Lupita Nyong’o wearing Prada lands the cover of July Vogue, though for fashion watchers, it was only a matter of which month the 31-year-old actress would land there, not whether or not it would ever happen.
Though winning an Oscar certainly helped, the deal was likely sealed in the minds of Vogue editors before that big event, if only because Nyong’o fills an above-average number of boxes needed to land a spot on the front of the magazine. She’s model gorgeous, asparagus thin, ivy educated and possesses a poised demeanor that is viewed as reflective of a high class upbringing, all of which is the equivalent to hitting the Vogue image jackpot in terms of the lifestyleVogue has built its reputation on telepathing.
In attempting to modernize, Vogue in the past few years has expanded or perhaps shrunk its list of attributes for who make the cut and who doesn’t (see Gaga, Rihanna and most infamously, Kim Kardashian and Kanye West), but that doesn’t mean it won’t leap for joy and embrace an individual who so perfectly speaks to the magazine’s longtime, driving aesthetic.
See the rest of the editorial shot in Marrakech in May below. Read the feature accompanying the shoot at Vogue.
