Happy New Year to everyone (except for American Vogue!)

This month is an all-star Vogue month with covers around the globe. Among fashion’s little guys; the makeup artists, the set designers, the jewellery stylists, there seems to be a shift towards concept-covers. The artists are coming out of the cracks in fashion, but why does the biggest player of them all seem to remain so stagnant in the face of all this ingenuity? While everyone brought whimsy, fabulosity, and uniqueness to their 2025 covers, the US remains the laughingstock of the world, politically and editorially…

Vogue Taiwan - Zoe Fang

Liam: This ‘elegy for overconsumption’ is a brilliant reflection on humanity’s ecological footprint. To create this look, they covered recycled clothes in agricultural soil to represent the “heavy burden brought by endless consumerist demands.” 

Gillian: In January 2022, Vogue Taiwan did a sustainability-focused cover called ‘Heat Wave.’ I like to imagine these two exist in the same gorgeous, dystopian universe, both shot by Zhong Lin.

Liam: We love a concept cover!

Vogue India - Anupama Parameswaran

Gillian: A stunning cover recreating the painting Padmini by Raja Ravi Varma. I urge you to look at the entire shoot, every hair, makeup, and styling choice makes Anupama look like a true work of art!

Liam: This cover is gorgeous—this colour grading is so dreamy, and an excellent reflection of the referenced painting. I’m also obsessed with this Amit Aggarwal dress.

Vogue China - Naran

Liam: Ushering in the new year with a bang! 😉 She looks striking.

Gillian: Google Translate has not been my friend when trying to research this cover. However, the stylist, Leon Tu, has a plethora of killer work and I can’t take my eyes off the perfect jewellery placement. I hope when someone calls my name, I look over my shoulder, looking exactly like this.

Vogue Italia - Damiano David

Liam: I’m not particularly a fan of harnesses or this shade of pink (I think it’s overdone), but he makes it WORK! It’s sexy and I love this dusty pink on him.

Gillian: His tattoos make this cover for me. Someone should do an entire tattoo-tour-esque editorial with him.

Vogue Germany - Emma Corrin

Liam: This cover is so playful and fun, I just love the colours! The rest of the shoot is… questionable.

Gillian: It all comes together so nicely. The socks and the heels are fabulous, styled by Harry Lambert, and the set design by Staci Lee is perfectly unique for Vogue. Look through their Insta’s and the two of them seem to be a match made in some youthful, avant-garde heaven. 10/10!!

Vogue US - Gabby Thomas & Angel Reese

Gillian: Fashion and sports coming together was a major theme this past year — the Paris Olympics were labelled “the most fashionable Olympics yet.” And so, how did American Vogue get this cover so wrong? Photographed by Norman Jean Roy, I find the style to be very reminiscent of Annie Leibovitz’s worst work…which unfortunately always seems to be when Black models are their subjects.

Liam: Remember when Vogue US’s best cover of 2024 was the one edited by someone other than Anna Wintour? Perhaps in 2025, it’s time for Vogue to reflect on why that was the case. This year’s first cover is… disappointing.

Gillian: Let’s hope my future Vogue editors never see this…

We would love to hear your thoughts below or on our Instagram!