We are huge fans of photographer and publisher Rankin, more so now that he has a gallery in the heart of our fair city that we take every opportunity to visit. Known worldwide for his provocative images and his first magazine Dazed & Confused, Rankin is launching a new biannual glossy entitled The Hunger. Each issue features two covers, one male and one female, with the premiere issue containing actor Rhys Ifans and singer Sky Ferreira. Inside, the 512 pages contain notable interviews from the likes of Michael Sheen and Hayley Atwell as well as fashion spreads featuring Heidi Klum and Milla Jovovich.

To celebrate the magazine’s U.S. launch, Rankin will be featuring images from the issue in his gallery starting January 26th. In addition to print, the magazine also has exclusive content and behind-the-scenes videos featured online at Hunger TV.

“The Hunger is an idea that was born from the realization that more than two decades into my career as a photographer, I am still inspired by what I do every day,” said Rankin. “I named my first retrospective exhibition, ‘Visually Hungry’–that’s how I felt. In a lot of ways, it’s how I think I’ll feel until I die.”

The Hunger Exhibit. Rankin Gallery Los Angeles. 8070 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles 90046. January 26th to mid-February (TBD). Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Images courtesy of The Hunger

And in local media moves, Irvine-based Entrepreneur is losing executive editor Michalene Busico to Robb Report, where she will serve as deputy editor of the super-high-end luxury lifestyle mag. Busico’s resume includes jobs that would make most journalists drool — she served as dining editor at the New York Times until 2002 and spent the next six years as the number two in the L.A. Times features department, under editor John Montorio. Coincidentally, Montorio will be stepping into Busico’s old job at Entrepreneur, which was just nominated for five MIN Editorial and Design awards.

Also headed for a new job is Angeleno editor-in-chief Degen Pener, who is decamping the recently-sold glossy for the Hollywood Reporter‘s new weekly print product launching November 3rd. He will serve as culture editor there.

Who even knows what we were searching for when we came across Coverbrowser.com, a virtual library of thousands of magazine cover images. The unexpected find ended up costing us a good hour of time as we perused a photographical archive of Vogue, Rolling Stone and GQ covers from as far back as 1916.

Fashion enthusiasts will enjoy the historical time warp that comes from looking at the Vogue collection, where Art Deco illustrations precede images of Twiggy, Bianca Jagger, circa 1980s Cindy Crawford and the great supermodels of the ’90s. The Rolling Stone covers are equally as awesome with vintage photos of virtually every important musician from the past four decades (John Lennon, Jim Morrison and, of course, Hall and Oates) along with some killer pop art.

The site isn’t easy to navigate or find specific items, which is actually its beauty. The more you browse, the more cool discoveries you make (like the lucite and modern art-filled abodes gracing Architectural Digest in the early ’70s). And there doesn’t seem to be any good reason why anyone would have spent so much time creating this thing — nothing is for sale.

Whatever the reason, we’re grateful for the distraction.

We are sad to report that in Women’s Wear Daily’s quest to stay financially sound, the daily fashion paper has cut yet another superstar from its L.A. office (that’s three in the past six months). Anne Riley-Katz, the bureau’s West Coast Retail Editor, was given her walking papers today.

Riley-Katz, who’s been with the Conde Nast trade paper since 2008, is famous for her sharp reporting, warm demeanor and infectious enthusiasm (the girl is a walking party — trust).

Reasons for the departure are nebulous, but may have something to do with the fact that W magazine — WWD‘s sister publication — is reportedly relocating edit staff to WWD, after Conde Nast decided that the two entities should no longer have any staffers who cross over into both publications (which has long been the case — with editors such as Bridget Foley showing up on both mastheads).

Anyway, we know the divine Riley-Katz will land on her feet — and we’re sure to be hearing from her again soon.

Photo: Anne Riley-Katz.

Page Six Magazine posted a rather sad feature article yesterday on the professional demise of supermodel Gemma Ward.

The article talked about how the once-super model actually went through puberty (for shame!), her body filling out, and was basically black-listed from the industry.

