AN INNOVATIVE MULTI-MEDIA PROJECT THAT BLENDS FILM WITH PUBLISHING AND LAUNCHES A NEW CHALLENGE: PHASE 4
Milan, 19 May 2020 – Oscar-winning director Paolo Sorrentino is the artistic director of the new issue of Vanity Fair, in newsagents from 20 May. In his hands, the magazine becomes a screenplay, a film in which a star-studded cast of actors, artists and celebrities are enlisted as writers. The project is inspired by The Great Beauty, the masterpiece that won the director an Academy Award in 2014, and it plays out in a brand-new multi-media enterprise halfway between film and publishing.
First and foremost, the cover of the magazine features a flock of pink flamingos photographed at night on the Spanish Steps in Rome by Alex Majoli and Paolo Sorrentino. It is an iconic and surreal vision which announces “Phase 4”, a dreamlike yet momentous moment to consider the post-lockdown future and the first tentative steps towards recovery. Each contributor is invited to imagine their own Phase 4. For Sorrentino, this phase coincides with the legendary Great Beauty of Italy, a treasure and an opportunity, an ocean of excellence to be contemplated and fished for any potential for rebirth. For the reader looking on, it is a call to commitment and imagination: anyone can send in their vision of the future using the hashtag #phase4 and including a photograph to illustrate their dreams for tomorrow.
Adding weight to the content of the magazine are a series of videos that showcase the director’s extensive work, all filmed in the Eternal City during the lockdown. For this special issue, Rome granted exclusive access to some of its greatest cultural highlights for reportage and artistic performances organized by Vanity Fair in collaboration with Paolo Sorrentino, which are documented in the magazine and the videos. These include the Galleria Borghese and the Teatro dell’Opera.
The issue includes contributions written by leading international stars, who describe personal experiences, suggestions and memories linked to Italian beauty: Sharon Stone, Jennifer Lawrence, Willem Dafoe, Christoph Waltz, Jude Law, Wes Anderson, Jane Fonda, John Malkovich, Rachel Weisz and Woody Harrelson.
Italian fashion also plays a leading role: the designer Alessandro Michele contributes with a conversation with rapper Achille Lauro about the power of beauty in today’s culture.
Contemporary art is represented by Marina Abramović, who created an exclusive work in response to Sorrentino’s invitation.
Last but not least, Isabella Rossellini joins the magazine’s star-studded cast with the story of her own beauty, from memories of her parents Ingrid Bergman and Roberto Rossellini to her success as a worldwide icon of beauty and the big screen and her new role as activist, proponent and emblem of a new inclusive, feminist aesthetic.
Condé Nast Italia
Condé Nast Italia is a multimedia communication company which reaches a profiled audience thanks to its numerous omnichannel assets. It publishes 11 magazines: Vanity Fair, Vogue Italia, L’Uomo Vogue, GQ, Wired, AD.Architectural Digest, Condé Nast Traveller, La Cucina Italiana, La Cucina Italiana USA, Accessory_VanityFair and Wedding_VogueVanityFair. The company was the first Condé Nast branch in the world to open an experience store: Frame; to establish a course for social media content creators: Condé Nast Social Academy; to launch a social talent agency: Condé Nast Social Talent Agency. Its innovative projects include the social content creator unit #Shareable and the magazine Experience Is, dedicated to Generation Z. Today the group also runs successful major events such as Wired Next Fest, Vogue for Milano, Photo Vogue Festival, Vanity Fair Stories and GQ Best Dressed Men. The Condé Nast Italia headquarters in Piazzale Cadorna, Milan, are also home to the La Cucina Italiana Cooking School.
The Group’s social platforms have a total fan and follower base of 17.8 million.
In addition, Condé Nast Italia has consolidated its web presence with the launch of 7 websites: VanityFair.it: 10,5 million users \ Wired.it: 6,5 million users \ Vogue.it: 3 million users. These, along with Gqitalia.it, Ad-italia.it,LaCucinaItaliana.itand LaCucinaItaliana.com reach 30,6 million unique visitors every month and generate over 160 million page visits. (Source: Google Analytics – April 2020). www.condenast.it