7 Fashion Magazine Covers That Sparked Passionate Debates

Editors become very picky when it comes to choosing the right cover for a magazine since it’s the first thing their readers notice when buying it. A good picture can dramatically increase sales, raise social awareness and improve the magazine’s reputation or in the case of a fail, cause a great deal of criticism.

votreART found some provocative magazine covers that will forever be remembered after they caused a lot of public debate.

7. Glamour<, August, 1965

Katiti Kironde took part in a “Best Dressed College Girls” competition that was organized by Glamour magazine. She was the winner and got a spot on the cover. The issue sold millions of copies as it was the first time an African-American woman appeared on the cover of a fashion magazine.

6. TIME, April, 1997

In 1997, a famous comedian named Ellen DeGeneres was on the cover of IME magazine with the statement: “Yep, I’m gay.” Although there were some existing rumors about her sexual orientation, not everyone was ready for such an open statement. After the issue was published, some TV channels even canceled programs starring DeGeneres.

5. People, September, 1997

After a horrible car accident in Paris where Princess Diana died, American editorial, People magazine released an issue with her picture on the cover: a happy Diana wearing a tiara and a smile in a black and white photo. This cover is still considered one of the most touching in the history of fashion magazines.

4. New York, November, 2014

New York magazine wanted to accentuate how quickly emojis developed and changed the language in the modern world. That’s why it put a huge “talking” emoji on the cover instead of ordinary headlines. The American Society of Magazine Editors even acknowledged this cover as the best one in the business and technology category.

3. Vogue, March, 2017

The March cover of Vogue magazine was supposed to be memorable thanks to the 7 supermodels posing together. However, audiences accused the magazine of excessive use of Photoshop: readers thought that Gigi Hadid’s arm looked unnaturally long.

2. Paper, March, 2018

When this new issue of Paper magazine was released, many people didn’t recognize the girl on the cover at first. No one had ever seen the popular singer Christina Aguilera like this: cute freckles, no aggressive makeup, only natural beauty. “I’m a performer by nature. But I’m at the place, even musically, where it’s time to strip it all back and appreciate who you are and your raw beauty,” said the singer.

1. National Geographic, May, 2018

An official edition of National Geographic started a new campaign, “Planet or plastic?” in March 2018 and put out a cover with a plastic bag looking like an iceberg. The issue also included shocking photographs showing how our planet is literally covered in plastic. With this initiative, the magazine wanted to attract attention to the problems of excessive plastic use and its horrible consequences on nature.

Which cover impressed you the most? Share it with us in the comments!

Preview photo credit voguescovers / instagram