As EIC of American ELLE, Nina Garcia has cemented herself and the magazine as a major competitor alongside the likes of Anna Wintour’s Vogue and Samira Nasr’s Harper’s Bazaar. Month after month, issue after issue, Garcia outshines the competition and last month saw Imaan Hammam take to two dynamic covers – a move which was widely celebrated on our forums given the fact models are a total rarity on mainstream American fashion titles.
This month, Garcia ups ante for ELLE’s all-important September issue and true to rumors via our forums, one of the biggest stars within the world of entertainment makes an appearance: Zendaya! Captured by renowned photographer Steven Klein and with Law Roach on styling duties, the multifaceted American star poses up a storm in the vibrant and electric cover image captured on location at the Ace Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles and poses poolside wearing a Louis Vuitton dress, Bulgari jewelry (both in which Zendaya is brand ambassador) and stands tall in a pair of killer Christian Louboutin stilettos.
Amazingly so, however, the end result of ELLE‘s latest cover shoot garnered negative feedback amongst our forum members. “Zendaya looks good as she always does, but I don’t care for the cover image,” voiced KINGofVERSAILLES.
“I like her, not sure on the cover,” echoed Ivancica.
“It’s giving budget limitations. I don’t think a rooftop was the right setting. It needed a villa, something unapologetically lavish to really amplify the sex and excess. The cover isn’t good either,” Benn98 chimed in.
Also not exactly jumping for joy was DK92: “I generally like Klein’s work, but he really annoys me with this filter that makes everyone look like they haven’t showered in a month.”
“All the components are here for a grand September cover, such as big star like Zendaya and a fantastic photographer like Steven Klein but the cover itself does nothing for me. There’s far too much going on with the busy and textured backdrop of the hotel and the red masthead is disappearing,” noticed vogue28.
See more of Zendaya as ELLE‘s September 2023 cover star and join the conversation, here.
