Mario Testino’s journey guest-editing special editions of Vogue began when he was invited to direct the June issue of German Vogue in 2008. Working closely with its editor Christiane Arp and her team, Testino explored the theme of Sex, choosing German supermodel Claudia Schiffer as cover star.

Testino has been invited to creative direct and photograph numerous special editions of Vogue magazine to date. Testino works closely with the respective editors of each title to develop a theme that will dictate everything inside the issue. With the support of his team at MARIOTESTINO+, he conceives a bespoke treatment to the art direction, applying conceptual typography and a unique layout appropriate to each theme. Themes have included Sex, The Body, Blondes and Obsession.