GOT HER!: Hillary Clinton was careful enough to sidestep the pages of Vogue, but not enough to avoid Harper's Bazaar. The senator pulled out of a photo shoot with Vogue in the fall for fear of appearing too feminine, causing that magazine's editor in chief, Anna Wintour, to write an editor's letter voicing her disappointment. But Clinton appears alongside a model wearing a miniskirt and platform heels in a spread called "The Politics of Fashion" in Bazaar's February issue. The spread also includes Mitt Romney, Fred Thompson (who dropped out of the race on Tuesday), Barack Obama, John Edwards, John McCain, Rudy Giuliani and Michael Bloomberg.
So how did Bazaar get all those fast-traveling presidential candidates to stand around and pose with models? Easy: the camera lies. Photographer Peter Lindbergh shot model Nadja Auermann near life-size cutouts of the candidates. The magazine bought the images for the cutouts from a photo agency. The lifelike shots look real enough at a quick glance, even the shot with Romney snacking on a doughnut as he answers questions from a reporter (Auermann).
And does Bazaar admit the shoot is a fake? Not really, although a spokeswoman for the magazine pointed out that a teaser under the story headline should tip the reader off. It reads: "They're smart and savvy and have made for TV smiles, but can you believe everything you see?" Clinton is wearing a white pantsuit in the photos, an outfit similar to a "niftily tailored white silk pantsuit by Francisco Costa for Calvin Klein" that Wintour suggests for Clinton in her editor's note. Clinton's camp had no comment on the Bazaar photographs. — Stephanie D. Smith
TOMMY'S BACK: Tommy Hilfiger is returning to "The Oprah Winfrey Show" today, but it shouldn't be as controversial as his first appearance last year when he firmly defended his brand and its stance on racism. This time should be somewhat easier: The designer is part of a show themed "What Makes America, America." Hilfiger will be talking about inspirations for his recent book, "Iconic America" — a celebration of quintessential American iconography released in the fall. — S.D.S.
So how did Bazaar get all those fast-traveling presidential candidates to stand around and pose with models? Easy: the camera lies. Photographer Peter Lindbergh shot model Nadja Auermann near life-size cutouts of the candidates. The magazine bought the images for the cutouts from a photo agency. The lifelike shots look real enough at a quick glance, even the shot with Romney snacking on a doughnut as he answers questions from a reporter (Auermann).
And does Bazaar admit the shoot is a fake? Not really, although a spokeswoman for the magazine pointed out that a teaser under the story headline should tip the reader off. It reads: "They're smart and savvy and have made for TV smiles, but can you believe everything you see?" Clinton is wearing a white pantsuit in the photos, an outfit similar to a "niftily tailored white silk pantsuit by Francisco Costa for Calvin Klein" that Wintour suggests for Clinton in her editor's note. Clinton's camp had no comment on the Bazaar photographs. — Stephanie D. Smith
TOMMY'S BACK: Tommy Hilfiger is returning to "The Oprah Winfrey Show" today, but it shouldn't be as controversial as his first appearance last year when he firmly defended his brand and its stance on racism. This time should be somewhat easier: The designer is part of a show themed "What Makes America, America." Hilfiger will be talking about inspirations for his recent book, "Iconic America" — a celebration of quintessential American iconography released in the fall. — S.D.S.
