“Weren’t there beautiful athletes?” Vogue disappoints netizens by putting Gigi Hadid on the cover

Every year, the June-July double issue of the French magazine Vogue: THE “summer edition” (summer issue, French), is highly anticipated and thoroughly researched. Building on Olympic news, this year’s edition focuses on sporty elegance, bridging fashion and sport, couture and training. To report this number: Vogue: France posted a photo of the cover on Instagram. Beneath the blue-white-and-red colored caption, model Gigi Hadid strikes a gymnast pose in front of a powder-coated beam where athletes train. She wears a black Balmain ensemble with Nike accessories and, above all, Jacquemus high heels. So many choices that seemed to disappoint netizens who voiced their opinions in the comments.

Representation of athletes

“But why Gigi? You couldn’t find a beautiful athlete’, ‘Why waste a historic moment to put Olympic athletes in the spotlight’, ‘Some women have worked their whole lives to get to the Olympics’, ‘Simone Biles and Sunisa Lee exist, but you? did you choose Gigi?” and critical comments are pouring in. If the dual embodiment of sports-fashion (the theme of the issue) in choosing one of the most famous models on the planet in sportswear is recognizable, users regret the missed opportunity to highlight the already invisible sportswomen in the world. sport.

Even if that means not casting a top-level athlete, why not at least cast a French model since Paris is hosting the games, they say. followers from French Vogue. However, some netizens defended the choice of this cover, claiming that it is above all a fashion magazine. Other subscribers accuse the disaffected of judging Gigi Hadid based on her political status. The daughter of Palestinian Mohammed Hadid has been criticized for her silence on the ongoing massacre in the Gaza Strip, compared to her sister Bella Hadid’s longstanding political involvement. In turn, S. Vogue: informs us that the coverage is part of a larger context, “Vogue World. Paris” event, which will take place on June 23 at Place Vendome.

“Gymnastics”

The magazine also published a video on its Instagram account directed by Bardia Zeinali. In the same setting, Gigi Hadid moves forward on the floor in heels and pretends to stretch before being directed by a trainer who is none other than Balmain artistic director Olivier Rousteing. The observation in the comments is the same. The only difference is that real athletes train with the model, better understanding the desired fashion-sports alliance.