Vogue magazine fans have slammed the magazine for airbrushing supermodels including Cindy Crawford, Linda Evangelista, Naomi Campbell, and Christy Turlington on the cover.
The Nineties greats came together for a joint September issue cover for Vogue and the British Vogue, which initially delighted fashion lovers upon announcement on Friday.
However Alexandra Shulman, who edited British Vogue from 1992 to 2017, has argued in the Mail on Sunday that the publication turned the stars into ‘cartoon versions’ of themselves.
She wrote: ‘Why on earth did they have to be turned into a plasticised version of themselves, dressed in gloomy black widow outfits and run through computer retouching to emerge as a cartoon version of what a glamorous older woman might be?’
Meanwhile many on social media were quick to agree with her, with one person commenting on Instagram: ‘I think a fairly dreadful representation of these beautiful women in their prime and what a sorry excuse not to show them in all their middle aged glory. Let’s be honest Vogue is not half as aspirational as it used to be!’
Another wrote: ‘When I saw this cover it felt a bit clinical and cold. It would’ve been nice to see them shown as a bit more natural and relatable, a bit more human.’
A third added: ‘It is yet another example of stupidity on the part of vogue. There is nothing wrong with being older.
‘Nothing wrong with imperfection. Everyone is perfectly imperfect and everyone needs to accept imperfection.
‘If we were all perfect what would the world be like. I would be interested to know what the individuals think.
‘They must’ve agreed to being presented like that surely? It is all madness and symptomatic of the decline of the magazine.’
One commented: ‘I agree they are so naturally beautiful but the article would have been so much more inspiring without the photoshopping.’
Elsewhere in her piece, Alexandra wrote: ‘It’s especially weird considering that Vogue has recently positioned itself around the idea of inclusivity, rejecting the notion that conventional definitions of beauty are relevant to the cover choices.’
‘Those women are seriously beautiful. In their young selves, they inspired a generation of women to dream they might in some tiny way emulate them.
‘Now, in their 50s, they are genuinely the stuff of the sweetest dreams of middle-aged women – most of whom can only wish for the bone structure, the long slim limbs and defined waistlines that not only this foursome display on the Vogue cover but also possess in real life. They are still super.’
The cover was released months after it was announced British Vogue’s editor-in-chief Edward Enninful would be leaving his role, amid rumours of a rift with Anna Wintour.
The 51-year-old, who is the first male and first black editor of British Vogue, told magazine staff that he will be taking on a new global role at publisher Conde Nast.
Mr Enninful made radical changes to British Vogue and under his control the magazine featured its first transgender cover model.
He also oversaw the magazine’s first male cover star – Oscar-nominated actor Timothee Chalamet, while disability activist Sinead Burke became the first visibly disabled person on the cover.
When the September cover was released, many criticized the creative direction chosen for the covers – which saw the famous stars wearing dark colors against a silvery grey background.
Despite boasting the tag, ‘The greatest of all time’, numerous fans took to social media to lament over their lack of excitement regarding the image.
One Twitter user wrote: ‘Creatively they could have done ANYTHING, and all black standing in a corner with s**t lighting is what they came up with. is this a f**kn funeral.’
Another wrote: ‘This should’ve been incredible, this cover should have us all gagged but somehow it’s flat and that’s a real shame.’
‘This latest Vogue US cover isn’t giving the greatest of all time I’m afraid,’ one fan simply stated.
Another tweeted: ‘Not you out here making Thee Supermodels look like Housewives on a September issue… The disrespect is too much.’
‘Definitely could’ve done better on this cover,’ another commented. ‘Four of the greatest supermodels the world has ever know and this was the cover choice? WASTEFUL.’
One fan commented: ‘Fabulous models who know how to serve, so this cover is a choice.’
Another added: ‘That September vogue issue looks catastrophic sorry.’
‘All these icons & you couldn’t have come up with something a shoot that was little more interesting????’ one Twitter user lamented.
‘It’s almost disrespectful with the legends being so… blah’, one frustrated wrote.
Another fan wrote: ‘This cover does a disservice to their legacy omg. Just LAZY.’
Elsewhere, fans commented on Instagram: ‘NOW THIS IS A COVER, love all these supermodels !!! but y’all did not pose them well lol!’
‘The posing is weird. It’s like they all did their shoots individually and then photoshopped them together,’ one fans claimed.
Allegations of photoshop use was also a complaint as some felt Cindy Crawford’s famous face looked significantly different in the image.
One fan wrote: ‘I didn’t recognize Cindy Crawford here given the severe expression and lifeless hair. I honestly thought she was Julia Roberts after a bad accident.’
Another added: ‘Wait …. THAT’S Cindy Crawford??? What did she do to herself? If you hadn’t named her, I would have ZERO idea that was her.’
‘What the f**k did they do to Cindy Crawford’s face?’ another asked.
Elsewhere, others shared their delight at having such iconic models getting the limelight for the September issue as one person tweeted: ‘Finally Vogue decided to return to the iconic covers and stop fawning over the Kardashians. These are covers.’
Another added: ‘With the return of 90s supermodels in this year’s September issue as well as Karen Elson’s grand Vogue cover comeback later this year, it made me realize that no matter how the Insta-girls took over the modeling industry a few years ago, these legends are still unrivaled.’
‘The original supermodels showing the girls how it’s done for their Vogue issue,’ one pleased fan wrote.
The cover shoot, taken by shutterbug Rafael Pavarotti, was done to promote the model group’s upcoming Apple TV+ docuseries The Super Models which will premiere on September 20.
The four-part show focuses on the top models of the 1990s.
The series is directed by Academy Award winner Roger Ross Williams and Larissa Bills, while it was executive produced by Brian Grazer and Ron Howard’s Imagine Documentaries.
The Supermodels will take fans back to the 1980s at the start of their modelling careers and document how the four women came together from across the globe and collectively achieved a notoriety that transcended throughout the industry.
The four-part series will also examine the ladies work today, in not only the fashion industry, but activism, philanthropy and business, and how the quartet have blazed a path for the next generation.
