US Vogue April 2011 : Rihanna by Annie Leibovitz

[VogueParisLover]

I really like how shocking the hair color is, but other than that there isn't really much to say than what's already been said; awkward pose, etc. Can't wait to see the contents.

 

[BibiRose]

Not a fan of Rihanna and this cover. I'm waiting for the contents, though.

 

[holaloha]

awkward looking cover...
and two consecutive artists on the cover of Vogue! Wow...

 

[honeyisle]

That is such a low blow to everyone commenting on the cover. Insulting, really, to suggest that anyone who calls this tacky and/or cheap is racist. She's wearing a red weave, is in a glittery gold dress and is making an awkward pose. I'm SHOCKED really that someone would find that tacky. Such comments are not reserved for "black pop singers" but probably most singers these days. I GUARANTEE you, Katy Perry and Kesha would draw the exact same comments. It has nothing to do with the race in this case, and everything to do with the cover looking actually tacky and the pop singers these days being tacky.

Switch to decaf, no one said the "tacky/trashy" comments were RESERVED for black pop stars. Only you. AND I certainly did not suggest/say that anyone who calls the dress tacky is racist.

I said that unfortunately this is the reaction to many black pop stars...". Don't kid yourself, race is a huge factor in choosing cover subjects. TPTB don't put black women on covers because they don't sell as well and if they do, they have to be megastars to get the cover. Someone on here said "Rihanna is not a Vogue cover girl". WHY? I would love to know what Makes Rihanna any less of a Vogue girl than say Sienna Miller who has been on the cover a few times already? I am a black woman who grew up in an era where you didn't see black models/celebs hardly EVER in Vogue so to hear the trash/tacky comments right off the bat is disheartening.

 

[hommefashion]

Switch to decaf, no one said the "tacky/trashy" comments were RESERVED for black pop stars. Only you. AND I certainly did not suggest/say that anyone who calls the dress tacky is racist.

I said that unfortunately this is the reaction to many black pop stars...". Don't kid yourself, race is a huge factor in choosing cover subjects. TPTB don't put black women on covers because they don't sell as well and if they do, they have to be megastars to get the cover. Someone on here said "Rihanna is not a Vogue cover girl". WHY? I would love to know what Makes Rihanna any less of a Vogue girl than say Sienna Miller who has been on the cover a few times already? I am a black woman who grew up in an era where you didn't see black models/celebs hardly EVER in Vogue so to hear the trash/tacky comments right off the bat is disheartening.

You shouldn't have singled out the 'black' color if you didn't mean to accuse the commenters of racism, because that is strongly implied. Why else would you bring up the race?

 

[honeyisle]

The overwhelming negative reaction is something I see often, and that was what I was commenting on. I was speaking of the "black" colour because the cover in question has a black woman on it. It's just my opinion/observation and we don't have to agree.

 

[tigerrouge]

In my memory, the most overwhelmingly negative comments directed at a person - rather than at the clothes or the pose - occur when Cheryl Cole appears on the cover of Vogue. At the same time, many people don't care about Cheryl's social class, so their reasons for not liking her covers are based on other criteria, like simple aesthetics, personal behaviour or a perceived lack of talent or proper achievement. So I don't think I could broadly put everyone into one category when it comes to why they dislike the sight of someone on a cover, and why they might describe them as "undeserving".

 

[Miss Dalloway]

The only comments i find ridiculous in this thread (or in any other that they appear); are those somehow implying she is NOT deserving of a Vogue cover! The sheer snobbery of that makes me sick! The very same, that most (and very often same people) accuse this magazine of being!

I mean wtf does that mean, someone not being worthy to be on the cover of US Vogue? On what criteria? This aint the 50s, standards of what is classy/trashy are different, so how can one be unworthy of the cover? I ask especially because after the cover choices from the 90s, from Ivana Trump who scored the cover solely on the fact she was divorcing her mogul husband. Can it get more tabloid than that? To Lisa Marie Presley, who got the cover only because of who her father was, at the time she didnt even decide it would be fun to start singing! Then a decade later there was Trump's second trophy wife shamelessly gracing the cover because of who she was marrying. And can we all mention Sienna Miller who was nothing but a tabloid star with a movie star fiancé, and a style which the fashion world loved. No real movie, no stand out performances (unless you think her topless parading in Alfie was somehow outstanding, only her t*ts can be accused of such a thing, that i will agree on). And Wintour put her on three more covers, even the September, where is Miller now? (replaced by Blake Lively i suppose) Or should i say where has her career gone? And while i dont want to turn this thread into race issue, it is relevant to be mentioned to people who chose so! Because of the fact of how little women of color have actually graced it! In the almost 120 history of the magazine! When i look back, it is glaring how successful black women had to be to get on the cover, specially in contrast to women who regularly graced the cover ala Kidman, Paltrow.etc

One could go on, and on about their cover choices, so lets not for a second pretend US Vogue has been an arbiter of high standards, and exquisite taste!

