Anna Wintour lost the plot

[SundaySimmons]

On putting Kim kardashian and Kanye West on the cover of Vogue.

"'Part of the pleasure of editing Vogue, one that lies in a long tradition of this magazine, is being able to feature those who define the culture at any given moment, who stir things up, whose presence in the world shapes the way it looks and influences the way we see it.
I think we can all agree on the fact that that role is currently being played by Kim and Kanye to a T. (Or perhaps that should be to a K?)

'As for the cover, my opinion is that it is both charming and touching, and it was, I should add, entirely our idea to do it; you may have read that Kanye begged me to put his fiancée on Vogue’s cover.
He did nothing of the sort. The gossip might make better reading, but the simple fact of the matter is that it isn’t true.

'There’s barely a strand of the modern media that the Kardashian Wests haven’t been able to master, and for good reason: Kanye is an amazing performer and cultural provocateur, while Kim, through her strength of character, has created a place for herself in the glare of the world’s spotlight, and it takes real guts to do that."

.........

I bought every copy of Vogue from 1980 until 1995 and then two or three a year and now the occasional copy, maybe one a year. I always buy one for my friend at Christmas. I loved it, absolutely loved it back in the 1980s/90s.

Hilarious that it has now come to Kim kardashian being on the cover, quite possibly the worst dressed woman ever, who came to fame through a sex tape and her father's name.

Now I know I will never buy it again as it's sunk so low!

The cover photo taken by Annie Leibovitz is awful, Kim's hands look huge and mannish.

[FrugalFashionista]

Anna really has her finger on the pulse. In Feb, she had the Lena Dunham cover American Vogue has always been quite commercial and Kim & Kanye is a shrewd move - I mean, we are actually talking about it...

I think high fashion is struggling atm. It's all about Russian oligarchs' wives and Asian buyers these days and all the interesting stuff is happening in the blogosphere and on Instagram. Print media feels like a dinosaur. I read a bunch of fashion mags on the plane and they all seemed a bit obsolete. All of them included street style pics that we all have seen months ago...

[Ilovecoodomol]

It's all down to giving the public what they want and shifting magazines. Vogue had a cover of Adele on it, a close up face shot and she looked fantastic. Her makeup was beautiful, I bought it just for the cover so I could rip off the look but apparently it was one of the worst selling Vogue covers. Sad really, what was that about?

[Apatite1]

A money making move that'll do well. Not surprising and holds no interest for me.

[FrugalFashionista]

I wouldn't be surprised to see Kanye performing and Kim preening next time Obama throws a big party - I mean, he's already a fan. It's equally important for him to show that he gets popular culture and if his voters are interested what Kim is wearing, he may have to feign interest as well
Personally I think Kanye is a genius, I just don't get his taste in women

[TheGrassIsSinging]

Celebrity cukture is vastly more lucrative than high fashion. Wintour knows this. Nobody cares about 'supermodels' anymore.

I'm not a fan of Kim (what does she do?) or Kanye (seems a vile egotist), but I can absolutely see why Wintour has made this move. This issue will sell like wildfire.

Also a part of me that likes seeing a black man and a voluptuous woman on the cover instead of yet another emaciated, pasty moggle.

[Bonsoir]

I cannot bear the sight of either of them - they look like a pair of blinged up rhinos to me! No charm, beauty, elegance, intellect, culture or wit at all.

[TSSDNCOP]

If Anna had printed this as her cover, she'd have nailed it.

[overthemill]

Apart from seeing pictures of her sometimes in mags in the supermarket I genuinely having no idea who she is. Or her fiancé? I love how the media defines who is interesting or if relevance in the UK today - but then I don't play that game. I do know who Anna wintour is though!

[nipersvest]

here's quick reminder of how classy trashy

[dexter73]

That's brilliant nipers!!

[NinetyNinePercentTroll]

airbrushed to fuck. Even the ripples on the dress look like they've been done.

[Anniegoestotown]

As someone who rarely watches tv am I showing complete ignorance in asking who these people are and what makes them so worthy of a front cover of a magazine.

I also have got to my 50's without ever picking up a copy of Vogue.

[Robfordscrack]

Vogue is and always has been a load of vapid rubbish so it's quite fitting that Kim and Kanye are on the cover.

[AnnabelleDarling]

I don't know why anyone is surprised by this. It was Anna Wintour who started the trend of putting celebrities on the cover of Vogue, they sell far more copies than when there is a model on the cover. Vogue is a commercial operation, KW/KK are huge stars, whatever your opinion of them, so it seems a logical choice for AW to make.

[OlympiaFox]

It's a nice enough picture but they represent a trashy, superficial, brainless culture that is aspirational only to the type of idiots that salivate over reality tv shows and want to be (in)famous for nothing of value or substance. Vogue can't appeal to that audience without losing their current one.

[polyhymnia]

Are their current audience high-minded, deep-thinking super-refined and aesthetic intellectuals then? Don't think so !

[squoosh]

You think their average reader is an airhead?

[polyhymnia]

No - I read it myself - but not do I think every reader is a paragon of intelligence and good taste - I imagine their readers are a mixed group as with many publications.

Also think they've had plenty of covers in past featuring celebs with no great 'depth' ( eg, as mentioned, Princess Diana).

[lurkingaround]

Seems like a shrewd financial move to me. Longterm I'm not sure. Boring to me but that's just me.

So, tell me, I know the Kardashians exist, 3(?) sisters, money, bottoms. But will someone give me a synopsis of the sex tape thingy .

[squoosh]

Fair enough polyhymnia.

lurking the sex tape would seem to have been 'leaked' by Kardashian HQ themselves. I think it was the tape that increased KK's celeb currency by 100% and launched the family and their show as a 'top' showbiz brand

[lurkingaround]

Thanks squoosh. Who was involved etc.
What I can't get over is the fact that people make fantastic livings out of....well.....nothing. Nothing. Never ceases to amaze me. Sorry, I'm tangent-ing again.

[bigkidsdidit]

I genuinely don't see much of a difference to Diana on the cover, except class.

[squoosh]

It co-starred her then boyfriend, don't think he was particularly famous. It would seem it was all very tastefully and flatteringly shot, good lighting, delicate little moans and no actual shots of her naked.

Disclaimer: I haven't watched the film but have read disparaging descriptions on highbrow websites such as ummmm, Dlisted.com.

[thedrunkenduck]

Is it just me- or does north look photoshopped in on the first photo on the daily mail website??

Not to mention how distressed she looks to be placed with two virtual strangers while flashing lights are going off in her face.

[Guitargirl]

Oh for crying out loud, it is a magazine - probably the lowest common denominator in terms of reading material. I think it's hilarious that so many posters seem to think that Vogue is some kind of high-brow publication!

But for a fashion magazine, I think they could have put the woman in a dress which fitted properly.