Paradigm Shift- Dita, Style Monte Carlo

During one of my strange-new-magazine binges a few years ago, I came across Style Monte Carlo, and it has become a favorite of mine. 

(the cover that first caught my eye- Brazillian beauty Fernanda Tavares)

The photography is spectacular, and the photo styling is very consistently High Glamour.  But what most struck me about them are their innovative ways of looking at cultural phenomena.

One of my favorite stories ever was of Dita von Teese.  The burlesque queen with the alabaster skin is definitely an emblem of glamour, but it's always dark, ornate, barely-clad, nocturnal glamour.  So of course, why not shoot her in the bright, blinding coastal sunlight on a boat, backlit by blue sky?

The Dior gown alone is spectacular, but add in the color, and the utter modernity of the dress... this is not your average Dita!

And what is this, if not striking?

This shot is close and cropped, so that you can see her, but the original image was about 75% blue sky, 15 % clean cement ship and white rail, and 10 % oh-heavens-look-at-that-dress-I-want-it.  And Dita gleams incandescent in a whole new way, flawless pin-up with a tongue-in-cheek difference from her usual routune.  I'm sure she's coated in SPF 9000, but clearly, the sun loves her.

Photography by Amadeo M. Turello