Why Madonna Wore the Beckham Dress... and more

W Magazine

Costume designer Arianne Phillips, the stylist behind "Blame it on Rio," has been collaborating with Madonna for more than a decade, from the star's geisha-inspired period to her Patty Hearst look for American Life. Phillips, who also masterminded the clothing for Madonna's two previous epic photo portfolios for W (2003's "Madonna Unbound" and 2006's "Madonna Rides Again"), talked to us about the looks she chose for their latest collaboration.

The black zippered dress is so prominent in the story. What made you choose it and what did its designer (Victoria Beckham) have to do with it, if anything?
I initially chose this dress for the classic 50s-60s slim silhouette, which was what I was after for our story. I was also intrigued since it is from Beckham's debut collection -- I liked the "story" of one pop star to another. And I was pleasantly surprised at the high quality of the dress. The fabrication, details and fit are very well thought out.

Tell us about that graphic sequined dress. All the credit says is that it's vintage and from The Way We Wore, the vintage store in LA.
The dress is reminiscent of our initial inspiration for the shoot, the 1963 Jeanne Moreau film The Bay of Angels. It's from the select archives of Doris Raymond, the owner of The Way We Wore. Madonna had specifically requested I include some vintage 50s and early 60s garments to mix with the contemporary designer fashions, and Doris is my "go to" person for vintage. She has an amazing eye and unique sensitivity to vintage.

What are the sunglasses Madonna wears in so many of the shots?
I believe those are D&G. We loved them.

What's with the little lace gloves?
With styling I find it's always about balance -- not over accessorizing, while still being able to create a character. There was a finished, formal quality to the way women dressed in the 50s and 60s. Their outfits were complete with hat, gloves, jewelry and hosiery, and there was a modesty and femininity to the way women dressed. I found that the little lace gloves finished her character perfectly, as they're both demure and provocative.

What's up next for you?
I designed the costumes for Tom Ford's directorial debut, A Single Man, starring Colin Firth and Julianne Moore, which is forthcoming this fall. Right now I'm helping refurbish and create some new looks for Madonna's summer tour extension and I'm getting ready to attend the women's collections in Paris.

Blame it on Jesus!!!

The W March isuue with M is here!
Mo, Mr. Cock of Light and 3 other cocks having some sexy time in a hotel in Rio. Here are some of my favorites:











Behind The Scenes in Rio

By Julie L. Belcove
Leave it to Madonna to have the last laugh. With the tabloid media in a frenzy over the 50-year-old’s divorce from Guy Ritchie and alleged dalliance with 33-year-old New York Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez, does she low-key it and go out publicly only with her kids? Does she find an “age appropriate” man, someone born, say, before the Beatles arrived in America?

Hell, no. Madonna has never been one to hide. Nor to apologize. Provocation is simply in her nature. So she teamed once again with photographer Steven Klein for a W photo shoot that thumbs her nose at prudes and busybodies who would call her a cougar. If you think A-Rod is too young for her, how about 20-ish Jesus Luz, a Brazilian model discovered during casting for the shoot in Rio de Janeiro? Madonna and Luz’s obvious chemistry, Creative Director Dennis Freedman recalls, quickly sidelined the other, more seasoned male mannequins as Klein’s heat-seeking lens homed in on the megastar and the unknown. Soon the shoot’s plot, told in Klein’s cinematic style, evolved into the story of a strong, powerful, exceedingly chic woman and her new, boyish, beautiful plaything.

“Blame It on Rio” is Madonna and Klein’s third collaboration for W. The first, “Madonna Unbound” (April 2003), found her twisted like a pretzel in a photographic meditation on the performance process. The second, “Madonna Rides Again” (June 2006), explored her, uh, passion for horses. And now comes her appreciation for the male form. “Each one is extraordinarily ambitious,” says Freedman.

But who would expect anything less from Madonna? Say what you will about her, she is no slacker. She agreed to undertake the W project on her two-day break between concerts in Rio and São Paulo on the South American leg of her Sticky & Sweet Tour. The first day was devoted to fittings, and on the second, Freedman says, “she worked well into the night” as the crew plowed through a storyboard’s worth of scenes. And if she managed to squeeze a little pleasure into all that business, who are we to criticize?

*******

Hair by Andy LeCompte/Solo Artists; makeup by Gina Brooke/ J. Artist Management using Shu Uemura; manicure by Elza and Wanda/Copacabana Palace. Set design by Arabella Serrell. Male Casting by Luis Viner. Male Models: Jesus Luz/Ford Models Inc., Romulo Pires da Silva/Bananas Models, Julien Quevenne/Ford Men NYC. Production by Betty Prado, Paolo Felisbino and Piera Paula; Lighting by David Devlin. Photography Assistants: Sharif Hamza, Sebastian Mader, Daniel King, Matthew Thompson and Fernando Young. Fashion Assistants: Laura Morgan, Lori Messerschmidt, Kathy Lee, Rebecca Ramsey, Garrett Munce, Marina Franco and Jose Camarano.
Photographed on location at the Hotel Gloria, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Photographed by Steven Klein
Styled by Arianne Phillips

The rest of the photos at W Magazine.com

W Magazine is coming....!!!

NY Daily News

As if A-Rod didn't have enough to worry about.

Photos of Madonna getting hot and sticky with four Brazilian boy toys are about to hit newsstands.

Even as Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez battles allegations of steroid use, W magazine will debut a 45-page spread in which the kabbalah vixen of his dreams can be seen simulating (at least we think she's simulating) sex with a quartet of hunks.

The biggest slice of beefcake in the spread is 22-year-old Ford model Jesus Luz, who's rumored to have replaced A-Rod as Madonna's main muscleman.

The layout, shot by top fashion photographer Steven Klein, shows Her Madgesty, 50, half-naked in black lingerie, straddling one stud on a hotel bed while being attended by three other pleasure-givers, one of whom barely conceals his manhood with a towel.

Although not as explicit as her X-rated 1992 book, "Sex," the shoot marks Madonna's return to the sort of arty raunch she abandoned when she married British director Guy Ritchie and took on the airs of an English countrywoman.

The W portfolio, headlined "Blame it On Rio," gives prominent play to Luz, who reportedly accompanied Madonna to the Maldives in December. Last week, he was seen with her in New York, where he's said to have dined with the Material Mom and her children.

Asked about the nature of Madonna's relationship with Luz, her rep, Liz Rosenberg, said, "I'm told they're kind of friends."

W magazine preview - oh, Jesus!

First 2 leaked photos from Steven Klein's photoshoot for W magazine, which was shot in Rio, Brazil in mid-December. In the first one is M's rumored latest boytoy, the Brazilian model - Jesus Luz.


Photos Via: Socialite Life