If you’ve been following UK Harper’s Bazaar for the past few years, you may have noticed a formula they tend to follow issue after issue, cover after cover. An actress? Check. An underrated photographer? Check. A tranquil British countryside location? Check. For April 2018, Lily James is the latest actress to be slotted into the aesthetic, captured on location in an idyllic village setting, photographed by Richard Phibbs and styled by Miranda Almond. In the newsstand cover image (below), Lily walks through the village wearing a floral Erdem dress while taking a break from riding her bike.
For the most part, our forum members liked what they saw. “Oooh, this is a really cute cover, they nailed ‘British springtime’ and Lily is adorable,” admired forum member SallyAlbright the second the cover came to light.
“This is a thriving magazine at a time when others are closing down, so I can’t really knock the formula. It’s got a signature look and it’s got a dedicated readership. It’s usually beautifully made. I should just give in and enjoy it,” added tigerrouge.
Sharing the same enthusiasm towards Bazaar‘s aesthetic was 333101. “I found it very twee at first glance, but liked it a lot more when I saw it in person today (and bought it). Vogue certainly wouldn’t get away with it, but this is UK Bazaar‘s identity and somehow they make it work,” she applauded.
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“I was a bit let down by this cover. Normally I love British Bazaar, and I adore Lily James, but something about this cover just feels off,” said brikin.
“British Bazaar is always depicting a beautiful life. A life I’d love to live, calm, filled with nature, far from the city noise. Forest walks, gardening, poetically cloudy skies. But still, when I see the theme recycled month after a month, year after a year, it feels painful,” Srdjan disapproved.
Benn98 wasn’t exactly jumping for joy either: “I’m not yet sure what to make of it, looks like she’s on a movie set. It all looks too picture perfect and perhaps too rehearsed. Maybe my judgment is being clouded by the ghastly weather outside!”
Check out more from the issue and add your own two cents here.
