Chloe Malle’s First Cover Of Vogue — Starring Rosalía — Has Finally Landed

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The wait is finally over, Chloe Malle’s first full issue of Vogue is here! Well, not the whole issue. That won’t hit newsstands until February 24. But the cover is here, at least. Photographed by Alasdair McLellan, it features superstar musician Rosalía in a white ruffled, tiered mini dress by Jonathan Anderson for Dior Haute Couture, styled by Carlos Nazario.

While Anna Wintour’s first cover of Vogue nearly forty years ago felt like a small revolution — Jeans? On the cover of Vogue!?!? — Malle’s debut is a bit more understated, to the point where it’s hard to really see where Wintour’s Vogue ends and Malle’s begins.

“Anna was very pulled back at the beginning of the March issue planning,” said Malle in an interview with The New York Times. “She was letting everything simmer and then before it came to a boil she sort of tapped in to just check in and pulled me into her office and said, ‘Chloe, everything in the March issue, it looks good. It’s OK. But I want to know where is the you? What makes this issue yours? Where are the weird dogs?’”

“Weird dogs” is, of course, a reference to one of Malle’s earlier creative babies: the viral, dog-themed Dogue.

Dogs will make an appearance in the new issue, by the way. Seven of them, in fact. And a mule named Twinkie. Malle also commissioned a jewelry shoot on New York City bodega cats.

If that doesn’t feel like all that definitive of a stamp for a new editor to put on Vogue, well, it’s early days yet and more changes are sure to come. Besides, Wintour is still just down the hall looking over Malle’s shoulder at every turn, which is enough to make anyone tread carefully. At least to start.

And even if the new Vogue does look remarkably similar to the old Vogue, it’s clear that Malle is no mini-Wintour. In her editor’s letter, Malle writes about dressing up for Halloween as Ms. Frizzle from The Magic School Bus — Anna Wintour would never! — and expresses her desire to lead Vogue readers on similar adventures to those of Ms. Frizzle and her class.

At the same time, she makes it clear that she is not looking to reinvent the wheel here, but rather to “respect the title we are all so proud and protective of but add a little wink and exuberance.”

Just don’t make it too little, Chloe. We’re all out here rooting for you and we know you’ve got some big, beautiful Ms. Frizzle-level swings in you, if you’re only bold enough to take them.