Anna Wintour Looks Back On Her First Vogue Cover
Photos courtesy of Vogue
Vogue's debut issue (left) and Anna Wintour's first cover (right).
Not only did Vogue's highly-anticipated September issue score a scantily-clad Gaga as its cover star, but the iconic mag gives a nod to the industry's venerable editor in celebration of the publication's 120th anniversary.
In the ultimate fashion throwback, Ms. Wintour looks back on her first Vogue cover, starring Israeli model, Michaela Bercu. Lensed by Peter Lindbergh and styled by Carlyne Cerf de Dudzeele, the November 1988 issue was the first of Wintour's epic rein as editor-in-chief.
From the Israeli model to 'The Fame Monster', Anna Wintour has been at the helm of the storied publication through a whirlwind of change, everything except for her signature and unchanging bob.
Wintour reflects, "Michaela was wearing an haute couture Christian Lacroix jacket with a beaded cross, all very “Like a Prayer,” and stonewashed Guess jeans. The jacket was actually part of a suit, but the skirt didn’t fit Michaela; she had been on vacation back home in Israel and had gained a little weight. Not that that mattered. In fact, it only served to reinforce the idea to take couture’s haughty grandeur and playfully throw it headlong into real life and see what happened."
"What none of us expected was to run that picture on the cover... It was so unlike the studied and elegant close-ups that were typical of Vogue’s covers back then, with tons of makeup and major jewelry. This one broke all the rules. Michaela wasn’t looking at you, and worse, she had her eyes almost closed. Her hair was blowing across her face. It looked easy, casual, a moment that had been snapped on the street, which it had been, and which was the whole point. Afterwards, in the way that these things can happen, people applied all sorts of interpretations: It was about mixing high and low, Michaela was pregnant, it was a religious statement. But none of these things was true. I had just looked at that picture and sensed the winds of change. And you can’t ask for more from a cover image than that."
Head over to Vogue.com to see more of Anna's all-time favorite Vogue images, and then click through our gallery of all the 2012 September covers, starting with Lady Gaga on Vogue!
What do you think of Anna Wintour's first Vogue cover? Let us know in the comments section below!
