Grace, Annie and Alice

Today's blog post is about three women: Grace Coddington {creative director of Vogue and author of "Grace"}, Annie Leibovitz {famous photographer}, and Alice {of the storybook "Alice in Wonderland"} -- and how they created one of Vogue's most memorable fashion spreads:

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This was published in December 2003, and boy, do I still remember it to this day. A real live version of Alice, dressed in couture, cavorting in Wonderland -- such a great concept! In her book, Grace discusses its genesis:

Anna {Wintour, Vogue's editor-in-chief} had just seen the award-winning musical version of Mary Poppins on the London stage, loved it, and returned to New York eager to base our seasonal special on that children's story. But when I sat down, I thought, "Mary Poppins wears black throughout, which really isn't going to work for Anna in the end," and so I said, "What about Alice in Wonderland instead? It could be just as much fun, and I can then ask the designers to make up all the dresses in blue, like the illustrations in the book." Anna thought about it overnight and the next morning, said, "Yes. We'll do  Alice and cast all the designers as characters from the book," which was the most brilliant idea.

via Trendland

Russian model Natalia Vodianova was cast as Alice. Everything was shot in Paris and in the surrounding area of the Chateau de Corbeil-Cerf.

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Tom Ford played the White Rabbit {a role originally 

meant for Karl Lagerfeld}.

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Nicholas Ghesquiere, who designed this ruffle dress, 
makes a cameo.

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John Galliano, dressed in drag, as the Red Queen;
his boyfriend Alexis portrays the King.

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Marc Jacobs as the hookah-smoking Caterpillar.

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John Paul Gaultier as Cheshire Cat.

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Viktor and Rolf as Tweedledum and Tweedledee.

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Christian Lacroix as the March Hare and Stephen Jones {milliner}
as the Mad Hatter. 

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Donatella Versace and her friend Rupert Everett as the
Gryphon and Mock Turtle.

What a production! Clearly we see in these images that a photographer is not just one who clicks the camera, but has a creative vision that improves the overall look of the photos and the stories that they tell.

You can read more about the drama {and who was a diva} in Chapter 15 of "Grace: A Memoir." Also, you can watch this little clip for a few more stories behind this fashion editorial.