Rihanna is one of the biggest pop stars at the moment, no matter how much i try and tune her out, or change the station when she comes on, its a fact she is successful, interesting, and relevant person to be on the cover at the moment. And for all those throwing their toys out of the pram over this cover, relax, you will get Reese Whiterspoon on the May cover, and US Vogue "worthy" cover order will be restored, in the meantime i am loving this cover, and how in your face it is.....

 

[CrisGalaxy]

Madonna should be next just to stomp all these little pop stars

 

[Jenna16]

I had no complaints about Gaga being on the cover, but Rihanna on the cover is terrible. Race has nothing to do with it. Lady Gaga has done a lot for fashion and although Rihianna is also considered a "fashion icon" she is nowhere close to what Lady Gaga is. I took a class at a university last fall about Women's Fashion and the topic of Lady Gaga came every single class, whereas I don't recall Rihanna being mentioned once. In fact, Gaga was probably the second most talked about fashion icon after Marie Antoinette (not that I'm trying to compare Gaga to Antoinette).

Rihanna also creates way more tabloid fodder than Gaga, which is part of why media continually takes such an interest in Rihanna. Furthermore, it contributes to why I consider Rihanna to be trashier than Gaga. Just like I consider Britney Spears trashy.

 

[kingchic]

^bahaha you're basing your like/dislike about Rihanna on the cover of Vogue because she wasn't brought up in your class at school... All I can do is laugh. Considering the gamut of nonsense celebrities that have been on the cover (i.e. Kristen Stewart, Sienna Miller, Jennifer Aniston, Britney Spears...etc.), Rihanna is a huge step up. I think your diagnosis of disapproval for Rihanna on the cover is straight because you don't like her.

It's a gorgeous cover; fact. Kudos to Rihanna.

 

[mikeijames]

it's silly to me for people to disparage rihanna in the same breath they defend lady gaga. they play to different audiences. while i bet many in some fashion class may not respond to rihanna in the same way they do to rihanna, there exist just as many who respond to rihanna in a way they will never respond to lady gaga. they appeal to different audiences. and that's OKAY. i'm happy vogue understands it has to appeal to BOTH.

 

[RocktheRunway]

I had no complaints about Gaga being on the cover, but Rihanna on the cover is terrible. Race has nothing to do with it. Lady Gaga has done a lot for fashion and although Rihianna is also considered a "fashion icon" she is nowhere close to what Lady Gaga is. I took a class at a university last fall about Women's Fashion and the topic of Lady Gaga came every single class, whereas I don't recall Rihanna being mentioned once. In fact, Gaga was probably the second most talked about fashion icon after Marie Antoinette (not that I'm trying to compare Gaga to Antoinette).

Rihanna also creates way more tabloid fodder than Gaga, which is part of why media continually takes such an interest in Rihanna. Furthermore, it contributes to why I consider Rihanna to be trashier than Gaga. Just like I consider Britney Spears trashy.

How does that make any sense? Because Rihanna is in the tabloids more then Lady Gaga, she is trashy. I have a lot more respect for Britney, who dresses to not impress anyone else but herself. She is who she is while Lady Gaga dresses like a clown most of the time to get attention.

Anyways, love the styling of the cover. Very Jessica Rabbit meets Ariel. The pose is a bit awkward but I guess it works for this cover especially with the water in the background.

 

[crosidan]

I had no complaints about Gaga being on the cover, but Rihanna on the cover is terrible. Race has nothing to do with it. Lady Gaga has done a lot for fashion and although Rihianna is also considered a "fashion icon" she is nowhere close to what Lady Gaga is. I took a class at a university last fall about Women's Fashion and the topic of Lady Gaga came every single class, whereas I don't recall Rihanna being mentioned once. In fact, Gaga was probably the second most talked about fashion icon after Marie Antoinette (not that I'm trying to compare Gaga to Antoinette).

Rihanna also creates way more tabloid fodder than Gaga, which is part of why media continually takes such an interest in Rihanna. Furthermore, it contributes to why I consider Rihanna to be trashier than Gaga. Just like I consider Britney Spears trashy.

I don't really understand why this level of criticism is necessary (e.g., quotations around "fashion icon", calling her trashy) and I think it's terribly wrong to say the reason why the media takes such an interest in Rihanna is because she creates more "tabloid fodder" than Lady Gaga.

Whether or not Rihanna is a fashion icon is also irrelevant as is the anecdote about the discussions in your Women's Fashion class. Her appearance on the cover of Vogue was a business decision likely made on the fact that Rihanna is a popular musician with a fashion presence and an engaging personality. That she will demonstrate her acting ambitions in around a year's time was likely seen as a bonus.

