It’s a cover of contrast, where summer’s patchwork prints pop against a dark set, as Candice Swanepoel takes the June 2012 cover of W Korea.

Remember the days when Victoria’s Secret shoots took place in your Grandmother’s living room, right beside the indoor potplants and floral chaise lounge? The same days when the Angels wore their hair in fluffy ringlets and spent less time at the beach and more time doing traditional feminine activities like making tapestries and pretending to read from leather-bound books, all the while threatening to transcend…

Be Bold. A suggestion? A challenge? A command? Whatever your reading of this shoot’s title, Candice Swanepoel considers the suggestion, accepts the challenge, and executes the command. The boldness here is multi-layered, from fearless clashes of colour and print to unabashed displays of skin and sexual confidence, not to mention a change of hairstyle with thick blunt-cut bangs.

It’s not really any surprise, but this photo sure confirms it: Candice Swanepoel has admirers. Given a long-stemmed red rose for Valentine’s Day, not to mention the attention of every workman outside this New York fashion week site, all it really takes for Candice is a pair of ultra-skinny jeans and a lace top.

Charlotte Free amidst the madness of Hieronymus Bosch’s Garden of Earthly Delights? Kayka Ko as Tamara de Lempicka’s Art Deco driver? Diana Moldovan caught up in the surrealist world of Dali? As far as model show packages go, IMG’s latest is a work of art. Literally. The artworks themselves may not be original but the concept of pastiching them to model photos as showcards feels…

The new go-to girl for sports-themed shoots? Candice Swanepoel maintains the toned, tanned limbs to pull off that title – one of the many upsides to having a contract with Victoria’s Secret, one would suppose. Last time it was a shoot by Terry Richardson for Harper’s Bazaar, now it’s this particularly bronzed looking photo series for February’s issue of Vogue China.

While most of us don’t push weights in Hermes accessories and fishtailed Calvin Klein skirts, we’re also bright enough to realise such editorials as this one aren’t meant to be taken too literally. Candice Swanepoel‘s stylish activities range from fencing to tennis, football to baseball, but ultimately it’s a nod to the returning theme of sportswear as fashion – a returning theme that coincides neatly…

Thankfully Victoria’s Secret have picked up their game quite a bit on the video front since Daniel wrote this open letter imploring them to reconsider their video concepts. The 2012 bikini video isn’t revolutionary or life-changing, but it has a certain romance; the filming, the Tahitian sunsets, the voice of Connie Frances crooning against bossa nova beats. Of course you’ll end up paying more attention…

Update: Candice’s full editorial, photographed by Koray Birand, can now be viewed at the gallery after the break. All fashion magazine covers should be this good as a minimum requirement. Using the plunging neckline of a mini dress to create the effect of underwear as outerwear may seem like enough of a statement. But with a rather minimalist approach to their cover, where the typography…

With the year looming, we’ve already been privy to many a 2012 magazine cover. We’ve had the minimalist, the dramatic and the imposing. What is shared by all those that have caught our eye is that they’re approaching the concept of what a modern magazine cover should be. They’re making it visually appealing as opposed to doing what I dub the old media clutter cover…