Photo: Marco Piraccini/Mondadori Portfolio via Getty
Anna Wintouris addressing the reaction toVogue’s latest cover.
On Tuesday, the 71-year-old global editorial director ofVogueand Condé Nast’s worldwide chief content officer responded to critics who panned the cover ofVogue’sFebruary issue, which features Vice President-electKamala Harris.
After many called outVoguefor Harris' portrayal on the cover — which some deemed as “disrespectful” for its informality while others said she appeared “washed out” — Wintour addressed the criticism in astatementto theNew York Times’Kara Swisher, noting that those atVogue"understood the reaction."
“Obviously we have heard and understood the reaction to the print cover and I just want to reiterate that it was absolutely not our intention to, in any way, diminish the importance of the Vice President-Elect’s incredible victory,” Wintour said.
Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.Mason Trinca/Getty
On the cover of the February issue — Harris’Voguecover debut — the California Senator, 56, is dressed in a black Donald Deal blazer, color-coordinated pants and a white top, and poses in her signature footwear: Converse sneakers.
The background she’s standing in front of is also a nod to her history. Paying tribute to the sorority she joined at Howard University, she’s pictured standing in front of an apple green and salmon pink background, which are the colors of Alpha Kappa Alpha.
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Another photo from the cover shoot shows Harris smiling while wearing a powder blue Michael Kors Collection suit.
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“The team at Vogue loved the images Tyler Mitchell shot and felt the more informal image captured Vice President-elect Harris’s authentic, approachable nature — which we feel is one of the hallmarks of the Biden/Harris administration,” the magazine said. “To respond to the seriousness of this moment in history, and the role she has to play leading our country forward, we’re celebrating both images of her as covers digitally.”
On Tuesday, whileappearing virtuallyon theTodayshow, Kamala’s niece,Meena Harris, also spoke about the controversy surrounding her aunt’sVoguecover as well.
“It’s a big moment where we have elected the first woman in history, the first Black woman in history, and South-Asian woman, to hold the office of VP in our country’s history, that is a huge historic moment,” Meena said during the morning broadcast. “It deserves the proper celebration of that moment especially for a magazine that often has not had Black women on the cover.”
“I love the photos of the powder blue suit, I love those and I think that [photographer Tyler Mitchell]’s incredibly talented and of course the woman who wrote the article, it is a lovely inspiring amazing interview,” she continued. “I think, again, it’s a big moment and I am glad that Tyler captured images that are deserving of this extraordinary moment.”
source: people.com