What's really sad about this is that, instead of congratulating a successful and talented woman who has joined a small number of other black women who've been on the cover of Vogue, she is criticized on multiple levels and trivialized for not meeting a criteria which only a select few women who've been on the cover of Vogue in the past decade have ever met. All criticisms of her pose, what she's wearing, et cetera are completely valid and understandable but questioning her reason for being there in the first place is vexing considering there have been people who've accomplished far less than what Rihanna has who've been on the cover of Vogue.

 

[LiranYana]

OH WOW US Vogue is becoming more and more commercial every day!.

Bingo !
its really sad that it is now very commercialized and I feel its not what it used to be anymore or at least were Anna Wintour has put Vogue's direction into


btw, can anyone ID what Rihanna is wearing
Dolce&Gabbana ?

 

[blueorchid]

I'm curious, how exactly was it less commercial in the past? What has specifically changed to make arguably the most commercial fashion magazine in the US even more commercial?

I don't get the criticism about Vogue being "commercial" at all. It's SUPPOSED to be commercial.

 

[Jenna16]

^bahaha you're basing your like/dislike about Rihanna on the cover of Vogue because she wasn't brought up in your class at school... All I can do is laugh. Considering the gamut of nonsense celebrities that have been on the cover (i.e. Kristen Stewart, Sienna Miller, Jennifer Aniston, Britney Spears...etc.), Rihanna is a huge step up. I think your diagnosis of disapproval for Rihanna on the cover is straight because you don't like her.

No, I'm saying that I think Lady Gaga is more significant of a fashion icon than Rihanna, thus I find Gaga to be more deserving of a cover than Rihanna. Please don't twist my words around. And do you really have to be so rude?

I was using the class I took as one example of how Lady Gaga is more influential to fashion. And it was the prof. (who has an doctorate in fashion studies) who often brought Gaga up. Furthermore, although I do not want to say where I go to school, this was at one of the top 50 ranked colleges in the US. So yes, I do see it as a legitimate example.

Plus, I bet you in five years there will be much more focus on Gaga than Rihanna in scholarly fashion journals.

I do agree that though many other nonsense celebs have been on the cover, however I personally would include Rihanna in that category. Personally I prefer seeing models on the cover.

 

[LiranYana]

Can't wait to see the supermodels ed by M&M...

the one with Gisel , Natalia, Lara, Raquel , Daria and -- > ( Karlie ) right ?
and ( Trentini ) is also included ? O_o​

 

[Jenna16]

I don't really understand why this level of criticism is necessary (e.g., quotations around "fashion icon", calling her trashy) and I think it's terribly wrong to say the reason why the media takes such an interest in Rihanna is because she creates more "tabloid fodder" than Lady Gaga.

Whether or not Rihanna is a fashion icon is also irrelevant as is the anecdote about the discussions in your Women's Fashion class. Her appearance on the cover of Vogue was a business decision likely made on the fact that Rihanna is a popular musician with a fashion presence and an engaging personality. That she will demonstrate her acting ambitions in around a year's time was likely seen as a bonus.

What's really sad about this is that, instead of congratulating a successful and talented woman who has joined a small number of other black women who've been on the cover of Vogue, she is criticized on multiple levels and trivialized for not meeting a criteria which only a select few women who've been on the cover of Vogue in the past decade have ever met. All criticisms of her pose, what she's wearing, et cetera are completely valid and understandable but questioning her reason for being there in the first place is vexing considering there have been people who've accomplished far less than what Rihanna has who've been on the cover of Vogue.

I criticize all these other unworthy celebs that appear on the cover so what's wrong with criticizing Rihanna too. I hate the Vogue US cover choices for about 50% of the issues. I have every right to dislike a cover choice. It almost seems to me that you are implying that because she is black I shouldn't criticize her like I would Britney Spears or Kristin Stewert. WTF?

Secondly, this is a forum where people where people are supposed to say what they think/feel about magazine issues. So I find it quite unfair for you to tell me that my criticism is unnecessary.

 

[Jenna16]

How does that make any sense? Because Rihanna is in the tabloids more then Lady Gaga, she is trashy.

Again, I was just giving one example off the top of my head of why I think I think Rihanna is trashier than Gaga. Lady Gaga keeps her personal life private and also seems to use her celeb status to raise attention to important issues than Rihanna does. In my book that puts Gaga above Rihanna. If you disagree then fine. We can agree to disagree.

I have a lot more respect for Britney, who dresses to not impress anyone else but herself. She is who she is while Lady Gaga dresses like a clown most of the time to get attention.

Good for you!