US Vogue December 2020 : Harry Styles by Tyler Mitchell

[HeatherAnne]

^

...And what exactly is your condescending post doing? Sorry, but I don't see anyone doing what you proclaim. I see everyone offering opinions, and a genuine conversation coming out of it, which is healthy, and what this forum's purpose is.

 

[Benn98]

I suppose over the past few years we've mostly been agreement over a lot of things (because fashion culture is just at such a low moment) that the few times when lines are drawn it seems more magnified to some (including myself), almost a shock really? Good! Just reading a comment that opposes yours is educational enough, drives home the point that there are people out there who have an entirely different point of view.

Btw, just a general comment. Not aimed at anyone specifically.

 

[kokobombon]

I just wish that people would stop predicting Anna being fired or that US Vogue is dead etc etc clearly something is working for them...

and gotta say, a white straight man wearing women´s clothes on a magazine cover is what the US need right now, normalizing that in a country with like half of its population voting for Trump is going to take time

 

[Urban Stylin]

Harry's on this cover because they've moved on to wanting to exploit the varied fan base he brings, because they feel the well has run dry elsewhere, and they're not even bothering to dress anything up as a dream anymore, the magazine does the bare minimum and hopes social media will do the rest for them.

facts

 

[kasper!]

I don't like this but I have to say it's very provocative. Last time I had the same feeling it was almost 14 years ago when Carine put Paris Hilton on Vogue Paris cover....

 

[WAVES]

after reading all your enlightening comments I found myself thinking a little bit more about this cover. who would’ve thought that a US Vogue magazine cover would do that to me in 2020? but good that it did.

my first problem(s) with the cover and ed it’s because it all looks so ‘dry’ even if Harry is a handsome fella, but then when browsing Tyler’s Instagram for instance it’s easy to recognise that this type of work it’s his style so it’s what we’re gonna get every time he’ll shoot a cover or an editorial. also the styling is terrible.
which means I’ll keep my original opinion ‘no, no, no, no.’
so, regardless of the intention behind it it’s still a pretty mediocre job. also the ballon on the cover, please.

the whole gender fluidity thing is a hot topic and it does make sense to address it now more than ever.
is Harry Styles the strongest contender to carry it?
I’m still not sure about it.
but if yes it’s also probably for all the reasons that could also make him the worse choice. he’s a white cis straight male.
probably any other person (especially if LGBTQ (there’s no + for this same reason), would’ve been overlooked.

now, the big question is: is painting your nails and wearing a handbag and a skirt really gender fluid?
when in lockdown (here it started back in March), I had the mistake of downloading Tik Tok and I remember that there were a lot of young straight boys with cropped tops and nail polish... but it all looked way more like a trend than a genuine take on gender fluidity...

so, hopefully it will indeed create awareness and more freedom of any type for our society.

and with all being said, did I ever wanted Harry Styles or any other man on the cover of Vogue? nope.

 

[caioherrero]

When this will be available?

 

[ivano]

After tons of years seeing girls on the cover of any edition of GQ, I don't find bad to spot a guy there. They're not using a girl like the covers of Gisele with George Clooney and Lebron or Imaan and Pharrel, Gigi and Ashton Eaton, etc.. If they want a guy there, they should not put girls like props for that. Is so bad to see something like that. In the other hand I would love to see beautiful guys like Chris Evans fronting some edition of Vogue, hahaha.

 

[tigerrouge]

Conde Nast probably believes that releasing this cover puts it ahead of the game, but given that people are out for blood, I can see it backfiring, with "American Vogue has consistently failed to cater to the needs of men" being added to the list of Anna Wintour's crimes against humanity.

 

[russianelf]

if vogue us was really ahead of the game they would feature a trans person on the cover. but oh wait... vogue paris beat them to it by a year or two.

 

[ivano]

if vogue us was really ahead of the game they would feature a trans person on the cover. but oh wait... vogue paris beat them to it by a year or two.

And Franca put Bambi with a group of models on the july cover of 2015 of VI. Nobody noticed then.

 

[LMV]

that valentina sampaio cover didn't feel very genuine from alt's part tbh considering that she wasn't featured in the magazine ever again after that. at least anna has featured trans ppl in editorials more than once and i could see maybe indya or hunter schafer getting a cover in the near future

 

[GivenchyHomme]

I like the editorial, but I don't believe he has enough power to sell a cover, especially for Vogue. This won't be everyone's cup of tea, but I do appreciate how shockingly natural it is. A lot of magazines and editors attempt to force this type of gender-bending androgyny on us and it is never truly genuine. You can't just slap on a dress on any guy and expect it to work. If it doesn't suit the person's personality then it can easily go into costume territory. The overall styling here is fantastic. It's presents a fabulous new way for men to dress. I love the plaid skirt with the chain belt. That is a look that could worn by many men regardless of sexuality. Ricardo Tisci was really onto something when he started putting skirts on men for Givenchy. It's shame it was so short lived because it worked so well when it made it's debut. We need more Fashion like this. Streetwear is so unimaginative, it's almost become a badge of conformity. We need individuals that take risks not just for the sake of doing so, but rather to truly express themselves in a natural and genuine way.