Ward, whose face was perhaps the most memorable of the “doll faces,” a modeling moment that also included Jessica Stam, was linked to fellow Aussie Heath Ledger before his death, and according to Forbes magazine, raked in $3 million in 2007.

But by Fall 2007, the buzz about her weight gain had gone full-tilt:

“Says one fashion editor who attended Paris fashion week in October of that year, ‘Gemma was only walking in a handful of shows—Lagerfeld Gallery, maybe Valentino. I initially thought, ‘She doesn’t have to do them, she’s making so much money in the big campaigns,’ until I saw her on the [Chanel] runway… I almost didn’t recognize her,’ says the editor, who confesses she was aghast. Compared to the other ultraskinny models, Ward looked as if she had gained 10 to 15 pounds, ‘big, almost bloated.’”

Aghast? The story is harsh, but actually pretty typical. Models who start at 12, 13, 14 years old (as Gemma did) often have yet to actually go through puberty, navigating all the curves and flesh that come with it.

When it comes, for some, it’s curtains for their careers. But for some reason, it’s rare to see girls who’ve made it as far as Ward (huge ad campaigns, multiple Vogue covers before her 17th birthday) actually succumb to nature’s demands  — which leads everyone with brains to wonder what others models do to maintain malnutrition-level weights in the face of impending womanhood.

Gemma Ward, before and after. Photos courtesy of Page Six.

Sassybella somehow got a hold of what appears to be an untouched photo of Madge during last season’s Louis Vuitton campaign shoot. And all I have to say is, why would you erase the definition in those hot, hot arms? Those guns beat Michelle Obama’s any day.

Clearly, Madonna’s face has been completely de-lined and re-lit in Photoshop for the final image. But discovering that fact was like discovering that Sarah Palin is dumber than a package of gummy bears — we knew it all along.

Lastly, it’s amazing how illicit it feels to see older celebs un-retouched these days; akin to seeing someone topless in the 1980s, I’d imagine. Too bad we can’t celebrate what 50-something really looks like. (Though I sense a V Magazine “age” issue just around the corner — cover girl: Helen Mirren). 

Photos: Courtesy of Louis Vuitton

A shirtless, tanned Johnny Depp graces the cover of February’s GQ magazine — a decision we fully support. But then the publication, which is usually so right-on when it comes to men’s fashion, goes and names Mr. Puka Shell Necklace the most stylish man in the world.

For real? Depp is a freakishly perfect genetic specimen, but he’s usually dressed like he crawled out of a sewer. A sewer in the French Riviera, mind you, but a sewer nonetheless. The too-unbuttoned shirts, the crushed fedoras, the Lennon sunglasses and the hippie silver rings — good Gawd, GQ, open your eyes! Can’t you see he’s basically a young Mickey Rourke?

Jay Z., Brad Pitt, Robert Pattinson, Clint “high-waisted jeans” Eastwood, Kanye West, Pharrel, Ryan Gosling and, um, Russell Brand also made the short list of best-dressed men.

The mag calls Depp “a unicorn — a really glamorous, one-of-a-kind eccentric.” Well, at least they got the “eccentric” part right.

But never mind my paltry opinion — what do you think of this recent crowning? And who would you nominate for MOST STYLISH DUDE ON THE PLANET?

If you have more than 100 Facebook friends, chances are that half of these archetypes broken down in the January issue of GQ lurk within your live feed. Including:

Read the full breakdown here.

Staff at the L.A. Times were informed that there would be 40-person lay-off before Christmas (classy timing!)

And it seems the firing squad may have begun to discharge its weapons. A few longtime players were cut loose on Friday, including foreign reporter Richard Boudreaux and arts reporter Suzanne Muchnic (who may have taken a buy-out), according to LAObserved. And we just received a tip that pop culture and food writer Elina Shatkin was let go this morning.

As former LATers, we wish all the freshly let-go folks lots of luck. It all turns out. We promise.

We’ll keep you posted here as we hear more…

UPDATE, 3:30 p.m.: Richard Derk and “three other photographers” were also laid off today, as well as two from the Books section, rendering it a section of, um, one.