Unsurprisingly. How else should we read the VP’s second cover for American Vogue?

After the badly received Vogue cover of Kamala Harris in 2021, the magazine may have gotten it right this time. Describing her on the cover of the October issue as “the candidate of our times”, Vogue’s portrait of Ms Harris is not only vice-presidential, it is presidential too. Although she appears no different than she normally does, especially at her well-attended campaign rallies, she does not look far more White House-ready than she did on her first cover. Dressed in her own Gabriela Hearst pantsuit, which seemed familiar to us (possibly because she does not vary the looks she adopts for public consumption), and a similarly hued blouse with a cowl neckline (minus neckwear), she is all executive branch. Or as, writer Nathan Heller wrote, “Work, one senses, is a happy word for Harris.”

And there is that flawless complexion.

At the presidential debate with Donald Trump last month, we don’t remember Ms Harris appearing so smooth-faced, so post-exfoliated. She mostly looks good on screen and print, but this time, her face reveals nary a line, not even on her forehead. And she is 59. There are no crow’s feet. Her eye make-up is minimal to almost non-existent. Just periorbital perfection. Looking at her, dermatologist would say her skin barrier is in top form. She smiles almost coyly, not the result of relaxed facial muscles after her usual hearty laugh that, for some reason, irritates most of her opponents in the Republican party. Many Netizens consider her Vogue cover face “over-airbrushed” (meaning too Photoshopped)—a term that has largely remained in use in the US—and have voiced their displeasure. After the last controversial cover, Anna Wintour still can’t make Kamala Harris appealing to her base.

Ms Harris wants to be relatable, to be the hope of the middle class—she often says, “the middle class is where I come from”. Would it, then, serve her better if she looks this impeccable, even impenetrable? It was rumoured that she was not totally pleased with her last Vogue cover, following the public outcry. If that was indeed the case, it is rather odd that Ms Harris would agree to another Vogue cover, unless some kind of an agreement was reached between her team and Ms Wintour, an ardent supporter of Democrats. The editor is inclined to put political figures on her covers, such as Michelle Obama (thrice!), but unlike Mrs Obama, Ms Harris is not quite a fashion plate, nor has she forged a style of her own that is not working-woman standard or deserves amplification. Or, what Vogue calls ”Oval Office blues”. Selling her as a fashion icon serves her not. If Kamala Harris is indeed “the candidate of our times”, why not make her more connected, facial lines et al? Madam Vice-President is allowed to look her age.

Photo: Annie Leibovitz/Vogue