January Jones Covers W’s First Design Issue
Mad Men star January Jones tests out a tougher look on the cover of W magazine’s May issue, out this week. This will also be the first time the glossy puts design squarely in its crosshairs.
W’s editor in chief, Stefano Tonchi, believes design and fashion are increasingly intertwined. “The world of design is more about look and less [about] function,” he tells FashionEtc. Just like clothing, design is “what we use to show who we are.”
Jones’s upcoming film role made the cool blonde an ideal fit for the special issue. In X-Men: First Class, she plays Emma Frost, a sexy, telepathic mutant who transforms into a diamond. Talk about pristine design!
To reflect the issue’s theme, Tonchi decided to photograph Jones in an architectural setting rather than a studio.
“I like how our covers are always trying to communicate something more than just a pretty face,” he says. “She’s channeling the content of the magazine.”
For the newsstand magazine cover (right), Jones stands tall in a zip-front Lisa Marie Fernandez bathing suit and Tana Acton silver cuffs. With a wary expression and slicked-back hair, she looks light years away from her Mad Men persona, the perfectly coiffed 1960s housewife Betty Draper.
On the subscriber cover (left), she shows less skin and more attitude in a Giorgio Armani slashed-leather jacket, her hair tousled over her face.
For the accompanying feature story, editor at large Lynn Hirschberg touched on several of Jones’s facets. This is a woman who loves both lingerie and linebackers.
“I love long-line bras and girdles,” Jones reveals, describing her Mad Men wardrobe. “You automatically get a wiggle in your walk. It’s sexy.”
She also sounds excited about her movie wardrobe: “lots of iridescent stretch leather, lots of sparkle, and ass-kicking white boots.”
When it comes to her own costumes, though, Jones looks to the football field for wish fulfillment. “I was going to be Troy Polamalu for Halloween,” she divulges. “The most starstruck I get is around football players.”
The issue’s design-centric stories cast a wide net, jumping between the new Soumaya Museum and Alexander Wang’s taste in interiors. New creative director Alex Gonzalez grabs the baton with an op-art fashion spread.
In a profile of Fendi’s flurry of art and design sponsorships, Silvia Venturini Fendi echoes Tonchi’s belief: “There are more real connections between design and fashion than there are between art and fashion.”
For another look at Jones, check out her ’70s-style magazine cover.
