Editor Anna Wintour has given Beyoncé unprecedented editorial control of the September 2018 issue of Vogue magazine and in return Beyoncé hired the first Black photographer to ever shoot the cover of the prestigious fashion magazine.
Beyoncé will, of course, be the cover girl, but the golden guy is reportedly Atlanta native Tyler Mitchell. This is such a monumental step for Vogue, as it has been 126 years since the publication has been around and the September issue is the biggest issue every year for fashion magazines.
The 23-year-old photographer graduated from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and has worked with the likes of Jaden Smith, Lil Uzi Vert and many more. His work has graced the cover of The Fader and Teen Vogue. Doubling as a video director, he has also directed shorts for Marc Jacobs and Givenchy, to name a few.
Mitchell told the New York Times that he “depict[s] black people and people of color in a really real and pure way. There is an honest gaze to my photos.”
So it is no surprise that the Grammy-Award winning singer, who has unapologetically embraced her Blackness through her album Lemonade, her 2013 Superbowl performance, and most recently Beychella, chose Mitchell.
We cannot wait to see what magic these two conjure up.
– Sciler Williams
