VOGUE MAGAZINE COVER

A COVID-19 homage to the infamous 1950s Vogue Magazine Cover

The year 2020 was a year of lockdowns, mask-wearing, hand sanitiser and highly restricted travel.
It was also a year that many creatives looked outside the box to keep their creative juices flowing and play with new ideas, concepts and techniques.

I was not immune to these things. As a creative mind who loves to keep busy, be with people and enjoys the opportunity to travel, I found 2020 hard like so many others. Minds like mind cannot be restricted, suppressed or held back, without consequence - often to the mental health.

The Concept

The Vogue Cover design project came from a desire to explore the ideals of Covid-19 whilst also being creative and think outside the box. Many creatives were making images and homages in their own homes, taking selfies and building images based on what they found within their own four walls.

I've always been drawn to the cover images of Vogue Magazine and the depiction of women's fashion that it showcases. The infamous 1905s Vogue Cover is one that I specifically felt draw to.

Creation of the Cover

Restricted by the ability to go outside the home, I went about creating the homage image in my own home studio space. As a professional photographer, I had the backgrounds, lighting and off camera gear to be able to take a self portrait of myself. I conceptualised the idea, set up the shoot and went about photographing myself.

First I captured a series of images with different elements, expressions and content. I incorporated a face mask, toilet paper scarf, medical hair wrap and hand sanitiser - all indicative of the times.

Once I had what I needed image was, I went about culling and selecting the elements from each image that I needed for the final photo, and combined them together in a similar pose and layout to that of the 1905s cover.

I then went about mimicking the typography, the font, placement of the type and chose article headings that were relevant to the pandemic situation. The also carefully chose the publisher details and date/edition information.

Once collated in a way that was similar to the original cover, I toned the whole image to give the traditional old-style grainy/film feel that the original cover had.

The final result is a unique, and yet close homage to the original cover. And even better, it gave me something creative to do during a long period of lockdown blues.

The below images showcase some of the behind the scenes shots and process behind the final magazine cover.