It’s quite interesting from a latex designer’s point of view when someone poses for a Vanity Fair cover and garners a bunch of controversy, but not from what they are wearing. Kylie Jenner is facing criticism over the new cover just ‘dropped, from the fact that she is seemingly smoking a cigarette on the front cover, as many people are pointing out that her skin tone looks darker.
The Kylie Cosmetics founder looks stunning in a surely stripped-down equestrian outfit, wearing a satin Dolce & Gabbana bra and Hermès riding breeches. But it is that cigarette prop and the fact that Kylie seems to be “blackfishing,” a term created by journalist Wanna Thompson, describing when mainly white public figures change their appearance through various means to appear Black, mixed-race, or racially ambiguous, that is gaining traction.
There’s no proof that this was Kylie’s intention, or how often, or if she even does smoke. However, we have all seen how quickly the internet reacts to things like this. And where any news brings one attention, especially in an age where stories flash in the pan and all so quickly die, Kylie and Vanity might be served by the controversy in the end.
If one ventures beyond the Mert Alas shot cover, inside the mag we get to see Jenner reclining in bed wearing a Saint Laurent ruffly gown, draped across a couch in a Miu Miu bra and briefs, and in the raciest shot accompanying her Nate Freeman interview, managing a commanding strut down the hallway of beautiful room, wearing nothing besides a gigantic Chanel bow (called a cape in the photo credits), down her naked front, accessorizing with high heels and a brooch.
The ‘controversial’ pictures, as well as the sexy ones, Jenner discussing her romance with Timothée Chalamet, talking about her struggles with her cosmetic company and everything else the 28-year-old is into, makes for a sure Vanity Fair winner.
