pop magazine

Pop Magazine's Autumn/Winter 2012 issue features an armless, torso-less Sui He clad in Balenciaga on one of its three covers.

This cover, shot by Viviane Sassen and styled by the magazine's fashion director Vanessa Reid, will be joined by another soft cover and a hardback version that have yet to be released.

The issue follows a "Warrior Woman" theme and promises an interview with Tina Turner and a feature on artists Yayoi Kusama — of the recent dotty Louis Vuitton collaboration — and Sarah Lucas. There's also a feature on the return of the Bernadette Corporation, an artists collective that has produced, at various times, an haute couture line, a magazine called Made in USA, and a documentary about the protests at the 2001 G8 Summit in Genoa, Italy.

The issue will be on newsstands Aug. 22; an exclusive look at the first cover below.

Photo courtesy of Pop Magazine.

>> Founding Vogue Russia editor Aliona Doletskaya resigned from her position at the end of July — with her final issue of the magazine hitting stands for September 2010 — without delineating any future plans other than notifying Condé Nast International president Jonathan Newhouse that, in his words, she would like to "start a new life, probably to write a book or try her hand in a new field." Not much has been heard from Doletskaya since — save for a recent byline in the New York Times on luxury in Russia — but late last week, Derek Blasberg Tweeted, "In today's completely unsubstantiated rumors: Aliona Doletskaya, former editor-in-chief of Russian Vogue, is vying for the top gig at POP." Dasha Zhukova resigned from the POP position earlier this month. [@derekblasberg]

>> Dasha Zhukova, who joined POP as editor-in-chief in February 2009, has resigned from the position, reports Hilary Alexander. No further details have been released. [@HilaryAlexander]

UPDATE: A POP spokesman says Zhukova is leaving to focus on digital publishing projects in the arts, and the magazine will now fall under POP editorial director Ashley Heath. “My time at POP has been a transformative experience that I am extremely proud of,” Zhukova said. “It has afforded me the chance to collaborate with some of the greatest creative minds in the world and I’m thankful to Ashley Heath and Bauer Media for the opportunity. I’m now excited to move on and build something from the ground up.” The spokesman added that Zhukova’s final issue had twice as many advertisers and nearly three times the ad pages as when founder Katie Grand was editing the magazine. [WWD]

>> The latest artist to collaborate with Pop on a cover under Dasha Zhukova's reign is Takashi Murakami, who art directed Britney Spears as a manga character — complete with with wedding dress and veil (image here), schoolgirl backpack, Hello Kitty cell phone, and ankle socks — for the magazine's multiple Fall 2010 covers. Spears, who was photographed by Todd Cole for the occasion, told Grazia that pre-shoot, "We looked at a lot of characters and artwork before we shot, so I could get a feel for what [Murakami] was looking for."

Why Britney? »

>> Mag Rumors: A LOVE Revamp, POP's Next Cover Artist, and a Vogue Model Cover? —Fashionista reports that for its next and fourth issue, LOVE will get a "major re-vamp": "Despite its hype . . . the magazine’s had a less than stellar performance in the industry and will shake things up."  Over at POP, meanwhile, which tapped Damien Hirst to work on its first cover under Dasha Zhukova and Richard Prince on its second, American artist (and Bjork's husband) Matthew Barney is said to be the man up for issue number three.  And finally: rumor has it Vogue's April 2010 cover features a model. [Fashionista, Fashionista, @bryanboy]

>> First Look: Dasha Zhukova's Second POP Issue —If your idea of a good time is Abbey Lee Kershaw on a motorcycle, then you're in luck — POP just released a peek at the upcoming issue: their first ever video segment featuring a windblown Abbey Lee.  The issue comes out next week. [POP, POP]

>> LOVE Covers Popping Up — Katie Grand loves her multiple covers, and with the third issue of LOVE debuting just over a week away, cover images have started to appear.  Models.com confirmed that the Janeil Williams image below is a cover, and LOVE posted a similar image — also by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott — of Lara Stone on their blog today, which is likely a cover as well. LOVE is on stands Feb. 8, Dasha Zhukova's much-awaited second issue of POP is out in two weeks. [Models.com, LOVE, @thepop]