TOKYO – Australian model Miranda Kerr has dressed up as a geisha to pose for the cover of the November edition of Vogue Japan, photographed by Mario Testino, celebrating the magazine’s 15th anniversary.

On the cover, the 31-year-old model from Sydney is almost unrecognizable with her black hair worn in a voluminous chignon emulating the traditional geisha headdress and wearing a kimono with a bright feather coat in lilac shades.

Kerr appears on the inside pages in two other pictures, wearing a samurai-style suit and another in which she resembles a cartoon character.

In the latter, Kerr is clad in a blue ruffled dress with a V-shaped bodice and a hint of cleavage, with her hair in a high ponytail with matching tinted blue streaks that add a touch of fantasy.

Dressed in Japanese-style moccasins and clothes laden with embossed materials and tribal prints, the model completes the design inspired on the Japanese warriors with a topknot similar to that of the samurais.

Under the heading “Geisha, samurai, manga,” three of the key aspects of Japanese culture, Testino, who was the favorite photographer of Diana, Princess of Wales, and the British Royal Family, immortalizes the former Victoria’s Secret model for Vogue Japan, one of the most influential fashion magazines in the world.

Testino, who has often visited Japan since the 1980s, “felt a deep spiritual bond” with the country since his first visit, quoted the press release by Vogue, because “the Japanese have an absolute and firm conviction to do anything.”

“I myself have lived looking for that conviction both in my personal and professional life,” the photographer said.

Kerr maintains a productive relationship with Japan, where she has starred in campaigns for Lipton Iced Tea, Reebok and even detergents for washing machines.

The model, who will be the new face of H&M replacing Gisele Bundchen, and who last year became brand ambassador of the Austrian company Swarovski, combines her work as a model with other business.

Earlier in 2014, Kerr, who is actor Orlando Bloom’s former wife, launched her own tea set, in collaboration with the centuries-old English company Royal Albert.

Kerr also has her own line of organic skin care products called Kora Organics, and a perfume for Escada.

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