Elle Fanning dressed in white looking downward while holding a medical syringe filled with bright blue liquid.

Polaroid photograph of a man with dark hair and stubble wearing a dark jacket over a white t-shirt against a plain background.

A photographic print of a person with blonde hair wearing a bright blue button-down shirt on a stack of photo proofs.

Kirsten Dunst sits inside a vintage blue car with raindrops on the exterior during a photoshoot on a wet city street.

Film strip showing three vertical frames of a blonde woman with wide eyes and open mouth in an interior setting

A group of blonde women in floral patterned dresses pouting and posing closely together around a central woman against a dark backdrop.

Jacob Elordi wearing a red, white, and black color-blocked shirt against a plain white wall in a polaroid frame.

Woman in a long red dress lying on a white studio seamless floor with her head in a pool of red liquid during a photoshoot production.

Emma Stone wearing dark sunglasses, a silk headscarf, and a monogram trench coat turning on a studio set.

Polaroid photograph of actor Sean Penn wearing a dark button-down shirt against a wall for W Magazine.

Mia Goth posing in a sculptural oversized lilac floral dress with dramatic puffed shoulders against an off-white wall.

A$AP Rocky seated outdoors wearing an oversized white padded top, hairnet, and shaggy red faux fur trousers by a graffitied door.

W Magazine Best Performances 2026

About

W Magazine’s annual Best Performances issue highlights a series of portraits and editorial vignettes captured by photographer Tyrone Lebon. The project features a diverse cast of actors and entertainers, including Elle Fanning, Emma Stone, and Jacob Elordi, framed through an aesthetic that oscillates between raw, behind-the-scenes documentary and stylized studio fashion imagery. Creative direction from Charles Levai and Kevin Tekinel leans into a mix of analogue film formats and immediate, high-contrast flash lighting to define the portfolio’s distinct visual character. The editorial series utilizes varied techniques, including Polaroid-style prints and physical contact sheets, to create a tangible, layered look. From the cinematic, cyan-toned sequences to the playful, surreal costume work, the project emphasizes a tactile approach to portraiture. The aesthetic is rounded out by detailed hair styling from Jawara and precise makeup artistry by Lauren Parsons, with additional editorial oversight from Editor-in-Chief Sara Moonves.