In 2016 alone, Michelle Obama covered Seventeen’s May issue and InStyle’s October edition. She and hubby Barack also posed for Essence’s October release. Lady Gaga, meanwhile, shot over a dozen covers for V Magazine’s Pre-Spring issue, including that infamous photo of her and then-fiancé Taylor Kinney seated on a canvas, coiled around one another, nude but for paint.
However, assuming FLOTUS and Gaga each have a wall of covers a la the Kardashians, it’s their latest T Magazine covers that deserve to be front and center. In The New York Times style glossy’s second annual “The Greats” issue, released yesterday, the First Lady and Lady Gaga slay in sleek, minimal looks that let their natural beauty shine through.
Image: Collier Schorr
“The Greats” features seven cover stars in total: Designer Junya Watanabe, writer Zadie Smith, photographer William Eggleston, artist Kerry James Marshall and restaurateur and chef Massimo Batturo join the ladies of the moment.
Image: Collier Schorr
In the pages of the magazine, four public figures — Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Gloria Steinem, Jon Meachem and Rashida Jones — pay tribute to the First Lady in the form of thank-you notes. (“As first lady, she has ticked all the boxes: loving wife, protective mother, health and fitness advocate, garden enthusiast and, yes, style icon,” writes Jones.) Interspersed throughout their words are black-and-white photos of Michelle rocking pin-straight hair, minimal makeup (bronze smoky eye, strong brows), geometric statement earrings courtesy of Robert Coin (triangular) and Céline (baubles) and understated tops by Chloé and Calvin Klein Collection.
Gaga’s feature follows the traditional interview format. The singer talks of her upcoming album, “Joanne” (named for her aunt who passed away tragically at 19, of complications from lupus). She tells of her discovery in a neighborhood boutique by a nephew of Don Lawrence, vocal coach to the stars. She gets political: “The justice system is broken. I have seen what I’ve gone through with [the LBGT community], or what I feel I’ve gone through with them on a spiritual level. When there’s justice and change, you start to see the cleansing of the soul and that is what I want for people, and I hope it’s okay for me to say those things.”
Image: Collier Schorr
In Gaga’s Collier Schorr-lensed photos, the performer eschews her typical theatrics (kind of). In one shot, stylist Jason Rider put her in a classic vintage blue jeans/white tee combo. In another, Gaga rocks a throwback, Elvis-reminiscent look: a Ralph Lauren Collection button-down with an English spread collar and vintage high-waisted slacks. Apparently, Gaga was so pleased with Collier’s work, she hired her to shoot her album cover art. May we just say we’re loving the sartorial evolution Gaga’s got going on?
Image: Collier Schorr
You can pick up the issue on newsstands October 23. “Joanne” is out on October 21. Michelle Obama leaves the White House January 20…sigh.
[ via Fashionista ]
