There was a time fashion magazines only closed up on faces. There was heavy emphasis on glam, on perfection, on illusions that we’ve come to learn don’t exist beyond their pages. I could just imagine what the magazine racks looked like before the late ’80s: All pristine headshots demanding our attention with provocative eyeshadow and an arresting gaze.
Credits to Vogue and Peter Lindbergh
So imagine Anna Wintour, for her first cover as editor-in-chief of Vogue in November 1988, violating these rules by slapping on a street-style photo of model Michaela Bercu with disheveled hair and a down-to-earth look. One’s focus rests not on how Michaela smiles with her eyes almost squinting, but on the haute couture Christian Lacroix jacket with a beaded cross.
The cover defied fashion’s uppity and elitist standards. And yet, it defined what else fashion could be. It was unimaginable for a photo like that to make it to print. But Anna made it work. Today, street-style photography has become one of fashion’s most important medium and document. Just look at how much we’ve been posting #ootds on Instagram by the minute! (I’m so, so guilty.)
It’s interesting to see where the future of fashion in print will head. Whose cover will define the upcoming decades?
