Seemingly shot on the French Riviera, the grand make-believe and glamour of this famous image is characteristic of the photographer’s work for French Vogue’s golden age

George Hoyningen-Huene took this famous picture, Divers, not at the French riviera, as it seems, but on the roof of the Vogue studio on the Champs-Élysées. The image originally appeared in a magazine spread headlined “Modern Mariners Put Out to Sea”. Its grand make-believe was characteristic of Hoyningen-Huene, friend and confidant to Coco Chanel , and a fixture in the French avant garde between the wars.

There has been speculation about the identity of the two models in the shot. It was long thought that the man on the “diving board” was Horst P Horst, the model who became Hoyningen-Huene’s lover and eventually supplanted him as the star photographer of French Vogue ’s golden age. Recent research has shown, however, that the picture was taken a couple of months before the pair met. There is more certainty about the woman beside him, thought to be Lee Miller, another protege of Hoyningen-Huene, then just embarking on her career as an artist.

George Hoyningen-Huene is published by Thames & Hudson on 28 March

Editor praises ‘shape-shifter’ musician and takes magazine in seemingly different direction

A wardrobe overspilling with secondhand clothing and a duo of fuzzy donkeys are just some of the more unexpected stars of Chioma Nnadi’s debut British Vogue issue.

While historically Vogue’s September issues are the biggest, attracting a manifold of new season advertising from luxury brands, Nnadi’s highly anticipated debut has resulted in the highest ever print revenue for an April issue. It will land with a hefty thud on subscribers doormats on Saturday while non-subscribers can lug it off shelves from Tuesday.

Starriest ever London fashion week launch testified to editor-in-chief’s contacts book and emphasised city’s heritage and prospects

There was Stormzy, and there was Shakespeare. There was a tribute to My Fair Lady, and there was Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell. There was opera by Henry Purcell, and hats by Stephen Jones; catsuits by Burberry and comedy by James Corden. A dizzying roster of cameo appearances included actors Damian Lewis, Sienna Miller and Harriet Walter.

Vogue World, a one-night-only performance at Theatre Royal Drury Lane on Thursday, was far and away the starriest opening night London fashion week has ever seen. The theme of the 37-minute show, linking Eliza Doolittle to Moss and a new Wayne McGregor ballet to a gospel choir, was London.

Now in their 50s, four of the original supermodels have recreated their famous 1990 Vogue cover before the release of a documentary. We look at why we’ll never see another golden era of modelling

It was the image that changed fashion for ever. In January 1990, British Vogue placed five models on its cover – Naomi Campbell , Linda Evangelista, Christy Turlington, Tatjana Patitz and Cindy Crawford.

They would go on to become household names and tabloid fixtures, commanding higher fees than any models in history. The cover was subtitled “The 1990s: What next?” and, in just a few months, the answer was clear: the supermodels.