Fashion-minded readers who disapproved of Vogue’s cover shot of Vice President-elect Kamala Harris can now opt for an alternate version of the magazine with a different photo.
Vogue announced Tuesday that the digital edition of its February issue will receive a limited print run, due to “enormous interest.” The special edition will not appear on newsstands but is available for purchase through the publication’s website.
Last week, Vogue was hit with backlash for its original cover photo of Harris. In a nod to her Howard University sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha, the vice president-elect was photographed against pink and green fabrics in a black Donald Deal suit and her signature Converse sneakers.
Vogue unveiled the cover January 10 on its social media pages. Many critics, however, felt the image missed the mark in relaying Harris’ distinction as the first Black, Asian American and female vice president. It didn’t help that the publication paired the photo with its much-preferred, digital-only cover, showing Harris in a powder blue Michael Kors Collection suit against a gold backdrop.
“Delete the chucks picture and change the cover to the blue suit MVP agreed to...this is disrespectful,” one person wrote. “WTF is this washed-out mess of a cover?” another wondered.
Both CNN and The Associated Press reported that Harris’ team was “blindsided” by the last-minute swap, having understood that the vice president-elect would appear in the powder blue suit on the cover. Photographer Tyler Mitchell, who has also shot Beyoncé and Harry Styles for Vogue, didn’t comment on the outcry, but notably featured only the digital cover on his Instagram pages.
Anna Wintour, who is Vogue’s editor-in-chief and Condé Nast’s newly appointed chief content officer, defended the less formal photograph following a January 12 appearance on The New York Times’ “Sway” podcast. She also dismissed claims that the magazine had promised Harris’ team that the image selected for the digital edition would also appear on the print cover.
“There was no formal agreement about what the choice of the cover would be,” Wintour said in a statement, as quoted by the Times’ Kara Swisher. “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 and everything that they are trying to, and I’m sure will, achieve.”