COVID-19 magazine covers

Tinyportia

SkinnyGossip Royal
Aug 1, 2013
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A thread to discuss how magazines are using their covers to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Vogue Italia released their April issue of the magazine featuring a completely white cover in response to the pandemic:



The latest issue of Vanity Fair Italia features not a model or celebrity on its cover, but 39-year-old lung specialist Caterina Conti, who works at Bergamo hospital—which as the Bergamo mayor stated, is at the epicentre of the outbreak:



Vogue Portugal has opted for a monochrome image of two models kissing through face masks for its April issue:



There's also another cover for Vogue Portugal's April issue with model Lily Stewart - the shadow on her face makes it appear as though she is wearing a facemask:



The Vanity Fair cover seems to be the only one that has received overwhelmingly positive feedback. Whereas the Vogue covers have been met with mixed reactions, mainly negative. Ranging from "tasteless" and "poor attempt at being woke" to "powerful" and "beautiful". I personally like the white cover for Vogue Italia. And I think the Vogue Portugal issue of the couple kissing through facemasks is stunning (even though yes, it is quite literal). The heading "Freedom on Hold - COVID-19. Fear Will Not Stop Us" is very cringeworthy though and I think the magazine should have removed that text altogether - the image speaks for itself. The other cover with Lily Stewart, I'm not a fan of. I don't find the image particularly emotive and when you couple that with the same cringeworthy headline as the other cover...just no.

What are your opinions on these covers?
 
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I find all of the Vogue covers so eerily beautiful! I agree that the text over the last image reduces it a lot - it would have been far more alluring if the image was left alone to speak for itself.
 
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And I think the Vogue Portugal issue of the couple kissing through facemasks is stunning (even though yes, it is quite literal).

Vogue Portugal’s cover affected me more than the others in this assemblage. Text aside, I feel as though it poignantly highlights the way in which COVID-19 has forced a global reassessment of social accessibility (specifically regarding experiences of loneliness and intimacy).
 
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This cover got major attention in Brazil. It says "the new normal" and below it they praise simplicity after all the "coronavirus era". Gisele is using Chloé and Prada, people hated it.
 
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This cover got major attention in Brazil. It says "the new normal" and below it they praise simplicity after all the "coronavirus era". Gisele is using Chloé and Prada, people hated it.

Not shocked. Her husband was also fined for working out in a closed park. We gotta remember that they're Florida people now, no matter where they actually come from.

To speak solely on this cover, it's simple in the same way every other dressed down shot is. This literally could be the magazine cover at any other point in time.
 
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Not shocked. Her husband was also fined for working out in a closed park. We gotta remember that they're Florida people now, no matter where they actually come from.

To speak solely on this cover, it's simple in the same way every other dressed down shot is. This literally could be the magazine cover at any other point in time.

It was shooted in december to be on the May cover for the 45 birthday of Vogue Brasil. What people didn't like is the fact that they're talking about a "new normal" that is not simple at all as the magazine claime, and also Gisele is using Chloé and Prada as we have almost 800 deaths per day due to covid.
 
I’ve seen pretty cool pictures that was made thru Facetime, this is really not the best for the cover of Bazaar (imo).
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It was shooted in december to be on the May cover for the 45 birthday of Vogue Brasil. What people didn't like is the fact that they're talking about a "new normal" that is not simple at all as the magazine claime, and also Gisele is using Chloé and Prada as we have almost 800 deaths per day due to covid.

It seems they’ve gone “well we’ve already got these images so we just need to find a way to tie them with the COVID pandemic”. Doesn’t work when it’s done as an after-thought. Probably would’ve been smarter to avoid trying to be political.
 
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Honestly the June cover of GQ UK has to be the worst COVID magazine cover I’ve seen so far:

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This issue is called the “heroes issue” and features emrata (and other celebs) talking about their heroes from the pandemic. Why not interview the actual heroes rather than have someone like emrata talk about her heroes?

Also, according to the magazine, emrata is an activist? That’s news to me lol.
 
