Vogue Defends VP Elect Kamala Harris’ Cover Photo
Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour has responded over the backlash regarding the magazine’s leaked February cover featuring Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.
In the photo, shot by photographer Tyler Mitchell, Harris stands in front of a pink and green backdrop – an homage to the colors of her sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha. She wears her trademark brown low top Converse sneakers with a matching pantsuit and a white T-shirt.
Users on social media critiqued the styling, calling it “poorly lit and too casual” for such a momentous cover.
In a statement to the New York Times, Wintour said there was “no formal agreement” the cover choice, but emphasized that “it was absolutely not our intention to in any way diminish the importance of the Vice President-elect’s incredible victory.”
Per Wintour’s statement, Vogue’s creative team felt that the more casual look was suitable for the current moment, being that we are in a pandemic. She did not comment on the cover’s lighting.
“When the two images arrived at Vogue, all of us felt very, very strongly that the less formal portrait of the Vice President-elect really reflected the moment that we were living in, which we are in the midst- as we still are — of the most appalling pandemic that is taking lives by the minute. And we felt to reflect this tragic moment in global history, a much less formal picture, something that was very, very accessible, and approachable, and real, really reflected the hallmark of the Biden-Harris campaign …”
Wintour’s statement was read by Kara Swisher, Host of the New York Times podcast “Sway” before an interview that was recorded about the cover story days before the photos leaked. In the interview, Wintour said that Harris picked her own outfit for the photoshoot, explaining that Harris has “a very assured sense of style.” She was in good spirits about the upcoming cover, calling it “joyful and optimistic”.