautiful, emblazoned with the image of billowing coral silk that looks more like an exotic flower than haute couture. Inside, the pages are filled with milestones of fashion photography: The 2010 cover image of Demi Moore in McQueen Armadillo heels and a giraffe, the characters of the Simpsons taking a walking tour of Paris with Linda Evangelista, Donna Karan dipped in gold. These are the photographs that will be immortalized and enshrined beside Richard Avedon’s early portraits of Hepburn, Warhol and Elizabeth Taylor.
Available now, Harper’s Bazaar Greatest Hits can be found at amazon.com or other fine retailers.
