British Vogue has revealed the incredible logistics involved behind outgoing editor Edward Enninful’s epic final cover shoot.
Edward, 51, the publication’s first man and first black editor, announced in June that he was stepping down to take on a new global role at publisher Condé Nast.
And to make sure her final cover was unforgettable, she gathered the likes of Victoria Beckham, Kate Moss, Gigi Hadid, Salma Hayek, Oprah and Miley Cyrus in a room to pose for the photo.
A behind-the-scenes video shared on the magazine’s Instagram account shows the 40 legends gathered in a New York studio ready for Steven Meisel to take the cover.
British Vogue has revealed the incredible logistics involved behind outgoing editor Edward Enninful’s epic final cover shoot.
After sending his requests to his 40 cover stars, Edward confessed that he held his breath waiting for them to agree, before the celebrities flew (at their own expense) to New York for the shoot.
It was important to Edward to have all the women in one room and not rely on Photoshop, but it meant an astonishing amount of preparation for the editor and his team.
Edward revealed how he wrote personal notes to each woman asking them to take part while his team estimates they sent 1,000 WhatsApp messages to organize the big session.
After sending his requests to his 40 cover stars, Edward confessed that he held his breath waiting for them to agree, before the celebrities flew (at their own expense) from London, Paris, Milan, Los Angeles and beyond to arrive in December for filming based in New York.
He recalled: ‘They materialized as if they came out of a dream.
‘When 8am rolled around the models, movie icons, musicians, moguls, sports legends and media stars began to arrive. Mother and daughter Kaia Gerber and Cindy Crawford shared the trip.
‘The same goes for Salma Hayek Pinault and Linda Evangelista, since Salma stayed at Linda’s house the night before.
‘Dua Lipa and Miley Cyrus sneaked through their pop star agendas. And everyone made sure everything went smoothly so Gigi Hadid could get home on time to her little boy.”
To make sure her final cover was unforgettable, she gathered the likes of Victoria Beckham, Kate Moss, Gigi Hadid, Salma Hayek, Oprah and Miley Cyrus in a room to pose for the photo.
40 legendary British Vogue cover stars gathered to photograph Edward Enninful’s final issue: 1. Anok Yai, 2. Kaia Gerber, 3. Naomi Campbell, 4. Dua Lipa, 5. Maya Jama, 6. Kate Moss, 7. Cynthia Erivo, 8. Simone Ashley, 9. Lila Moss, 10. Ariana Debose, 11. Jameela Jamil 12. Oprah, 13. Salma Hayek, 14. Christy Turlington, 15. Selma Blair, 16. Miley Cyrus, 17. Iman, 18. Linda Evangelista, 19. Jane Fonda, 20. Cara Delevingne, 21. Gugu Mbatha-Raw, 22. Gigi Hadid, 23. Adwoa Aboah, 24. Victoria Beckham, 25. Paloma Elsesser, 26. Gemma Chan, 27 Jodie Comer, 28 Precious Lee, 29. Amber Valletta, 30. Adut Akech, 31. Cindy Crawford, 32. Karen Elson, 33. Irina Shayk, 34. Laverne Cox, 35. Anya Taylor-Joy, 36. Serena Williams, 37. Rina Sawayama, 38. Karlie Kloss, 39. Vittoria Ceretti, 40. Jourdan Dunn
The entire process was completed at lightning speed, with tests done and dusted in two days and the actual shoot only lasting 15 minutes after photographer Meisel had intricately mapped out his scene with doubles.
Revealing how he came to choose the icons, Edward wrote for Vogue: “When my last issue arrived, I knew the cover would be dedicated to women. Of course!
“It was clear to all of us on the team that no woman could or should summarize these last few years for the magazine.”
“What we needed was a group, to lean on the power of the collective to bring to life what I hope was a daring, disruptive and evolutionary period in Vogue’s history.”