 

[aracic]

I'm starting to hate this a little less now, but I still find it bizarre. Harry Styles on the cover of Vogue, pfft...

And I do believe that it would've worked better if the styling (or photography or the cover subject) was stronger. This absolutely iconic cover story from no less than Rolling Stone came to mind this morning as I looked at Harry's editorial again. I mean, I'm biased cause it's Brad, but this story is to this day one of my favorite editorials ever - he rocks those dresses in every image and there's so much energy and sass and damn is he hot in that little sequined dress. This is what I'd like to see when it comes to straight men in women's clothes posing for a fashion magazine. What they did with Harry is neither surprising or unconventional - in my opinion, it's just boring. Seeing someone (like Brad here) who otherwise wouldn't ever be seen in womenswear would've been far more interesting.

rolling stone

 

[Mody]

To me this spread of cover and editorial is nothing offensive or challenging. Harry Style has been seen to the public with this kind of clothes for quite a while. Putting him on a relevant focused magazine, a women’s magazine specially, is not going to have much of a shocking effect.
It would make much more of an impact to challenge men’s perspective about how a man should look if it were on the cover of a traditionally male focused magazine Like GQ or even sports magazine (even though it is completely unrelated to sports).
The photography skill (or lack thereof) is really showing. It is not bad, it is just not up to the level that I personally associated with Vogue. It would look much more genuine fitted in a magazine like Attitude, Dazed, etc.
Looking forwards to other editorials cause I’d hope it is a themed issue so we get to see more individual showing more aspect of the theme

 

[phungnam96]

already becomes a meme

 

[8eight]

When this will be available?

Lizzo is still in UK stores.

 

[Lola701]

I just wish that people would stop predicting Anna being fired or that US Vogue is dead etc etc clearly something is working for them...

and gotta say, a white straight man wearing women´s clothes on a magazine cover is what the US need right now, normalizing that in a country with like half of its population voting for Trump is going to take time

If there’s one thing that Anna is good at is flipping the narrative and take advantage of situations. And this is what a good EIC is supposed to do.

I don’t think in recent years, US Vogue has been so discussed through a whole year. From Cardi B to Harry, almost every cover has been a topic of conversation and beyond the controversies, US Vogue has proven to be a publication that matters.

I’m more worried by US Vogue post-Anna. People believe that having Edward and everything he represents at the helm of the publication is enough to signal change but what we want is real change. A new way to define what Vogue can be for a new era...Not a diluted version of what it was (which is what current US Vogue is anyway).

I’ll always use that comparison because it’s obvious but Emmanuelle’s VP couldn’t be more different from Carine’s one. Carine was quite international and was a real fashion lover’s fashion magazine. Emmanuelle’s is closer to ELLE. It’s a guide for a specific woman. You can totally picture the kind of women who are touched by the magazine. Carine’s was strong enough to touch men I think because of the great visual impact.

if vogue us was really ahead of the game they would feature a trans person on the cover. but oh wait... vogue paris beat them to it by a year or two.

But I think Anna will feature a transgender model soon...
The big difference between US Vogue and others was how political and conservative was the perception of America was. But I think by being firm of her support of Biden and assuming that, Anna obviously distanced an audience from the magazine. So, it’s about to come...

Let’s be fair in this, the impact of VP and Vogue Italia in the society or in media (outside of fashion) is not close to US Vogue. And there’s an awful gap between the covers of transgender women and the way they are treated by the society. It’s harder to be a transgender women in France and Italy than it is in the US.

The shot of a nude Lea T in VP was more controversial than the cover of Valentina for example. But I think it has to do with the fact that Valentina is not a household name and she fits VP’s aesthetic.

Indya Moore is maybe the most obvious to get her first US Vogue cover because she is a household name and her impact will be bigger I think.

 

[Royal-Galliano]

i don't mind harry on the cover of vogue but none of these images are any good – where's the effort at all? – and i hate the styling!

 

[KoV]

Indya Moore is maybe the most obvious to get her first US Vogue cover because she is a household name and her impact will be bigger I think.

I agree with almost everything you said in your post, but in what universe is Indya Moore a household name? I’d love to see her get a cover, but I’d wager only around 1% of Americans have any idea who she is.