Each month, I look forward to picking up my favorite magazines and cozying up with them on the couch when I find a spare moment.
I’ve accumulated quite the collection in the past months, and I have noticed a trend on many major magazine covers: some celebrity women are used again, again and again. While I don’t doubt they have made great accomplishments in their long or budding careers, I often find myself hoping for something ?different.
How many times can you put a teen pop sensation on the cover of a magazine before it gets boring or irrelevant to readers? I’ve seen Selena Gomez, Taylor Swift, Kendall Jenner and Ariana Grande on more magazine covers than I can remember.
Don’t get me wrong, I love Ariana Grande. I even dressed up as her for Halloween. I enjoyed reading about her, too.
But after seeing her on the cover of multiple magazines within just a month or two, the idea lost its appeal. It’s not a bash on these individuals, but rather the lack of creativity magazines repeatedly perpetuate.
I understand the business logic in choosing people that are familiar and popular. A magazine’s first priority is to sell as many copies as possible. But I think authenticity and creativity are factors that should be highly valued as well.
There is a small handful of models that I have seen repeatedly plastered on covers, fall advertisement campaigns and fashion social media.
What about women in business, politics or science? They are often featured on the inside of magazines but never on the front.
Emma Watson was chosen as Elle U.K.’s December covergirl for its feminism issue, and I think she was an excellent choice. While she is a famous actress, beautiful and frequently buzzed about in the fashion world and on the red carpet, she is also smart, well-spoken and looking to make change, not just further her own career and image.
Julia Roberts was a refreshing face to see on the September issue of InStyle. Lupita Nyong’o was also a great choice for Glamour’s latest November issue, as she has been a breakout star of the year, and her cover quote promotes embracing individual beauty: “There’s room in this world for beauty to be diverse.”
Colbie Caillat’s “Try” was released this summer. It promoted body peace and landed on the Billboard Top 100 list. Sara Bareilles writes beautiful, down-to-earth music and manages to stay out of the petty Hollywood drama. These are all women I would pay $4 for a magazine to read about.
Throw us for a loop, fashion magazines of the nation. Instead of going for the easily recognizable, give us something or someone we’ve never experienced before and crave to learn more about. Show us how to glorify the beauty of the everyday and the ?different.
