David Bowie was (is) one of the most influential and avant guard artists that ever walked this earth. As part of the tributes pouring out from all over the world in the wake of his death, I decided to re-make, with the help of a Fine Print Elise Jolie, two of his most iconic album covers: Aladdin Sane and Low. If you do not know who David Bowie is, please try and discover him, it will open a multitude of new worlds for you.

Alladin Sane cover tribute

Low cover tribute

The original Aladdin Sane album cover - Design Brian Duffy - Photography Brian Duffy/Celia Philo/Philip Castle - Design/Artwork Released April 1973

The original Low cover, Design Steve Schapiro - Photography Released January 1977

Most people interested in fashion are well aware of one of the biggest on-line fashion retailers, Net-A-Porter. They should also know that the company now has its own fashion magazine, called, what else, Porter. For its launch, back in February, the magazine also launched a mobile app, asking fans to post their own photo as the cover of the magazine. All one has to do is pick the photo - the app does the rest so that you have a ready made Porter cover, with its own cover lines etc. You can also pick the colour of the logo and letters (black or white only). For the second issue, they updated the app to feature a series of Philip Treacy hats worn by Lady Gaga (she was the original cover's model). Of course, the main point was advertising the magazine: the app helped people share their covers throughout most social media platforms and encouraged the use of specific hashtags to make them more prominent. I instantly figured out that my dolls would be perfect models for this endeavour so here are the results. I am proud to say that the fashion director of L'Officiel Hommes Italia, Emile Rebek, liked the three Gaga ones (the first three below - thank you sir!).

In December, the Greek edition of Votre Beaute magazine celebrated it's 20th birthday with a great anniversary issue, showcasing various moments of the magazine's history in Greece. The cover was a blast: featuring one of the most iconic Greek models ever, the inimitable Mara Desypri (nowdays a photohrapher, frequently contributing to Vogue Hellas) wearing a dress by Vassilis Zoulias, who started his carrer as a stylist when Mara was a model and now is a fashion designer turning out gorgeous collections full of coveted frocks and accessories. I loved it so much, I decided to make a version of it for my blog. Of course there is no doll looking like Mara: her strong features would not make a very commercial doll. I picked Red Zinger Daria from the Future Perfect 2009 collection. Her make up was very close to Mara's and she looks gorgeous too.

The hair of Mara was styled by the extremely talented and fellow doll collector and lover Thanos Samaras. I could not even begin to try and imitate the same hair on Daria, so I just made a new updo, keeping it stylish and chic. The black dress is the top and skirt of Dressing the Part Agnes, shoes are from an older Fashion Royalty outfit and the gloves are from Bewitching Hour Luchia. Unfortunately the doll's articulation does not help to style the exact pose but I did the best I could save breaking her shoulder joints. And here is the original cover (Photo by Thanassis Krikis, fashion editor is Michalis Georgiou and makeup is by Stellar):

All the major ladies of the FR fashion universe converge on this Vogue fold-out cover! Inspired by this one! I hope you enjoy it! Wonder how long could the ladies last all together in the studio before catfights broke out!

Click on the pic to see a bigger version - the names of the ladies are on the right side of the photo!

Update: the photo got the Picture of the week Award from Terri's Collecting Fashion Dolls blog! Thank you Terri for the honour!