Patrick Demarchelier – Guido Palau wigs for the Costume Institute’s show Punk: Chaos to Couture, May 2013

The new book named Stoppers: Photographs from My Life at Vogue, showcases the work of US Vogue’s executive fashion editor, Phyllis Posnick, who works with some of the world’s top photographers to create wildly beautiful tableaux

Photo: Patrick Demarchelier/Conde Nast

Irving Penn – Yves Saint Laurent Blouse, New York, 2005

‘After a shoot with another photographer, the makeup artist Peter Philips showed me some beautiful masks that he designed in his studio in Belgium,’ Posnick says. ‘I liked the Minnie Mouse couture look of this one and brought it to Penn. He thought it was charming and imagined it on a “young woman wearing an old‐fashioned negligee”

Photo: Irving Penn/Conde Nast

Helmut Newton – The Shoe Game, November 1998

Posnick turned a classical beach photo shoot into a real masterpiece due to his collaboration with extraordinary fashion photographers such as Irving Penn or Helmut Newton.

Photo: The Helmut Newton Estate/Maconochie Photography

Mario Testino – Destination Detox #2, July 2013

As the fashion photographer of this photo, Mario Testino, says, ‘For me, fashion editors are the people that take us photographers by the hand and help us stay in tune so we can do the pictures we do. With Phyllis, she not only keeps us on track, but she elevates us, allowing new possibilities and helping us look elsewhere to create a picture. Phyllis is constantly thinking of how to capture a better image, always thinking out of the box.’

Photo: Mario Testino

Irving Penn, Mascara Wars, New York, 2001

Phyllis Posnick explains that this photo was made as an artistic representation of the war between beauty companies. ‘Companies spend millions of dollars developing breakthrough technology, and we were reporting on the latest “mascara war” between two of the giants. The model’s eyes were closed for two hours while Penn photographed every possible variation… He had a picture that wasn’t especially exciting or memorable, but there was nothing that he hadn’t already tried… Our model opened her eyes, and I saw that they were completely bloodshot. Penn said, “Don’t move.” He did just two or three more exposures. Here was the shock that was missing.’

Photo: Irving Penn/Conde Nast

Tim Walker – Forces of Fashion (Comme des Garçons), September 2015

‘When I look at the photographs made between myself and Phyllis, I see mistakes,’ explains Tim Walker. ‘Lots of them. They are extremely subtle and would go unnoticed by the majority of people speeding through the pages of Vogue, but they are there, nonetheless. It is these mistakes, I’ve come to understand, that are the life that makes the photograph alive … Perfection is perfect, but beauty is something different.’

Photo: Tim Walker

Elza Luijendijk in Alexander McQueen’s honeycomb dress with Plexiglas harness and necklace. Tim Walker, Honey-Do, March 2013

‘Vogue wanted to report on the 1960s beehive hairdos that we had seen on the spring/summer 2013 runways in New York, Milan and Paris, but collections were quickly coming to an end and I was struggling to find a way to turn a beehive into an interesting picture,’ Walker says. ‘Then Sarah Burton’s collection for Alexander McQueen came down the runway with models wearing the most beautiful honeycomb dresses.’

Photo: Tim Walker

Steven Klein – Horse Pool Windsor, Connecticut, June 2005

Steven Klein, another top fashion photographer, is also best known for his long-term collaborations with Madonna and Lady Gaga.

Photo: Steven Klein

Steven Klein – Surburban Woman #10, Mountainville, New York, August 2006

‘Don’t ask why, but when Steven and I talked about the shoot, the first thing he thought of was a Madonna and child,’ Posnick says. ‘He wanted the child to be nursing, and our Madonna needed gold teeth… Steven knew the man who made 18-carat gold teeth for rappers, and sent Angela to Queens to be fitted and cast for her own personal set, which she probably still has.’

Photo: Steven Klein

Steven Klein – Hospital Drama, New York, May 2008

‘Cosmetic procedures don’t always go as planned and I was happy that Vogue was writing an article about the mistakes and how to correct them,’ Posnick says. ‘My own obsession was women who had “trout pout” lips. Couldn’t they see how they looked? For years I’d wanted to do a picture using the big red wax lips that children play with. I had a few pairs sitting in my desk drawer waiting for the right moment … We shot this in a hospital, but with Steven’s eye and Guinevere [van Seenus] in a wheelchair, it looks more like a prison.’

Photo: Steven Klein