postcards from a dream

Magazine: Vogue Italia May 2009
Photographer: Steven Meisel

Model: Sasha Pivovarova

Another travel-themed spread to inspire me to take off for somewhere far, and coincidentally, also one set in the Middle East, like the Damascus one in the May issue of Vogue UK I posted about earlier.

I really like the concept of showing the high-chic fantasy into stylised studio shots, contrasted with the grainy, nostalgic impressions of what a visitor might imagine Morocco to be like. Unlike the usual model-in-exotic-settings type of travel spread, this one doesn't try to pretend that we don't carry fantasies in our heads when we conjure images of a foreign land, and hence it doesn't feel as conscending or careful as some editorials can be. It's a lushly coloured daydream, and it casts a spell over you.

This, coupled with my recent trip to Dubai (itself not exactly an amazing holiday destination but it would make good base to start my travels from), feels like a sign that I should redirect my holiday plans to Nprth Africa and the Middle East this year. These are lands I only have the faintest inkling of, and I think it's a good idea start travelling beyond Asia and Europe for a change.

Images taken from tfs