Right-wing politicians in the US criticize the cover shoot featuring the Ukrainian first lady, while Ukrainians say they need the publicity to fight Russia.
The 'Vogue' cover that caused a political stormImage: Annie Leibovitz/Vogue
Advertisement
Olena Zelenska, the wife of Volodymyr Zelenskyy, was a comedy scriptwriter who preferred to stay behind the scenes until her husband became president and she became first lady.
In 2019, she reluctantly did her first Vogue Magazine shoot and this month, in the wake of Russia's invasion of her country, she is the subject of a cover story for the same magazine.
Titled "Portrait of Bravery," the cover sees Zelenska sitting hunched on a stair in an unremarkable outfit and with flat shoes. It is one of several images shot by star photographer Annie Leibovitz that include pictures of the first lady with her husband, and amid sandbags and a destroyed aircraft.
"These have been the most horrible months of my life, and the lives of every Ukrainian," she told the magazine. "Frankly I don't think anyone is aware of how we have managed emotionally."
But the day after the cover story was published, a host of conservative politicians and pundits in the US and beyond ignited a social media storm over the images.
"While we send Ukraine $60 billion in aid Zelenskyy is doing photoshoots for Vogue Magazine," tweeted far-right Republican congresswoman Lauren Boebert. "These people think we are nothing but a bunch of suckers."
There is no proof that the Vogue shoot was paid for with the weapons money, but that did not stop a wave of recriminations framed within an ongoing culture war between the right and pro-Ukraine liberals.
"I don't remember Saddam Hussein's wife being on the cover of Vogue when Iraq was illegally invaded," stated another tweet.
Some were more subtle in their critique, believing the stylized images were not good publicity for the Ukraine cause.
"The Vogue cover for Zelensky is the first genuine PR misstep I've seen him make," read one tweet. "Five months into a war and only one propaganda miscalculation is good, he's pretty much landed everything else."
Advertisement
Keeping global focus on an ongoing war
But many supported the Ukrainian first couple's decision to do the Vogue cover.
"It's nice to see the far left and far right united in losing their minds over the first lady of Ukraine raising greater awareness of the genocide in her country with a Vogue cover," tweeted Andrea Chalupa, a US journalist, author and co-host of the Gaslit Nation politics podcast.
Ukrainian Melaniya Podolyak, who covers the war in social media, called much of the criticism "westsplaining."
"I love the pictures," read another tweet. "They show Ukraine's fight for survival and freedom. I think it's important to show this to the world, so that they won't forget this fight and help your beautiful country. And that is the goal of these powerful pictures."
"Ukraine is doing everything it can to keep Western focus on the tragedy unfolding in their country and for the Western public to keep supporting weapon shipments to Kyiv. People who complain about Olena Zelenska's Vogue shoot don't understand why she did it," tweeted news aggregator Visegrad 24.
Indeed, Zelenska's mission to raise awareness extended to a recent unannounced trip to Washington.
"I'm asking for something I would never want to ask for: I am asking for weapons — weapons that would not be used to wage a war on somebody else's land but to protect one's home and the right to wake up alive in that home," she said in an address to the US Congress last week.
Olena Zelenska addressed members of the US Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington on July 20Image: picture alliance / ASSOCIATED PRESS
An empowered female leader
Val Voshchevska, a self-described digital creator and Ukrainian activist and organizer, on Instagram described the cover as "an iconic feminist photo."
"Ever thought you'd see a First Lady WOMAN spreading like a boss on the cover of a magazine," she asked. Providing an in-depth explainer of the cover photo, she described how Zelenska sits on the stairs without striking a pose, simply being herself.
"The lack of heavy photoshop, layers of fancy make-up, perfect hair," make Zelenska "come across as a real person," she wrote.
"With this one photo, Olena destroys the sexist expectations that a First Lady needs to be an impeccable Stepford wife."
"Wow Olena Zelenska and Annie Liebovitz - you smashed it," Voshchevska concluded.
Romanian-German novelist Herta Müller has said that women expressing their individuality through make-up and fashion has been a means to maintain dignity during war and under oppressive regimes. "This is about dignity," said the Nobel Prize for Literature winner, who endured harassment from the Romanian secret service. "If you give yourself away, then of course you no longer have any dignity."
Müller is quoted in the book "Ein Hauch von Lippenstift für die Würde" ("A Touch of Lipstick for Dignity") by Henriette Schroeder, which shows how women in the Balkan wars, or living under dictatorships in China and Iran, have maintained their femininity as a symbol of dignity and resistance.
For some, the Ukrainian first lady is seen as part of this tradition.
"The 'outrage' over this shoot is just plain old sexism," read one tweet. "It's a Vogue profile on Olena and the incredible work she is doing for her country. She's helping keep Ukraine in people's minds and hearts. Also, it's a beautiful picture of strength, resilience, and love."
Holocaust survivor Margot Friedländer lands on German Vogue cover
The 102-year-old will grace the cover of the July/August issue of Vogue Germany. She is a tireless fighter for remembrance culture and for more humanity.
Image: VOGUE Germany/dpa/picture-alliance
'Don't look at what divides you. Look at what unites you'
She is one of the last few Holocaust survivors who experienced the horrors of Nazi crimes firsthand. Having first lived in the US, she moved to Berlin in 2010 and has since been tirelessly campaigning for a remembrance culture as well as for mutual understanding and tolerance. In 2016, she received the Order of Merit of Berlin, the highest award given by the state.
