Follow Vogue Arabia

25 of the Greatest Vogue Christmas Shoots of All Time

For more than a century, Vogue has celebrated Christmas with optimism and originality. Robin Muir looks back through the decades at the images that have captured the joy.

Juergen Teller

2017

A metamorphosis is not achieved solely by the wholesale importation of glittering and fantastical ingredients. It’s the imaginative way in which they are used that creates the dazzle, the richness and the magic. Alewya Demmisse wears a Vivienne Westwood kilt and Sonia Rykiel sweater, by Juergen Teller.

1956

Don’t try this at home – a garland of Christmas lights, photographer unknown.

Henry Clarke

1953

The gift of a diamond necklace that separates to make a tiara, by Henry Clarke.

Tim Walker

2016

“Time for Illumination” by Tim Walker.

Cecil Beaton

1951

“Spending and cooking and anxiety has to be faced. We are so many fathoms deep in custom and tradition and sentiment,” said cookery writer Elizabeth David in Vogue, 1959. Della Oake in Balenciaga, by Cecil Beaton.

Andre Edouard Marty

1923

A festive ’20s cover by André Edouard Marty.

Irving Penn

1959

Christmas in the ’50s captured by Irving Penn.

Helen Dryden

1916

An illustrated cover for British Vogue’s first Christmas by Helen Dryden.

Georges Lepape

1930

“Seasonal Offering” by Georges Lepape.

1939

Candy canes in wartime, photographer unknown.

Andre Edouard Marty

1933

A ’30s cover for the Parties Number by André Edouard Marty.

Norman Parkinson

1955

A little boy photographed for a ’50s Christmas cover by Norman Parkinson.

Anton Bruehl

1937

A bauble-filled ’30s cover by Anton Bruehl.

Ema Steinmetz

1914

E M A Steinmetz for American Vogue.

Georges Lepape

1929

A glamorous ’20s cover by Georges Lepape.

Anton Bruehl and Fernand Bourges

1935

Anton Bruehl and Fernand Bourges for American Vogue.

Steven Klein

1989

Liza Minnelli by Steven Klein.

Tim Walker

1997

“Branching Out Into Red” by Tim Walker. At a shade over £2,000, Balenciaga’s scarlet satin gown, trimmed with feathers and velvet flowers, forced Vogue’s chatelaine, understandably, to fail to pull her weight in this seasonal ritual. Luckily there were several diminutive helpers on hand.

Nick Knight

2000

Kate Moss by Nick Knight.

June Platt

1938

“A streamlined Christmas” by June Platt. Vogue considered this modernist display the flipside to the overblown ostentation of the traditional Victorian Christmas tree. However, restraint came at a price: the fabrication of “homemade cornucopias of shiny paper, filled with nuts and decorated with paper cut-outs, little lace bags, filled with shiny red peppermints hung here and there” was, despite the composure of this tree decorator, labour intensive.

Joseph B Platt

1924

A festive illustrated scene by Joseph B Platt.

Lacey/Su Blackwell

2008

Su Blackwell’s découpage “The Snow Queen”, cut directly from an old book, made an impressive sylvan setting for the season’s jewellery, by Lacey.

High Stewart

2003

Sid, Sam Taylor-Wood’s dog, in tinsel, by Hugh Stewart.

Anton Breuhl

1938

A baroque mise en scène for Christmas dining.

Willian Klein

1956

“Scent & Stockings” by William Klein.

Originally published on Vogue.co.uk 

Read Next: Inside Vogue Arabia’s December 2021 Issue Celebrating the UAE’s Golden Jubilee

Suggestions
Articles
View All
Vogue Collection
Topics