Caitlyn Jenner, formerly Bruce, made a splash on Mondaygracing the cover of Vanity Fair showing herself publicly for the first time.While the news of the transformation is still a buzz, the glamsquad behind thefamous shoot is speaking out about how they carefully crafted Caitlyn'sentrance into the world and how they kept it a secret.
"My poor office thought we were doing BarbraStreisand," stylist Jessica Diehl told Vanity Fair. "I just couldn'tthink of anyone tall. And I don't even know if Barbra is tall, but in my mindshe was tall, and so that just seemed right!"
The preparations, which the magazine describedas 'James Bond-esque' also included "being discreet and shopping – a lotof which we did online. We talked to no one. Literally, the people here atVanity Fair did not know," added Jessica. "Three people in thefashion department knew, including me."
Jessica didn't have much time to style theshoot and wasn't able to put in the preparation she normally does for a covershoot. "Normally we go to, I don't know, Valentino or Armani, and say weare shooting a cover and ask if they can give us some clothes [toborrow]," she said. "For this, I had to gointo stores incognito, so to speak – not like anyone would know what I lookedlike anyway – and buy stuff. That was actually what was fun. It was like VanityFair: Off The Rack."
Caitlyn Jenner revealed her new look this week Photo: Vanity Fair/Annie Leibovitz
Jessica visited Caitlyn at her Malibu home andthe pair sought inspiration from vintage photographs of old Hollywood starslike Lauren Bacall and Faye Dunaway in The Thomas Crown Affair, as well aspictures of Jackie Kennedy.
When it came to the hairdo for the shoot, Caitlynand famed hairstylist Oribe looked to Cindy Crawford’s hair for inspiration. “I wanted to create aglamorous look that I normally do for any woman, and sexuality was veryimportant in this context," Oribe told Vanity Fair. "Bruce was one ofthe sexiest men alive, and I thought it was equally as important for Caitlyn tobe a sexy woman.”
Caitlyn getting her hair prepped for the photo shoot Photo: Vanity Fair/Kathryn MacLeod
Forthe makeup, artist MarkCarrasquillo was careful to make sure Caitlyn looked her best. “Ididn’t want her to look like a man in a dress. I wanted her to look like abeautiful 65-year-old woman,” Mark explainedto the magazine. “For me, I felt deeply responsible to represent what her goalswere . . . She said, her whole life, looking in the mirror had differentmeaning and now, looking in the mirror (at the shoot), she felt more beautiful,and that was good enough for me.”
Bruce admitted in his 20/20 special that he enjoyedgetting his nails done, so for the big reveal he donned a red manicure. “Thecolor red was a statement throughout, and ‘Lady Is a Tramp’ was it,” manicuristDeborah Lippmann added. “And of course Caitlyn laughed when I told her the nameof the shade.”
While the glamsquad worked to make sureCaitlyn looked perfect on the cover, the former Olympian thought hard about hername. "It's one of the hardest things in life – choosing your ownname," she told Vanity Fair. The 65-year-old turned to watching pageantsfor inspiration and had the names Cathy and Heather as options before herassistant suggested Caitlyn. "I love that name, too," she said.
As part of the Kardashian clan, Caitlyn had todecide the spelling of her name and whether or not to start it with a"K." Ultimately, she decided against it as a way to fully embrace hernew identity.
Next up, Caitlyn has to decide what to wear to the ESPY awards on July 15 when she will be honored with the Arthur Ashe Courage Award. She tweeted to her 2.2 million followers, "What the hell am I going to wear?"
From the looks of it, anything will look great!
