Vogue has always been more than a fashion magazine. Its covers have functioned as cultural snapshots — reflecting beauty, identity, and bold creative vision. Few concepts prove that better than the recurring idea of spelling out V.O.G.U.E. through a model’s pose. This concept has appeared across three distinct eras, each time carrying its own meaning and context.
The idea was born in 1940, when photographer Horst P. Horst worked with Swedish model Lisa Fonssagrives on a cover for Vogue US. Titled ‘Lisa As V.O.G.U.E.’, the photograph shows Fonssagrives holding her body in a deliberate ‘V’ shape while wearing a blue and white bathing suit. The image blended fashion and concept art in a way that felt entirely new for its time.
The photograph went far beyond its original use as a magazine cover. In 2013, it was sold through a curated selection by the Vogue Archives for $40,000, cementing its status as a genuine work of art. Several versions of the original image exist, each offering a slightly different look at Horst’s meticulous approach to composition and lighting.
The concept resurfaced five decades later for British Vogue’s Special Edition 75th Anniversary issue in 1991. Photographer Tyen directed model Yasmeen Ghauri in a striking metallic bodysuit designed by Karl Lagerfeld. Ghauri contorted her body to recreate the V.O.G.U.E. pose, serving as a direct visual tribute to the 1940 original while bringing a sharp, modern edge to the frame.
In 2008, Vogue Italia editor-in-chief Franca Sozzani revisited the concept with a clear social purpose. Photographer Steven Meisel shot the magazine’s first-ever All Black Issue, which featured four alternate covers starring Naomi Campbell, Jourdan Dunn, Liya Kebede, and Sessilee Lopez. Alongside the issue, Vogue Italia partnered with Barbie to release an all-black Barbie collector’s supplement, connecting the issue’s theme of diversity to Barbie’s own history — from Francie, the first Black doll introduced in 1967, to the first Black Barbie released in 1980.
