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Vanity Fair stylist reveals secrets behind Caitlyn Jenner's cover shoot

Cape Town – Caitlyn Jenner on Monday revealed her true identity on the cover of Vanity Fair magazine.

Gracefully posing in what made her feel confident didn’t come easy but with the help of Vanity Fair’s fashion and style director, Jessica Diehl, Caitlyn Jenner was able to show her comfort in classic profiles, pin-up poses, and old-school aesthetics.

Here is how Caitlyn Jenner's introductory look was put together:

When taking on the task of styling Caitlyn Jenner, Jessica had to do it in complete secret just because of the sensitivity of the situation, she said: “I had to go into stores incognito, so to speak—not like anyone would know what I looked like anyway—and buy stuff.”

“My poor office thought we were doing Barbra Streisand! The people here at Vanity Fair did not know and three people in the fashion department knew, including me.”

However, once meeting with Caitlyn, Jessica said ideas started rolling and everything just became easier.

“I went to go meet her before just to talk through what she wanted to do. Just because the Vanity Fair thing—it's a very specific look.

“I just spent the time talking through things and bringing up lots of pictures and inspiration images.

“She has certain ideas about what she feels great in. It’s not always smooth sailing, but I think she has a pretty good idea of what makes her feel good, and those are classic silhouettes.”

When asked how Vanity Fair approached her cover outfit, Jessica said; “There was a stripped-down idea that sort of felt like underneath all of this excitement and newsworthiness is the soul of a woman. And that didn’t need a lot of covering up.

“It was not meant to be risqué in any way. It was really meant to sort of show with all honesty and purity ‘this is what is going on. Here I am.’”

When referring to the compilation of Caitlyn’s outfit Jessica said: “We tried everything. We had basically a three- or four-hour fitting.

“All she really wanted to do was be open and honest. That is how that look felt.”

To end off Jessica’s time with Caitlyn, she spoke of how Caitlyn’s journey touched her on a personal level.

“We can all kind of find things that made us feel uncomfortable in our skin. And to see someone letting all of that go and just being completely at home and at peace with themselves is something everyone wishes they could have.”

Very well said, and something that each of us can take away from the entire experience.

Read this next: How Bruce Jenner transitioned into a woman

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