Photoshoot: Crystal Renn by Tom Ford for Vogue Paris Holiday Issue

by Beautifully Invisible on November 29, 2010

When I first published this photo a few days ago, I had no idea the woman in the editorial shoot was the stunning Crystal Renn. Can you blame me? She underwent a striking transformation for this photoshoot!

Image via Vogue Paris

In “La Panthère Ose”, Tom Ford and the unstoppable Crystal Renn give us an evocative look at at the plastic-surgery addict. Renn, who was styled by none other than Vogue Paris Editor-in-Chief Carine Roitfeld, underwent a remarkable transformation for the shoot. She told The Fashionista.com:

“What I enjoy most about my job is the opportunity to express myself, often doing this by becoming a sort of character on the shoots that I do, and every time I work with Carine I feel the character approach is emphasized. When they were taking the cast of my face, fitting me for prosthetic cheeks and lips, I remember thinking this is why I do my job, for moments like this. After the shoot I took that very mask and asked Tom to sign it, it sits in my living room as we speak.”

That is certainly a priceless souvenir! And the shoot is sure to be one of the most buzzed about it the issue:

Image via The Fashion Spot

Please note: there is a guy between her legs. I missed that the first 2 times I looked at this photo! Threesome! Image via The Fashion Spot

Please note: there are TWO guys in this shot. Threesome again! Image via The Fashion Spot

Image via The Fashion Spot

Anyone else think she resembles Kim Kardashian here? (Except Kim looks normal, of course!) Image via The Fashion Spot

Image via The Fashion Spot

They are certainly striking… disturbing… hyper-sexual… evocative… and eerily beautiful images. What do you think?

Photoshoot Details:
Vogue Paris, December 2010/January 2011
Model: Crystal Renn
Stylist: Carine Roitfeld
Photographer: Tom Ford

{ 13 comments… add one }

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Fajr Muhammad November 30, 2010, 2:30 PM

Youth, plastic surgery and sex go hand in hand. The one with the guy between her legs is pretty disturbing. I don’t think I can handle soft porn before 9am! I love how your post break down the imagery.

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- Beautifully Invisible November 30, 2010, 6:46 PM
  
  Yes, there is a soft porn thing going on in the shoot, isn’t there? I was surprised at how sexualized it was, but i can understand why.
  
  Reply
jeminajakin November 30, 2010, 10:49 AM

WOW, these are mind blowing indeed

XOXO
J

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- Beautifully Invisible November 30, 2010, 7:10 PM
  
  Yes, but in a good or bad way? 🙂
  
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Olivia. V.B November 30, 2010, 9:22 AM

Beautiful and disturbing!!! Weird and glamorous! I love it!!!
xx

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- Beautifully Invisible November 30, 2010, 7:10 PM
  
  I wish I “loved” it. I like it – but I wish there was more to it. I think my expectations were too high!
  
  Reply
Dusk November 30, 2010, 5:40 AM

Crystal Renn??? Crystal vavaVOOM Renn???? Crystal the most famous ‘plus-size’ model in the world Renn??? Where is the Plus??? Minused???

Don’t know how I feel about it. Bores me a little. Disturbs me, makes me snigger…this is all so hypocritical…

@ Heather… yes, Vogue Italia did a shoot like this with Linda Evangelista 2004? 2005?

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- Beautifully Invisible November 30, 2010, 7:16 PM
  
  YES! That is one of the first things I noticed too… she is getting smaller and smaller! She looks even smaller here than in the recent Harper’s Bazaar shoot (http://fashiongonerogue.com/crystal-renn-paola-kudacki-harpers-bazaar-december-2010/), and, as Casee Marie pointed out to me, her Elle Canada shoot (http://fashiongonerogue.com/crystal-renn-elle-canada-december-2010-leda-st-jacques/). I think the “plus” is just about gone.@Heather and @Dusk – the shoot was for Vogue Italia by Steven Meisel in 2005. I just posted about that as well 🙂
  
  P.S. Are you still having problems commenting on my site?
  
  Reply
Heather Fonseca November 30, 2010, 1:32 AM

Wait, wasn’t something like this done not too long ago? It feels like deja-vu.

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- Beautifully Invisible November 30, 2010, 7:17 PM
  
  2005 – Steven Meisel for Vogue Italia. A MUCH stronger editorial, in my opinion.
  
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Casee Marie November 29, 2010, 11:49 PM

Love that she had the mask signed. That’s kind of cute…in a weird way. At first I was quite disappointed – I think I was expecting something entirely different, something with more of a message? It’s like, between this and that Terry Richardson obesity shoot, I feel like Crystal is doing a lot of “speaking out” without anything relevant being said. But here I think there’s a lot of depth and the very obvious disturbing/extreme elements kind of contribute to it. I still don’t entirely “get” it and how it contributes to fashion photography – with the Richardson shoot I recall the jewelry being rather prominent, for example – but I think it’s a set that makes you work to fully understand it. The last one is definitely my favorite, personally.

Anyway, yay! You were the first one I thought of when I saw the names. I don’t think I knew Crystal would be in the issue. That just makes it all the more monumental.

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- Beautifully Invisible November 30, 2010, 7:22 PM
  
  I still AM disappointed, though. I like it, but it isn’t wowing me, which is what I had expected. I thought about it a lot last night (because I am a nerd like that). I do think it is evocative. It’s much more of a caricature of plastic surgery and its hyper-sexualized. I like those elements. I just don’t think it’s that STRONG of an editorial. I think Meisel’s “Makeover Madness” was much stronger… much more relevant. I think that editorial has the things that this one is missing.
  
  That being said, I don’t dislike this one – I just wish it was “more”.
  
  Reply