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Tyler MitchellVice President-elect Kamala Harris made her debut on the cover of Vogue magazine’s February issue ahead of Inauguration Day, and already the image is prompting some backlash.
Vogue featured two cover images of Harris. One has her posing in front of a golden drape in a powder-blue power suit and pearls. She poses against pink and green drapery in the other, wearing a casual black blazer and Converse sneakers. The images were taken by Tyler Mitchell, the first Black photographer to shoot an American Vogue cover, and who shot Beyoncé’s Vogue cover in 2018 and Zendaya’s in 2019.
While many were glad to see Harris on the cover, some criticized the magazine for styling Harris in Converse shoes, feeling that image was disrespectful of her. In a statement to Good Morning America, Vogue said it “felt the more informal image captured Vice President-elect Harris’ 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.”
In the cover story written by Alexis Okeowo, Harris talked about the goals she and President-elect Joe Biden have for the first few months in office, which include tackling the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
“We think about the first 100 days in terms of what we need to do to support mayors and governors and local officials around their distribution and their public health systems,” Harris said. “When we get control of this pandemic, that’s going to be a critical factor in being able to reopen our economy.”
By Rachel George
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