WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) – Vice President-elect Kamala Harris was on the cover of the February issue of Vogue magazine, but his team says there is a problem: the photo of the country’s No. 2 future leader is not what both sides had agreed on, says his team.
Instead of the light blue suit Harris wore for the cover photo, the first African American elected vice president is seen in more casual outfits and Converse Chuck Taylor sneakers, which she sometimes wore in the campaign.
Harris’ team did not know that the cover photo had been changed until the images leaked on Saturday night, according to a person involved in negotiations on how Harris would be featured on the cover. Harris’s office declined to comment and the person spoke on Sunday on condition of anonymity.
In a statement, Vogue said it chose Harris’ more informal image for the cover because the photo captured his “authentic and accessible nature, which we consider one of the Biden-Harris administration’s trademarks”.
But the magazine said it released images and digital magazine covers to “respond to the seriousness of this moment in history and the role it plays in the leadership of our country”.
Harris, who is of Jamaican and Indian descent, posed in the light blue suit in front of a gold background for the cover of the magazine. She also posed, dressed more casually in trousers, a blazer and sneakers in front of a pink and green background, for the photos that were planned for the magazine, the person said. Pink and green are the colors of Harris’ university fraternity, Alpha Kappa Alpha.
Vogue launched the two images online, but Harris’s sneaker photo is the one that will grace the cover of the print edition of the fashion bible.
The person with knowledge of the negotiations said that the Harris team expressed to Vogue their disappointment with the magazine’s decision.
The cover also sparked outrage on social media, as the posters expressed disappointment at the way the magazine decided to feature the country’s first female vice president on its cover.
Harris is due to take office as vice president on January 20.