This week , a leaked portrait of Vice-President elect Kamala D. Harris’ February Vogue cover caused an uproar on social media. Many called the photo unflattering, messy and washed out. The image, which was shot by Tyler Mitchell- the first Black photographer to shoot a Vogue cover in 2018- features Harris in a dark jacket, skinny jeans, her trademark Converse and pearls. A leaf green backdrop with a pink silk curtain is displayed behind her in reference to her Howard University sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha, the first historically African American sorority, as she stands tall with a smile and her hands clasped at her waist.
Vice president-elect Kamala Harris is on the cover of Vogue’s February issue pic.twitter.com/NGxhyGaoS9
— models daily (@supermodeldaiIy) January 10, 2021
Part of the backlash on Twitter came from reports from journalist Yashar Ali that said Harris’ team was expecting the use of another, more formal portrait of the Vice-President elect, which Vogue later released in response to widespread criticism. In the digital cover photo, Harris is wearing a powder blue Michael Kors Collection suit with an American flag pin and her arms crossed in a power stance.
Madam Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris by me for the cover of American Vogue February issuehttps://t.co/IHh3WsjEWD pic.twitter.com/2twTvC4FHp
— Tyler Mitchell (@Tyler_Mitchell_) January 10, 2021
According to Ali, the original cover with the green and pink background is real, but he also wrote on Twitter that, “It’s just that per a source familiar, this is not the cover that was mutually agreed upon. The agreed upon cover had VP-elect Harris in a powder blue suit. So folks feel blindsided this evening.” Ali also said that the photo of Harris in the powder blue suit would be used as the digital cover while the other, less appealing photo will be the version of the February issue available for sale and sent to subscribers.
According to CNN, a spokesperson for Vogue did not directly comment on the conversations that took place between the magazine and Harris’ team, but in an email statement said they “loved the images Tyler Mitchell shot and felt the more informal image captured Vice President-elect Harris’s authentic, approachable nature — which we feel is one of the hallmarks of the Biden/Harris administration…To respond to the seriousness of this moment in history, and the role she has to play leading our country forward, we’re celebrating both images of her as covers digitally.”
The conversations on Twitter over what some deemed as the distasteful, and disrespectful, photo of the future Vice President revolved around her race and complexion. Although many appreciated the significance of the colors displayed in the background, others were not pleased with the lighting choices and dismissive of the more casual approach to the historic cover.
“The cover did not give Kamala D. Harris due respect. It was overly familiar. It was a cover image that, in effect, called Harris by her first name without invitation.” https://t.co/kudvZSiGMx
— Robin Givhan (@RobinGivhan) January 11, 2021
Critics of the cover were quick to compare the magazine’s past and brought up Vogue’s history of racial insensitivity and recent accusations of disrespect and promises to be more inclusive, according to The Washington Post. For example, earlier covers featuring Black women such as the Olympic gymnast Simone Biles was criticized for its lack of Black photographers and for not understanding how to light Black women. There have also been reports of Anna Wintour’s past with staffers of color, in which the magazine’s Editor-in-Chief has been accused of sidelining and tokenizing certain employees, viewing diversity and inclusion as solely a matter of optics. In 2018, The Times released a statement saying that “Ms. Wintour created a work environment — and there is no facet of Vogue that she does not control — that sidelined and tokenized women of color, especially Black women.”
The general consensus on social media was that Harris’ Vogue cover shoot was done in haste, looked unsophisticated and undermined her power as the first Black and South Asian female Vice President. It can be argued that there is nothing inherently wrong with the photo, but the fact that it will grace Vogue’s cover next month speaks volumes to the regard in which women of color are viewed today in the fashion industry, even if they are making history.
