Australia has been getting us hyped over its 60th anniversary celebration for months with Edwina McCann even getting in on the action via Instagram by teasing a Nicole Kidman appearance to close out 2019 with a bang. True to her word, McCann serves up the Australian superstar for the title’s December 2019 edition, which also marks Kidman’s eighth cover of the Aussie fashion bible. Shot by photographic duo Inez Van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin for the occasion, the actress only wears Cartier diamond earrings (courtesy of Christine Centenera) for the dynamic and visually-arresting portrait.
The cover pretty much divided our forums. “Listen, it’s 60 freaking years, it should have been glorious. This is OK, it’s not a bad cover, but for like a January nonevent issue! For a big milestone like this, it is not enough just to get Kidman and I&V. The result needs to be there!” Miss Dalloway critiqued.
“Sometimes a cover that’s close to being good or even great but just misses the mark is so much worse than an all-around train wreck of a cover. That’s how I feel about this. The hair in the face destroyed what could have been a stunning, simple portrait,” commented KINGofVERSAILLES.
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“With better hair it would be great for a quiet month, but not their anniversary cover. And it would have been even better if they chose an Australian photographer to shoot this because I&V brought nothing to the table,” Benn98 added.
Nomar shared the same sentiment: “Rather than make the hair blowing in the face look stylish or elegant, it just looks messy. What a fail.”
Although not everyone was disappointed. “Love it! Ignoring the hair, she looks beautiful,” reasoned jorgepalomo.
“Sometimes to celebrate you don’t have to scream visually. We’ve had dozens of pictures showing her face, I like the hair trick to give a sense of mystery…and it’s a great shot,” approved Xone.
“Amazing shot, so piercing. Love this so much,” Marc10 raved.
“I felt completely underwhelmed upon first look, but have fallen in love with this overnight. I can appreciate how the cover image isn’t just another polished and over-airbrushed photograph of Kidman. And despite the hair attempting to steal focus, Nicole is instantly recognizable in the shot,” vogue28 pointed out.
Await more from the monumental issue and share your thoughts here.
