What makes a magazine cover impactful?
From cultural identity to gender inclusivity, Millennials and Gen Zers are pushing for a more representative society. The Soulfuls explores how magazine covers are helping to change the status quo but remaining authentic is what really matters.
Photo by CRAIG MCDEAN
I first fell in love with the idea of becoming a writer as a teenager. My best friend and I would head to our local shop and pour over the pages of the latest issue of I-D or Dazed & Confused Magazine. 📚 After we’d devoured the glossy fashion editorials and lost ourselves in the inspirational longreads, my BFF would tear off the front cover and plaster it onto the feature wall in her bedroom.
Every inch of the wall was filled with our teenage dreams and desires: who we hoped to be, what people we were crushing on, what clothes we longed for. 😍 The famous saying goes that ‘A picture is worth a thousand words’ and each magazine cover had come together to speak our language.
Last month, Kim K was dethroned, 👑 as it was 19-year-old singer-songwriter Billie Eilish’s turn to break the internet with her standout cover story for British Vogue. Dressed in vintage-style corsetry and lingerie from the likes of Burberry, Alexander McQueen and Thierry Mugler, Eilish appeared on the May issue’s cover alongside the quote:
“It’s All About What Makes You Feel Good”. Billie Eilish
For years, Eilish has been body shamed into hiding her figure to avoid being sexualised. As a teenage girl growing up under the spotlight, this is a clear example of how toxic society can truly be. However, Eilish continues to use her experience to empower other young women.💃 “My thing is that I can do whatever I want”, she says in the cover interview. “If you want to get surgery, go get surgery”, continues Eilish. “If you want to wear a dress that somebody thinks that you look too big wearing, f**k it – if you feel like you look good, you look good”.
Eilish’s message is loud and clear: celebrate who you are and do so unapologetically. Over here in Scandinavia, highly popular teen magazine Vi Unge released its latest issue featuring three young girls with different disabilities. “The photographer Elisabeth Eibye called me many months ago and pitched in the idea of doing a shoot with young teenage girls with Down’s syndrome, which has been a long-term dream of hers”, says Vi Unge’s editor-in-chief Nikita Hoffmann Andersen.
“I loved the idea immediately, but to make it relevant to even more Vi Unge readers and to amplify more unheard voices, we decided to find three different girls with different disabilities.” Hoffman Andersen explains that it’s important to make your readers feel both reflected and represented. 💖
“I think it’s so important to feel seen as a teenager; we wanted the girls to feel heard and understood — just as we wish every teenager feels some way or another when reading through Vi Unge every month.”
In comparison, Vogue US came under fire last year for its August issue. Featuring world-class gymnast Simone Biles as cover star, 🏆 renowned photographer Annie Leibovitz was criticised for Biles’ dark skin tone not being treated with proper care and attention. “I super hate that Vogue couldn’t be bothered to hire a Black photographer” New York Times editor Morrigan McCarthy wrote on Twitter.
It’s hugely positive that many publications are aiming for greater diversity across the board but it’s important that what appears on the cover is also going on behind the scenes. People who identify as LGBQTIA+ should get the opportunity to cover stories that affect their community; stylists from ethnic minorities should get the chance to channel their own cultural dress with the looks they create.
So, if you’re game to copy my bestie and make your own magazine vision board at home, 🎨 see it as practice to make your mark for once you get to your monthly editorial meeting!
Lakeisha is a journalist from London based in Copenhagen, Denmark. With a background in fashion, you’ll find her writing about streetwear, hip hop culture and life as a young Black woman.
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