the Vogue has long been a magazine that features political first ladies and leaders. The covers of US Vogue featured most of the First Families, from Jill Biden and Michelle Obama to the debut of the first political wife photographed in 1929, Lou Henry Hoover, wife of then-President Henry Hoover. Controversially, Melania Trump was just one of two presidential wives not featured on a Vogue cover.
First ladies aren’t usually cause for too much excitement for Vogue parent company Conde Nast, but last week’s cover story featuring Ukraine’s first lady Olena Zelenska, photographed by celebrity photographer Annie Liebovitz, drew equal praise and criticism.
In one picture, Ms. Zelenska can be seen on the marble steps of the Presidential Palace in Kiev. In another, she is holding hands with her husband. Elsewhere, she was photographed at an airport surrounded by soldiers. With Ukraine at war following Russia’s invasion last February, posing for a fashion magazine steeped in luxury and elitism has been criticized as inappropriate for the current circumstances. Others thought it was a vanity project.
An opportunity to talk about Ukraine
Ms Zelenska defended the article in a BBC interview: “I take every opportunity to talk about Ukraine. Millions of people read Vogue and it was my duty to speak directly to them. And that was an interesting experience. In the peaceful life I am not used to attention. Everyone is fighting at the front and that is work and I have to do that work.”
The editorial eschews overt styling, suggesting that it tacitly assumes that a spate of luxury clothing and accessories would be inappropriate, given that 12 million Ukrainians have been forced to flee their homes and that themselves the death toll is nearly 15,000. The information on the number of casualties on both sides of the war is dubious.
The President of Ukraine has done an excellent job of keeping Ukraine in the global headlines, regularly speaking to foreign leaders via Zoom and reaching out to the world public; he even spoke to Balenciaga creative director Demna Gvasalia after a t-shirt collaboration was launched as part of a fundraiser last week. Additionally, Mr. Zelensky and his wife are no strangers to the media, having established the state-owned TV entertainment production company, Kvartal 95 Studio, in 2003.
If Mrs. Zelenska were on the front page of the Wall Street Journalthe time or some other reputable political publication, public opinion might have been less divided. Perhaps readers would do well to be more open minded about fashion as it is a reflection of today and as such quite capable of showing more than just elegant looks on the catwalk.
This translated article originally appeared on FashionUnited.uk.