Elle

>> For the first time in over eight years, Elle has placed a model on its cover. Not just one model, in fact, but rather four: “We felt it was time to show the sexy side of fashion again, enlisting four of the runway’s super seductive models – Miranda Kerr, Chanel Iman, Adriana Lima, and Doutzen Kroes," says editor Robbie Myers. "These covers harken to what made Elle Elle: Shot outside, drenched in sunlight, color, and of course accessories, the women look right back at you with all the personal and sexual confidence in the world.” The four models, who appear on the cover of Elle's October 2011 issue — on newsstands Sept. 20 — were styled by Joe Zee and shot by Alexei Hay. Erin Wasson was the last model to cover Elle, for the magazine's September 2003 issue.

Watch a behind-the-scenes video from the shoot, below.

Kate Hudson playfully poses inside Elle's September issue wearing only her new jewelry collection, CH+KH, a collaboration with Chrome Hearts designer and co-owner Laurie Lynn Stark. Check out more pieces from Kate Hudson's Chrome Hearts collection and hear what Kate has to say about Ryder's music career on Elle.com. Kate recently gave birth to her second child, Bingham "Bing" Bellamy, and since then she's been hanging close to home with her fiancé, Matthew Bellamy, and 7-year-old son, Ryder Robinson. In the issue, Kate talks about embracing motherhood, choosing projects based on how much time she'll be away from her family, and parenting tips she's gotten from Goldie Hawn. Here's more:

• Kate on setting a wedding date: "One thing at a time. We’ll say hello to our new one [son Bingham] and enjoy that for a while."
• Kate on her busy lifestyle: "Most relationships I’ve had in my life have been with people who travel quite a bit for work . . . I don’t know if I’m attracted to that specifically, but it is nice to be with somebody who understands having to be on the move."
• Kate on choosing new projects: [Choosing roles is] definitely getting harder. You have to think about things like, ‘Where is it? How long is it going to keep me away from my family?' But, you know, life moves on. I would never want to be someone who complains and goes, ‘Oh my God, my life is so crazy . . . if you make the best of it, it can be amazing.”
• Kate on turning to Goldie for advice: "We’ve definitely had lots of talks about parenting and being a working mom . . . She never hands out unsolicited preachy words of wisdom, though. My parents allowed my brother and I to have our freedom and be ourselves and feel confident in our choices and to make mistakes without too much judgment. I hope that I can do as good a job."

>> Vogue was the only American fashion magazine to show a newsstand sales increase in the first half of 2011, thanks to its March Lady Gaga cover. The pink-haired Gaga image drove sales up by more than 100,000 copies over the March 2010 Vogue issue, which featured Tina Fey on the cover; and overall, the magazine averaged 360,000 copies at the newsstand during the first half of this year, up 12.7 percent.

Harper's Bazaar, meanwhile — which was up 10 percent during the first half of last year when the rest of fashion magazines were down — dropped 14.3 percent to 137,117. “It would be a lot easier if we could feature proven sellers like Jennifer Aniston or Gwyneth Paltrow on the cover every month, but we took some risks this year and tried stars that were a little outside of the norm for us, and they didn’t always translate into newsstand sales,” editor-in-chief Glenda Bailey admitted. Among those departures: Julianna Margulies for January 2011, Kim Kardashian for March 2011, and Courteney Cox for April 2011.

W — which has never relied on newsstand sales — was down 11.8 percent to 19,006, and Elle was down 9 percent to 250,056. See the big four's best and worst-selling covers for the first half of 2011 in the slideshow.

Gwyneth Paltrow wore two different black looks for the September 2011 cover of Elle magazine. She's in the issue chatting up her role in the star-studded movie Contagion, which opens on Sept. 9. Gwyneth also touched on her other work, like her recurring role on Glee, foray into music, and writing GOOP. She shared some advice pal Beyoncé Knowles gave her before the Grammys and discussed why she decided to share workout tips in her e-newsletter. Gwyneth also made a rare comment about her husband Chris Martin, divulging why they keep their marriage out of the spotlight. Gwyneth said:

• On Beyoncé's help for the Grammys: "This story always makes me cry. . . . It’s 10 in the morning and Beyoncé schleps it all the way down to the Staples Center to watch. I mean, she’s Beyoncé! . . . Beyoncé's like, 'OK. The singing is great. But you’re not having any fun.' She’s like, 'Remember when we’re at Jay’s concert and Panjabi MC comes on and you do your crazy Indian dance? Do that. Be you!'"
• On sharing her workouts: "It’s so much easier to sit home and not exercise and criticize other people. What I love is inspiring people. People come up to me and say, ‘I want to have two kids and wear a bathing suit and not feel terrible about myself. I see how hard you work and it makes me feel like I can do that too.'"
• On rumors she and Chris broke up: "Sometimes it’s hard being with someone for a long time. We go through periods that aren’t all rosy. I always say, life is long and you never know what’s going to happen. If, God forbid, we were ever not to be together, I respect him so much as the father of my children. Like, I made such a good choice. He’s such a good dad. You can never be relaxed or smug and think, ‘I’ve got this thing.’ That’s also part of it: keeping yourself on your toes. I’m not going to take this for granted."
• On keeping her marriage private: "He makes music for his fans, and he doesn’t want people to conjure a lame famous couple when they’re getting into his music. I get it."

Photos courtesy Carter Smith for Elle

Selena Gomez has been flying high on our fashion radar, and her latest appearance in the August issue of Elle Mexico has us even more enamored with her fresh beauty. The actress and singer took the cover in an editorial titled "Forever Young," shot by Steven Gomillion and Dennis Leupold, wearing Marc Jacobs, Altuzarra, Gucci, and Yves Saint Laurent. We love the mature look and styling, and the sepia-tone backdrop is gorgeous. Take a look at the slideshow to see more of Selena for Elle.

Just when we thought it couldn't get hotter, our temperatures immediately raised a couple notches thanks to Elle magazine's steamy editorial featuring Friends With Benefits costars, Mila Kunis and Justin Timberlake. The two create enough raging teenage hormones on their own, but paired together, our imaginations are running wild. So just what do the two have to say when asked if "friends with benefits" is a good idea or bad idea? Timberlake replies with a smile: "It is such a good idea—until it’s a bad idea." Kunis agrees, "I concur. Ultimately, it ends when someone wants to go and get serious with somebody. More times than not, a person catches feelings and somebody gets hurt." Check them out, dressed in a range of designer goods from Lanvin, Tom Ford, Chanel, and Marc Jacobs in the slideshow, then read the whole juicy interview at Elle.com.
Photo courtesy of Elle

We've watched her rise from the cute, supporting costar with a knack for comedic timing in Superbad to funny lady in Easy A, and now leading lady in the upcoming The Amazing Spider-Man. But it's not only a hot acting career that's getting Emma Stone noticed. With her rise to fame, the actress has perfected the kind of cool-girl styling that's caught our attention everywhere from the MTV Movie Awards to the Met Gala, and now, in Elle's latest issue. Click through to watch the latest Hollywood It girl show off her fashion chops.