US Vogue June 2012 : Hope Solo, Ryan Lochte & Serena Williams by Annie Leibovitz

[Srdjan]

^ now is even worse...what's with their faces???!!!

 

[Wolkfolk]

Those swimsuits are some of the ugliest things I've seen on a Vogue cover ever.

I don't mind the cover stars choice, it's an Olympic issue so it's perfecly fine that she chose them. Also people should stop bashing Serena Williams, we all know Anna loves Tennis and Serena Williams is basically the most famous American female tennis player right now so I really don't get the fuss.

My only problem here is the execution. I really hate this kind of Leibovitz overused themes and her terrible photoshoping. Besides the models+athletes is an overused formula too. Why not dedicating an entire issue to athletes and let them model on their own ??

 

[blackkohl]

Another month, another hideous American Vogue cover... what's new?

 

[pixiedust1603]

I actually think Serena is the best thing about the cover, Hope's arm just looks awkward. The idea is great but the final product isn't great.

 

[justaguy]

OH man....it's worse than the original version! lol

 

[Street_a_Licious]

JEAH! RYAN! (should you get that reference)

definitely the cuter choice over Phelps

reezydaily.tumblr.com

 

[blueorchid]

I actually think Serena is the best thing about the cover, Hope's arm just looks awkward. The idea is great but the final product isn't great.

Hope's left hand looks really weird, now that you mention it. It looks unusually large.

 

[timandnorah]

So from what I can gather, everyone is upset either because they chose Ryan instead of Michael for the cover or because the cover is not directly fashion oriented?

You're all the same people who complain about the same mundane celebrities gracing American fashion magazines and, for the first time in a long time, Anna put some different people on the cover. American Vogue is not Vogue Paris and it's not Vogue Italia, yet that seems to be what some of you expect from the editors every month. Give them a break. The cover is just fine, especially for an American fashion magazine that wants to support America in the Olympics.

The cover is also very late '90's/early 2000's, which I like.

 

[stereo]

well, I agree with your point of view, timandnorah, but I think what's bothering ppl most about this one is that it looks too much like Vanity Fair/Men's Health/Sports Illustrated and while everyone was more or less expecting something sport related, this doesn't give justice nor the magazine (which got better with some of previous issues) nor the people placed on the cover. even Vogue UK made it better this time, (which is kind of a rare thing for them in my opinion), just because they decided to use sport theme while staying focused on the main profile of the mag, which is fashion.

 

[Scott]

sorry but this issue for me has nothing to do with serena's looks or the fact that i prefer another pretty blonde....it's about the fact that every time a concept like this arises,it's usually the same predictable people. whether it's serena or maria sharapova...snooze-fest.

i still stand behind my original feeling.....i would have preferred to see somebody like dara torres on such a cover given what she's attempting yet again and at the age she's doing so. it would have been far more inspiring to see on a cover.

and as far as i'm concerned,since we're talking aesthetical priorities,this is no more out of the box than any typical blonde because let's be honest they did decide to use the prettiest football player in hope solo. if they really wanted to showcase real athletes they could have just as easily used say abby waumbach or lauren cheney.....not to mention the cliched hot guy athlete.

 

[YoninahAliza]

^You do bring up some really good points. Unfortunately, I think that part of the reason why Vogue went with these three is because they are well known. Even if you don't follow these sports chances are you know who they are. And if they want to sell magazines they have to put someone who's recognizable on the cover. Dara and Abby are pretty well known but no where near as popular as these three. Which is a shame, because it would have been AMAZING to see Dara on the cover. Her story is incredible and so inspirational. And as for Abby, I've seen her in person before and I have to say, she is definitely pretty and Vogue could have totally made her look glamourous. I still stand by the cover choices of Hope, Ryan, and Serena but I do agree it would have been awesome to see some other less predictable athletes too. I wonder how many people internationally buy US Vogue and how much it counts for the profit? Because could that be a factor as to whom they choose for the cover too. I think that there must be a lot of factors that go into choosing a cover star.

 

[stereo]

well, Idk, even if they're very popular/recognizable in the US, chances that they're known among international VOGUE readers aren't very high (except for Serena)... it's just different target. personally I don't know a lot of ppl reading fashion magazines who also know any athletes. especially American.

 

[saann]

Not big on sports so the only one I've heard of here is Serena.. and I like her but this cover is boring. Too much beige, it would have been nice to see a better color palette.

 

[gossiping]

this cover is so uninteresting..

 

[g212142]

Well, the cover is so underwhelming, like they're not even trying. And it does look like a Men's Health cover.

 

[clocked]

it's terrible for Vogue but Ryan is much easier on the eyes than Phelps...could've been worse

 

[JustABoy]

This looks nothing like a men's health cover or a sports illustrated cover. Literally nothing. Men's health covers are usually shirtless men, but the vibe those covers give is totally different. Sports illustrated is usually either a colorful studio shot or an action shot. This cover is nothing like either of those magazines' covers.

 

[t-rex]

Annie Leibovitz's airy, glowing aesthetic is really awful. That cover is cheesy.

 

[blueorchid]

Here's the article and accompanying photos for the feature on female athletes: Wonder Women.

I seriously cannot get over how pathetic it is that a fashion magazine for women has this little rinky-dink feature on female athletes, yet male athletes get a huge giant feature. What the hell? I can't roll my eyes hard enough.

 

[YoninahAliza]

^Wow. That's really disappointing. For a women's magazine they sure do have a lot of men in it's pages. Vogue could have used this moment to shine a light on women's sports, which often falls to the wayside of mens sports. I would like to think/hope that other women would want to see strong athletic women in the pages of the magazine they are reading. It's suppose to be inspiring, you know. Although, I am glad to see the women they did choose to feature are poised to do really well at the olympics.