The Internet Has Mixed Opinions on Vogue’s New Cover

On Wednesday, American Vogue released a digital cover titled “Fashion Gets Real: Creativity for Everyone.” Behind these words, seven models, including Anok Yai, Vittoria Ceretti, Amelia Gray, and Devyn Garcia, are draped in light, white shirts and linens, each wearing a pair of jeans, leaning against one another and the gray backdrop that surrounds them. Inside, the cover teases a “First Look at Zac Posen’s Gap.” The stripped-down (somewhat — the models are still in full glam with perfectly smooth blowouts) nature of the shoot feels like a departure from Vogue’s glamorous bread and butter this year, which saw cover images filled with sequins, bouffants, feathers, and vibrant reds.

As they do when encountering any morsel of information, imagery, or verbiage shared on the internet, the everyday Joes assumed the position of culture critic, clamoring to share their very mixed reviews of the cover. The response was mostly negative. Louis Pisano, a fashion writer based in Paris, posted on X, “if there was ever a cover to carry us into the new trump era…..” and another X user called it the “worst Vogue cover” they’d ever seen, comparing it to an American Eagle ad. Yikes! The replies to Vogue’s post about the issue solicited equally polarizing opinions, with people focusing on the headline “Creativity Is For Everyone,” leading them to respond “everyone?” and ask if there was enough diversity in the image.

Although fuzzy, the idea behind the shoot is about how accessible brands like Gap and Uniqlo, rather than luxury companies, are taking center stage — though pieces from Toteme and the Frankie Shop, where prices range from a couple hundred to thousands of dollars, make an appearance too. The models on the cover are wearing pieces priced from $7 to $1,000. One thousand dollars?! Not in this economy.

Still, some appreciated that Vogue placed models on its cover as it did in the days of yore, before celebrities ruled supreme. Manish Mishra, a fashion editor, praised the photo’s “clean, minimal appeal” and was glad to see a cover “with some of the best models we have.” Artist Marcus Morris also celebrated the magazine’s employment of models on American and British covers, but lamented their actual staging and final imagery.

Haters gonna gate but I honestly love its clean, minimal appeal! Also thankfully a cover with some of the best models we have ???? #Vogue pic.twitter.com/LMmuSrIcIo

— Dandy ???? (@dandydujour) December 11, 2024

Love that there are models on the covers. HATE the covers. pic.twitter.com/Rq7cp67x4A

— Linduh Evangelista (@marcuslmorris) December 11, 2024

As the world continues to change rapidly, with the price of goods going up exponentially everywhere and consumers craving authenticity more than anything, the fashion world seemingly struggles to keep up. Even in moments like this, when the elite steering the gilded ship attempt to meet people where they’re at in a way they haven’t before, their readers will be the first to let them know if their endeavor feels contrived.