Image: VOGUE Germany/dpa/picture-alliance
106-year-old 'cover girl'
But an even older model has already made it onto the cover of the magazine in 2023: Apo Whang-Od, who hails from a remote, mountainous village in the Kalinga province in northern Philippines, began tattooing at age 16. The traditional Kalinga tattooist has inspired a new generation to learn "batok," which involves tapping tattoos into the skin by hand using a thorn dipped in soot and natural dye.
Image: Vogue Philippines/Artu Nepomuceno
'A new type of man'
Hollywood darling Timothee Chalamet is the first man to make a solo appearance on the cover of British Vogue in its 106-year history. Vogue describes him as carving out "a new genre of man" who delivers both vulnerable and violent performances. In the interview, Chalamet talks about growing up, his ambitions and the importance of going to the dentist.
Image: Vogue
'We're looking forward to a victory'
Photographed by Annie Leibovitz, 44-year-old Olena Zelenska, the First Lady of Ukraine, discussed her unannounced trip to the US in July 2022, where she addressed Congress. Saying that she was speaking as a mother and daughter, not just a First Lady, she showed US lawmakers pictures of Ukrainian children who had been killed by Russian rockets before she requested more support in the form of arms.
Image: Annie Leibovitz/Vogue
Adele lands on the UK and US covers
Promoting her latest album, "30," the English singer-songwriter graced the November 2021 covers of both British and American "Vogue" with two different photos. In the interview, Adele broke her media silence on her drastic weight loss: "I did it for myself and not anyone else. So why would I ever share it?" Adele said, reacting to fans who would have liked to follow her "journey" on Instagram.
Image: Steven Maisel/British Vogue
Greta Thunberg: Fridays for Future
Featuring on the fashion magazine's Summer 2021 cover, the teenage activist used the platform to criticize fast fashion: "The fashion industry is a huge contributor to the climate and ecological emergency, not to mention its impact on the countless workers and communities who are being exploited around the world in order for some to enjoy fast fashion that many treat as disposables," she tweeted.
Image: Vogue Scandinavia
Malala Yousafzai: The outspoken survivor
As a 15-year-old, Malala was shot by the Taliban in Pakistan because she spoke up for girls' education. In 2014, she received the Nobel Peace Prize. She featured on the cover of Vogue UK's July 2021 edition, in which she discussed the limits of online activism: "Right now ... we have associated activism with tweets. That needs to change, because Twitter is a completely different world."
Image: Vogue
Amanda Gorman: Rise of a cultural icon
We watched agog as she recited her poem "The Hill We Climb" with such aplomb at Joe Biden's inauguration. Since then, Amanda Gorman's star has been on the ascent. The 24-year-old cultural icon, Harvard graduate and Youth Poet Laureate has since landed a modeling contract and will grace the cover of US Vogue in May 2021.
Image: Vogue
Lizzo: 'Be the first'
In an Instagram post, musician Lizzo claimed that she was the first big, Black woman on the cover of Vogue — although the magazine itself hasn't confirmed that. Nevertheless, the rest of her post is worth emulating: "But our time has come. To all my Black girls, if someone like you hasn't done it yet — BE THE FIRST."
Image: Vogue
Harry Styles: Wear what you like
British pop singer (and former One Direction heartthrob) Harry Styles became the US magazine's first ever male cover star in November 2020. Garbed in a Gucci gown paired with a black tuxedo jacket, the cover sparked debate. Styles responded, "I think what's exciting about right now is you can wear what you like. It doesn't have to be X or Y. Those lines are becoming more and more blurred."
Image: Vogue
Yalitza Aparicio: Proud of her roots
In a country where lighter skinned people get more media coverage despite being outnumbered by Indigenous communities, Mexican actor Yalitza Aparicio's Vogue Mexico cover made history. The former preschool teacher, who received a best actress Oscar nomination for her debut performance in Alfonso Cuaron's 2018 drama "Roma," was named UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Indigenous Peoples in 2019.
Image: Vogue
Padma Lakshmi: Tireless multi-hyphenate
Padma Lakshmi, top chef, author and host of an Emmy-winning television show, is also an ambassador for the American Civil Liberties Union. She has established the Endometriosis Foundation of America (a condition that she suffered personally), and placed the spotlight on sexual assault in an op-ed in 2018 in the New York Times, where she revealed that she too was a rape survivor.
Image: Vogue
Priyanka Chopra: Model to memoirist
The first Indian woman to grace the cover of US Vogue, Priyanka Chopra rose to fame in her native India after being crowned Miss World in 2000. She starred in several Bollywood films, winning acting awards on the way. She has since successfully crossed over to Hollywood and recently published her memoir, "Unfinished," which made the New York Times bestseller list.
Image: Vogue
Madonna: Pop culture phenomenon
No Vogue-related listicle would be complete without a mention of the singer who not only influenced pop culture but whose similarly titled single put "vogue-ing" on the map. The 65-year-old music icon has been setting trends since the 80s, and has played muse to fashion designers and younger pop stars alike.
Image: Vogue
Lupita Nyong'o: Planting the seed of possibility
The Oscar-winning Kenyan actress Lupita Nyong'o has openly spoken of her insecurity about her looks. "Until I saw people who looked like me, doing the things I wanted to. Seeing Whoopi Goldberg and Oprah Winfrey in 'The Color Purple,' it dawned on me: 'Oh — I could be an actress!' We plant the seed of possibility." She now uses her platform "to expand and diversify the African voice."
Image: Vogue
Forces for change
Besides Laverne Cox, who became the first trans cover person on British Vogue, this landmark issue boasted a cover line-up of global female movers-and-shakers including New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern; teenage Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, and Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.
