British Vogue publishes oldest cover star in its history

British Vogue’s June issue features the magazine’s oldest cover star in its history. The Conde Nast owned publication celebrates 85 year-old actress Dame Judi Dench, as photographed by Nick Knight.

“The shoot meant an awful lot to her,” Dench’s daughter, Finty Williams told Vogue. “This age thing, I think, affects very much how she feels about herself and this gave her just that little boost of confidence to make her go, ‘Oh, maybe I’m still OK.’ Then of course after the photoshoot, she came back literally thinking she was Beyoncé.”

Contributing editor Kate Phelan said: “It’s wonderful that Judi embraces her age, even though she grumbles about growing old. She hasn’t gone out of her way to change her wrinkles. Her beautiful character really shines through. That’s an important message for women today. We shouldn’t be so terrified of age. We need to focus instead on living a life that is full and rich.”

Vogue Italy also featured a groundbreaking cover for its April issue, which eschewed models and celebrities in favour of a blank page, an all white cover.

“White is, first and foremost, respect,” Vogue Italia editor in chief Emanuele Farneti said in a statement. White is rebirth, light after the darkness, the sum of all the colors. White is the uniforms of those who have saved lives while risking their own. It’s time and space for thinking. And for staying silent too. White is for people who are filling this time and space with ideas, thoughts, stories, verses, music and kindness to others.”

“It’s a reminder that after the crisis in 1929, clothes turned white, a color chosen to express purity in the present and hope for the future. And above all, white is not surrender; it’s a blank page to be filled, the frontispiece of a new story about to begin.”

Vogue Italy said it hoped its cover would give people a sense of hope during the Covid-19 crisis.

Image via Vogue.co.uk