Vice president-elect Kamala Harris is getting an alternate Vogue cover.
On Tuesday (January 19), the fashion publication announced that it will be releasing a “special-edition inauguration issue” following backlash over Harris' previously released cover.
“In recognition of the enormous interest in the digital cover, and in celebration of this historic moment, we will be publishing a limited number of special edition inaugural issues," the outlet said in a statement ahead of Wednesday's (January 20) inauguration.
A source also told Page Six, Vogue's decision to release an additional Harris cover was a “gesture of goodwill combined with excitement about being able to publish this cover in time for this special day.”
Earlier this month, Vogue became embroiled in controversy following the release of Harris' first-ever Vogue cover, which showed the VP-elect standing in front of a pink and green fabric-draped backdrop — a nod to her sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. — while wearing a black suit and her signature Converse sneakers.
Critics blasted the publication for choosing the more "casual" image of Harris after it paired the cover's release with its much-preferred digital cover that showed Harris posing in a powder blue suit in front of a gold backdrop.
Amid backlash, it was reported that Harris' team was “blindsided” by the cover swap as they were allegedly told Vogue was going to use an image of the VP-elect in the powder blue suit. Vogue's editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, however, shot down those claims and defended the chosen cover during an appearance on The New York Times’ “Sway” podcast.
“Obviously we have heard and understood the reaction to the print cover and I just want to reiterate that it was absolutely not our intention to, in any way, diminish the importance of the vice president-elect’s incredible victory,” she said. “We want nothing but to celebrate Vice President-elect Harris’ amazing victory and the important moment this is in America’s history, and particularly for women of color all over the world.”
“There was no formal agreement about what the choice of the cover would be. When the two images arrived at Vogue, all of us felt very, very strongly that the less formal portrait of the vice president-elect really reflected the moment that we were living in, which we were in the midst, as we still are, of the most appalling pandemic that is taking lives by the minute,” the editor-in-chief added. “We felt to reflect this tragic moment and global history, a much less formal picture, something that was very, very accessible and approachable and real, really reflected the hallmark of the Biden-Harris campaign and everything they’re trying to, and I’m sure will, achieve.”
The special edition will not be available on newsstands, but it is available for purchase through Vogue's website.
Photo: Getty Images