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Honestly the June cover of GQ UK has to be the worst COVID magazine cover I’ve seen so far:

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This issue is called the “heroes issue” and features emrata (and other celebs) talking about their heroes from the pandemic. Why not interview the actual heroes rather than have someone like emrata talk about her heroes?

Also, according to the magazine, emrata is an activist? That’s news to me lol.

What is emrata CEO of? Also news to me.
 
Vogue Spain May 2020
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vs October issue of British Vogue (1945)

“I’ve been looking at a lot of the wartime issues of Vogue recently, for obvious reasons, and this is just so good. I can’t even imagine what it was like to live through nightly bombing raids, how fearful people must have been for the future. The simplicity of this image, conceived by Vogue’s art director James de Holden Stone, with the beautiful colours, the calm skies... It really offers a moment of peace after chaos. Looking at this, I feel we will push through and prevail.”
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Vogue Russia May 2020 : Hiandra Martinez by Txema Yeste
The May issue of Vogue Russia pays tribute to the Earth and sustainability issues. The issue is dedicated to the care of our only home – planet Earth. ... The May issue explores how you can live a more sustainable life, taking into account all of these things, and how you can give back to the planet.


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Vogue Spain May 2020
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vs October issue of British Vogue (1945)

“I’ve been looking at a lot of the wartime issues of Vogue recently, for obvious reasons, and this is just so good. I can’t even imagine what it was like to live through nightly bombing raids, how fearful people must have been for the future. The simplicity of this image, conceived by Vogue’s art director James de Holden Stone, with the beautiful colours, the calm skies... It really offers a moment of peace after chaos. Looking at this, I feel we will push through and prevail.”

This Vogue Spain cover is my favourite so far. The message isn’t as forced as some of the other covers we’ve seen to-date. I love how the illustration invokes a feeling of calm and hope while still being “fashion” and also remaining on brand. To me, it has more meaning than Vogue Italia’s plain white cover and is much more subtle than Vogue Portugal’s two covers with the face masks. Love it! Though I must admit I don’t know Spanish so not sure what the text says on the cover. Can anyone translate? What put me off the Vogue Portugal covers was the corny “freedom on hold. Fear will not stop us” message. I hope Vogue Spain haven’t gone with a corny message also.
 
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This Vogue Spain cover is my favourite so far. The message isn’t as forced as some of the other covers we’ve seen to-date. I love how the illustration invokes a feeling of calm and hope while still being “fashion” and also remaining on brand. To me, it has more meaning than Vogue Italia’s plain white cover and is much more subtle than Vogue Portugal’s two covers with the face masks. Love it! Though I must admit I don’t know Spanish so not sure what the text says on the cover. Can anyone translate? What put me off the Vogue Portugal covers was the corny “freedom on hold. Fear will not stop us” message. I hope Vogue Spain haven’t gone with a corny message also.
The text on the cover means: Never being far away made us feel so close :)
 
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Elle Russia, June 2020
The cover says 'Quarantine day 58. Moscow, the Moscow city clinical hospital №52'.
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The second cover was shot in December by Gilles Bensimon.

'Quarantine day 58. Sydney, Cat McNeil's apartment'.
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Elle Russia, June 2020
The cover says 'Quarantine day 58. Moscow, the Moscow city clinical hospital №52'.
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The second cover was shot in December by Gilles Bensimon.

'Quarantine day 58. Sydney, Cat McNeil's apartment'.
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Not a fan of either cover really.
In terms of the first cover - I get that Elle is trying to be socially and politically relevant here, but it is a fashion magazine after all. There’s nothing “fashion” about the first cover. Could almost be the front page of a newspaper. They’re clearly trying to be artistic by having the second doctor with her back to the camera but it’s just all wrong lol. Call me harsh but reminds me of a high school photography class photo project.

And as for for the second cover? :eyeroll: Yet another example of a magazine that’s botched a cover by using images shot pre-coronavirus and trying to find a way to link them with the current crisis. Just stop already.