Patterns in Vogue: Clean Cuts

Guinevere Van Seenus in Vogue, November 1997. Photo: Mario Testino.

This week, the second post in my occasional series on Vogue’s pattern editorials. (See the first post here.)

“Clean Cuts,” from the November 1997 issue, seems to have been Vogue’s last editorial to feature sewing patterns. Mario Testino photographed Guinevere Van Seenus and Amber Valetta in ’90s minimalist style in the season’s body-conscious basics—”the edgier side of Vogue Patterns,” as the headline says.

Here Guinevere Van Seenus models a white tank top made using Vogue 8062; on the right, her hooded red dress is Butterick 5088, lengthened, made sleeveless, and with an altered neckline:

Vogue, November 1997. Photos: Mario Testino. Fashion Editor: Camilla Nickerson.

The hoodie pattern, Butterick 5088, reappears on Amber Valetta, this time as a zip-up top in black Lurex. Her white silk shirt is Vogue 9501, while the red leather pants are Vogue 1982 by DKNY:

Vogue, November 1997. Photos: Mario Testino. Fashion Editor: Camilla Nickerson.

Here Van Seenus models the Vogue 9501 shirt in silk jersey with the Vogue 1982 DKNY pants in black, while Valetta wears the Vogue 8062 tank with a red leather skirt, Vogue 7074:

Vogue, November 1997. Photos: Mario Testino. Fashion Editor: Camilla Nickerson.

Butterick 5088 appears once again as a jacket in sequinned jersey with a silver lining (the tank is Butterick 8062); Valetta’s black leather tank dress is Vogue 1725 by Calvin Klein:

Vogue, November 1997. Photos: Mario Testino. Fashion Editor: Camilla Nickerson.

As always, in the back of the magazine readers could find the details of the patterns used in the shoot:

In This Issue, Vogue, November 1997.

It’s curious that the text doesn’t mention the designers behind Vogue 1982 and 1725; Donna Karan and Calvin Klein would have been major advertisers. Most interestingly, in showing patterns’ potential through fabric choice and alterations, the editorial reveals Vogue editors thinking like dressmakers.