THE ROBERT PATTINSON-IFICATION OF JACOB ELORDI

Photography is hard, and coming up with art direction is even harder. When one art direction becomes a success, it's no surprise one would want to repeat it again. But what if the art direction becomes indistinguishable, and in turn, makes the subjects indistinguishable from the other? This is what I believe occurred with the September 2022 Hype Issue of GQ Magazine.

Let me preface this thinkpiece by saying I absolutely love GQ Magazine. It is the only magazine subscription I own. It deepens my love for men's fashion and storytelling with every issue. But the new issue just irks me in that... I've seen it before, and much much more recently.

The September 2022 Hype Issue of GQ magazine lives up to its name: it features a much hyped celebrity, Jacob Elordi, photographed by a much hyped creative, Eli Russell Linnetz. While I don't know Jacob Elordi that much, I am familiar with Eli Russell Linnetz. His photography style is so distinct, ethereal, and grainy. It's the type where if spotted from across the street, you could make out that it's a certified Eli Russell Linnetz piece. The photographs of Jacob Elordi in GQ's new issue continue to live in the ethereal and grainy world the rest of ERL's work lives in, introducing Elordi as its newest guest. However, they look like a scaled-back version of Jack Brigland's photographs of Robert Pattinson from GQ's own February 2022 issue.

Jacob Elordi stars in GQ's September 2022 "Hype" Issue

Robert Pattinson stars in GQ's February 2022 "Art + Fashion" Issue

Jack Brigland's work with Robert Pattinson created so much buzz. It is unique and jarring, much like Robert Pattinson's character, The Batman. Not only did the photographs compliment Daniel Riley's piece on the actor, but it also complimented Robert Pattinson's work as an actor. It was the perfect publicity package deal.

I don't want to accuse Linnetz of copying Jack Brigland's art direction, but the two shoots could definitely live in the same world. Both Pattinson and Elordi are portrayed in an edgy, stark blue light. Both photographers effectively portray the bad boy, rebelliousness that both actors have played in their respective works. However, given the fact that the same storyline had been done with Robert Pattinson, could something different been emulated by Eli Russell Linnetz for Jacob Elordi? Could Mobolaji Dawodu, the stylist of this shoot who also styled Robert Pattinson's cover, have influenced the art direction to steer this similar way?

Eli Russell Linnetz's own clothing line, ERL, has photographs that fashion a whimsical version of masculinity which could have much better complimented Clay Skipper's piece-- one where Elordi talks about his own, as well as his Euphoria character's, relationship with masculinity. Imagine if the writing had these images and styling choices instead:

Plus, the girlies would go crazy over ab photos, duh. Just my thoughts.

tl;dr: Jacob Elordi's cover looks so much like Robert Pattinson's cover, it doesn't do Clay Skipper's piece justice.